The Pacific chorus frog ( Pseudacris regilla ), also known as the Pacific tree frog, is a common amphibian found throughout western North America, from British Columbia to Baja California. These small frogs play an important role in their ecosystems. Their diet is a key aspect of their biology and survival. This article delves into the intricate details of what Pacific chorus frogs eat, how they hunt, and how their diet changes throughout their life cycle.
Geographic Range and Habitat
Pacific tree frogs are widespread on the Pacific coast of Oregon and Washington, but they are found from extreme northern California to British Columbia. Their range extends into Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. They can also be found in Idaho. A small population also exists in a pond on Revillagigedo Island near Ketchikan, Alaska, having been intentionally introduced there in the 1960s. These frogs live from sea level to more than 10,000 feet in many types of habitats, reproducing in aquatic settings. They are found upland in ponds, streams, lakes and sometimes even further away from water; their habitat includes a wide variety of climate and vegetation from sea level to high altitudes. The Pacific tree frog makes its home in riparian habitat, as well as woodlands, grassland, chaparral, pasture land, and even urban areas including back yard ponds.
Physical Characteristics
Adult body size in Pacific treefrogs ranges from 2.5 to 4.8 cm. The Pacific tree frog grows up to 2 inches from snout to urostyle. Pacific treefrogs are a small, slender frogs with large toe pads. They have long legs compared to their bodies and they tend to be slender. Their toes are long and only very slightly webbed. On the end of each toe is a round, sticky toe pad or disk used for climbing and sticking to surfaces. Males also have an extra, and far less noticeable toe on their outer thumbs used exclusively in amplexus.
Their skin is covered in small bumps. Skin color varies from light-brown to bright-green. red or brown backs also have been reported. The coloration changes seasonally to match the presence or lack of green foliage. Frogs often turn a shade of yellow. A dark triangular marking between the eyes is also common. A dark stripe extends through the eye and a yellow stripe runs along the upper lip. Males are duller in color, but with little to no yellow stripe on the groin. Males have dark throats.
Tadpole Diet
Body mass of newly hatched tadpoles is, on average, 0.24. Tadpole tails are not flagellated. The tadpoles feed on periphyton, filamentous algae, diatoms, and pollen in or on the surface of the water. They mostly feed on algae, bacteria, and floating vegetative debris. Tadpoles also eat detritus, Protozoa, Rotifers and small crustaceans.
Read also: What Do Giant Pacific Octopuses Eat?
Adult Frog Diet
Adult Pacific tree frogs are primarily carnivorous. They mostly feed on algae, bacteria, and floating vegetative debris, but they also consume large quantities of flying insects. Much of their diets consists of spiders, beetles, flies, ants, and other insects and arthropods. They can and do eat insects that are almost as large as they are, and will expand their bodies slightly to accommodate these meals. Adults capture insects by extending their tongues. The tongue has a sticky secretion that traps the insect, along with any debris or dirt near the insect.
Hunting Behavior
For the most part, Pacific tree frogs are nocturnal, but they have been spotted during the day. These frogs spend a lot of time hiding under rotten logs, rocks, long grasses, and leaf litter, where they are very difficult to see unless they move. When they hunt, their toe pads allow them to climb on vegetation and other surfaces where they are to ambush their prey. When they sense potential food nearby, they commonly twitch a toe to attract it within easy reach of their tongues. Typical of most frogs, prey is located by vision, then the frog lunges with a large sticky tongue to catch the prey and bring it into the mouth to eat.
Feeding Frequency in Captivity
A key concern for those keeping Pacific tree frogs in captivity is how often to feed them. The user who provided the source information for this document was curious how often a small (prob Juvenile) pacific tree frog should need to eat.
Here's what you need to know about feeding frequency:
- Juveniles: Juvenile frogs need to eat more frequently than adults due to their rapid growth.
- Adults: Adult tree frogs typically eat at least twice a week, but this can vary depending on the size of the prey.
