Classification
Order: anura
Family: hylidae
Genus: agalychnis
Species: agalychnis callidryas
Habitat
The red-eyed tree frog is native to Central and South America. It can be found in Mexico, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Belize, Columbia and Panama. They prefer rainforests near rivers and lakes as well as wet lowlands.
Outward appearance
Adult males reach the length of about 7 – 8 cm, females are slightly shorter.
It is a slender frog with smooth skin. It has a rounded head, big red eyes, as the name suggests, and vertical pupils. It has webbed feet and sticky pads on the toes. The main color is green, toes are orange and sides are blue with yellow pattern. The belly is creamy white. Some specimens might have small white spots on the back part of the body. Young frogs can change color: they are green at daytime and red-brown at night. Also young frogs have yellow eyes.
Character
The red-eyed tree frogs are arboreal species, they spend most of the time in trees. They are excellent jumpers. Often they sit still with their eyes closed.
Maintenance care
Red-eyed tree frogs are hardy and easy to keep. They are suitable for beginners. They need a vertical tank covered with mesh. Two adult frogs need at least 60х30х40 cm tank. For substrate you can use coconut husks, potting soil covered with damp sphagnum or paper towels. If you decide to use soil, the layer has to be at least 10-15 cm thick. The tank has to be cleaned daily. Once every 2nd or 3rd week you will have to make a thorough cleaning and disinfection of all the objects.
The daytime temperature should be around 24-26'C and about 20-22'C at night. You can use a heating pad. Red-eyed tree frogs don’t like bright light. It is nocturnal species, so at night you can use luminescent lamps.
The air humidity has to be around 75%. You will have to mist the plants and the substrate daily. It is recommended to have a lot of real plants: philodendron, lianas, bromeliad, tropical fern etc. Also the tank should contain driftwood, logs, rocks and a waterfall. The accessories mustn’t have sharp edges. The back wall should be dark. You should put in the tank a water bowl (bottled water) where the frogs can bathe. The water has to be changed daily. You can keep frogs in groups (about 5 specimens). Males are aggressive only during the mating season.
Feeding
You can feed your red-eyed tree frog with any insects that fit into its mouth. It can eat cockroaches, crickets, drosophila, flies, earthworms, locusts, bee moth larvae etc. Adult frogs can also eat pinky mice and small reptiles. Frogs should be fed after dusk. You can put food in a bowl. Adult frogs eat 3-6 insects each every second or third day. Young frogs have to be fed daily. Frogs should get mineral supplements and vitamins several times a week.
Diseases
Red-eyed tree frogs are prone to velvet disease: an infection caused by parasites called oodinium. The first symptoms are gray spots on the frog’s body. If you notice that, you should put your frog into purified water and clean and disinfect the tank thoroughly. If this doesn’t help, you can bathe your frog in a weak chamomile tea during one hour.
If your frog gets injured, you should apply antiseptic.
Average life span in captivity is up to 10 years.
Breeding
When rainfall is at its highest, a male red-eyed tree frog calls "chack" to get the attention of the female. The female chooses a leaf above a pond or large puddle on which to lay her clutch of roughly 40 eggs. They also produce sticky jelly to glue the eggs together; this may protect the eggs from splitting and dehydration.
The eggs develop into tadpoles, which hatch after six to seven days and fall into the water below. Red-eyed tree frog eggs hatch early when a change in the environment signals a danger to their survival. Dragonflies, fish, and water beetles prey on the tadpoles. The tadpoles remain in the water from three weeks to several months, until they metamorphose into frogs. The time of metamorphosis depends on duration of larval stage, which varies depending on environment. After metamorphosis, the color of tadpoles' torsos changes from green to brown, and their eyes, which are initially yellow, turn into deep red without much side patterning. These changes mark maturity.
They sometimes breed successfully in captivity if kept in high-humidity vivaria (e.g., by using misting equipment), tropical plants such as Bromelia and other epiphte plants, together with well-aerated water pools. Their captive habitat should have a light cycle with 11–12 hours of daylight and an average day temperature of 26–28 °C (and night-time averages of 22–35 °C). Simulating a rainy season once a year in November to December encourages reproduction.
