This frog had long been erroneously known as Dendrobates duellmanni or Dendrobates ventrimaculaus for many years. Jason Brown et al. formally described D. uakarii in 2005, recognizing the distinction between the true “duellmani” or “ventrimaculatus” and the frog we now know as uakarii.

Uakarii is a terrestrial species whose entire distribution is unknown at this time. It occurs in local abundance in some areas, while in other populations it appears to be scarce. As in nature, in the terrarium uakarii may be somewhat reclusive. These frogs will embolden if provided with a suitable terrarium with a thick leaf litter substrate and abundant vegetative cover.