- Observation: It's important to monitor your frog's body condition. A healthy frog should be slim but not emaciated.
One user reported that they would usually expect an adult treefrog to eat at least twice a week, and more if it's a juvenile (I fed my salamanders every other day while they were growing faster, and salamanders are far less active than tree frogs).
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Appropriate Prey Size and Type
- Size: Don’t feed your frog anything larger than the distance between its eyes. A 1/4" nymph would be an appropriate size meal.
- Movement: Prekilled will never work with frogs. They need something that moves.
- Variety: Offer a variety of insects to ensure a balanced diet.
- Gut Loading: Gutloaded crickets are PCFs favorite.
- Supplements: To make sure your frog is staying healthy, you can enhance its nutrition by giving it vitamins and nutrients it may be missing. Look online or ask at your local pet store for a vitamin supplement designed for Pacific tree frogs.
Live Food Options
- Crickets: Gutloaded crickets are PCFs favorite and they are so much more abundant and cheap than soldierfly grub.
- Lateralis Roaches: Laterals are a good option. I'm just gonna order some more lateralis.
- Flightless Fruit Flies: Try flightless fruitflies. From what I understand, newly morphed chorus frogs are so small that springtails are a good food.
- Roaches: I highly recommend culturing your own roaches as a constant food supply. Red runners would be a good size roach for them, but could theoretically result in infestation if they escaped. Young lobster roaches would be good. You could just keep enough adults for reproduction and cull the rest (or feed them to some other pet).
- Dubia Roaches: Dubia don't move around much and don't have a very appealing form of movement. I've never gotten a cold, stressed out or otherwise not hungry frog to eat dubias.
Foods to Avoid
- Pinky Mice: I suggest feeding ONLY insects. i know some people believe that because their frog can eat a pinky mouse, that it should. way wrong. i forget what it is called but it can make their intestines come out.
Encouraging a Frog to Eat
- Live Prey: Provide live prey that stimulates their hunting instincts.
- Tong Feeding: Tong feed them at first.
- Patience: Be patient and allow the frog to adjust to its new environment.
As the frog gets more comfortable and eats more voraciously it'll eventually start associating you with food, then it might start accepting bugs you hand feed it or drop right in front of it. Then it'll probably eat baby dubias.
Additional Tips for Captive Care
- Enclosure: Pacific tree frogs love having plenty of space to hop around in, so you’ll need a large tank to keep your frog happy. A 40-gallon tank can easily hold up to 10 frogs.
- Substrate: Substrate is the lining or “carpet” that your frog can rest on in the tank. There are natural substrates, such as ones made of coconut fiber or soil, as well as artificial ones that more resemble Astroturf.
- Climbing: Pacific tree frogs are named for their tree-dwelling nature and their love of climbing things. To make your frog feel more at home in the tank, put in some small plants, twigs, rocks, branches, or even logs.
- Water: While your Pacific tree frog gets most of its water from soaking, it won’t always be smart enough to hop over to the water when it’s dehydrated.
- Humidity: Pacific tree frogs thrive best in a very humid environment, around 70% humidity.
- Temperature: Purchase a terrarium or tank thermometer and attach to the outside of the glass.
Predators
Pacific tree frogs are preyed upon by a variety of animals, including snakes, raccoons, herons, egrets, and other small mammals and reptiles. Even mosquitofish often prefer treefrog tadpoles. To avoid predation, P. regilla changes color seasonally to match the presence or lack of green foliage. The best defense of Pacific tree frogs against predation is their camouflage. They stay in habitats that have coloring similar to their bodies. They also hide in areas of tall grass or jump into water when threatened.
Conservation Status
While the pacific tree frog has remained abundant over most of its range, population-level declines have been observed in some areas. Due to pollution, introduced species, habitat fragmentation, and destruction, Pacific chorus frogs have almost disappeared from San Francisco.
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