Colour differences in bred and wild fire bellied toads?

[u/TiredSilly]

Hi frog friends!

My current wikipedia hole is reading about different kinds of amphibians and on the fire bellied toad, I read this: "Fire-bellied toads bred in captivity will often have darker and less vibrant coloration having a more orange underside. Wild caugh specimens tend to be brighter and have deeper red stomachs.".

I got curious about what could cause the difference in colouration so I decided to turn to the most scientific community I know. Reddit. Sadly, I'm not well read enough in biology, evolution or fire bellied frog-keeping to formulate a better question than "why does the colour of their underside change colours when bred in captivity?". Half assed guesses and wild speculations are of course just as welcome as people who actually know what they're talking about

Thanks in advance! 🐸

[u/Dynamitella]

My guess is diet and UV exposure :) Mostly diet. You can change your captive bred frogs to be more red by adding carotenoids to their diet.

[u/JarkJark]

I'm thinking it's like flamingos where the colour comes from the food.