RED EYE TREE FROG

RED-EYED TREE FROG Caresheet

Common Name: Red-Eyed Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Agalychnis callidryas
Origin: From southern Mexico through  most of Central America to northern Columbia.
Habitat: Tropical rainforests, often in lowland areas near water
Size: 3"
Lifespan: 8-12 years

You will find many ways on the internet on "how to" take care of this animal. This care sheet is showing the way we found works best for us from our many years of experience of caring for this species.

HOUSING
Red-Eyed Tree Frog are arboreal and as such, in the wild, they spend a lot of time in the trees. They like to climb. Hence, you will want a tall tank with places for your frog to sit and climb around on. They are nocturnal and will spend most of the day sleeping on a favorite perch, becoming active at night when they hunt.

One adult can be housed in a minimum of a 10 gallon tall glass enclosure or Exo Terra's 12" x 12" x 18". These frogs do fine living in small groups. For each additional frog, add 10 more gallons of space.

Have plenty of foliage and vines/branches for your frog to climb on and hide in. If you want to use live plants, these are some basic non-toxic ones; bromeliads, begonias, hibiscus, ferns and Pothos. Zoo Med eco earth or Zilla jungle mix work well with some sphagnum moss layered on top for substrate (bedding).

LIGHTING & TEMPERATURES
Red-Eyed Tree Frogs like it warm. They also need a temperature gradient to thermoregulate and control their body temperature. This essentially means you need to provide a hot and a cool side to your enclosure. All the heat elements should be on one side and the other will be the cool side. This way your frog can move back and forth between the different temperatures depending on its needs. When you have a tall enclosure, your temp gradient will usually be top to bottom instead of side to side.

A basking area of 84-86 degrees should be provided. The rest of the enclosure can be in the 77-80 range. At night, temps can drop to as low as 75 degrees. Use a good quality temperature gauge, like Zoo Meds digital temp gauge or Exo Terras Thermometer. The easiest way to increase the heat in your enclosure is with a Reptile heat bulb.

In addition to adding heat, Red-Eyed Tree Frogs also need UVB lighting to help in the absorption of calcium and the synthesis of vitamin D3. In the wild, the UVB lighting is filtered by the tree canopy. So you will want to use a 13 watt UVB Exo Terra 100 on top of a screen to help filter the rays.

HUMIDITY
Always provide a nice sized water dish with fresh water. Change the water at least once a day. Maintain humidity around 80%. Misting the enclosure at least once or twice a day will usually provide enough moisture but a nice humidity gauge can help you in this area. Hand misters are usually sufficient but if you don't care to remember to mist, an automatic mister like the Exo Terra monsoon is a nice option. Exo Terra bowls or Flukers rock dish are nice naturalistic non-porous water bowls. Frogs drink by sitting in their water bowls and absorbing it through their skin.

DO NOT used distilled water for the water bowl. Distilled water has no salts or minerals in it as such it messes with the frogs ability to regulate the water in it's cells. A process called, osmotic regulation. Death can result from this as well.

FEEDING
Feed your Red-Eyed Tree Frog crickets 2-3 times a week. Make sure to supplement your frog's insect diet at least once a week with a calcium and vitamins supplement such as Repashy Calcium Plus or Zoo Med Reptivite with D3.

TEMPERAMENT
While Red-Eyed Tree Frogs may not be too active during the day, they are still an impressive frog to keep. They will tolerate a little bit of handling. However, most do not like to be touched that much. Each will have their own personality, but the majority tend to get stressed with much handling. The enjoyment of having these frogs comes from watching them after dark when they become active. Have fun and enjoy your beautiful pet.