Tree frogs, with their vibrant colors and arboreal lifestyles, make fascinating pets. Understanding their dietary needs is crucial for ensuring their health and well-being. This article delves into the intricacies of tree frog diets, covering various species and essential nutritional considerations.
Anatomy and Habitat
Red-eyed tree frogs are easily recognizable due to their large, bulging red eyes, a feature that serves as a defense mechanism known as "startle coloration." When the frog closes its eyes, its green eyelids allow it to blend seamlessly into its leafy surroundings. If disturbed while sleeping during the day, the sudden exposure of its red eyes can momentarily startle a predator, giving the frog a precious few seconds to escape.
Complementing their striking eyes, these frogs boast bright lime green bodies, sometimes adorned with hints of yellow or blue. Their coloration can even shift to dark green or reddish-brown depending on their mood. They have white bellies and throats, while their sides display a blue hue with white borders and vertical white bars. Their feet are a vivid red or orange.
These adept climbers possess cup-like footpads that enable them to spend their days clinging to leaves in the rainforest canopy, venturing out at night to hunt for insects and smaller frogs.
First identified in the 1860s by herpetologist Edward Cope, the red-eyed tree frog can be found in the lowlands and slopes of Central America and as far north as Mexico. Like other amphibians, red-eyed tree frogs begin their lives as tadpoles in temporary or permanent ponds. As adults, they remain dependent on water to keep their skin moist, residing near water sources such as rivers in humid lowland rainforests. They can be found clinging to branches, tree trunks, and even underneath tree leaves.
Read also: Changing Lives Through Weight Loss
General Dietary Needs of Tree Frogs
Tree frogs are carnivores, primarily feeding on insects. They are not particularly picky eaters due to their hunting strategy: they wait for insects and small animals to pass by and then quickly snatch them up with their tongue. Because tree frogs have small teeth that are only used to hold prey in place, they must swallow their food whole. They also rely on motion to detect their prey, so they must be fed live insects.
Specific Diets of Different Tree Frog Species
The answer to the question of "what do tree frogs eat" varies slightly depending on the species.
Green Tree Frogs
There are two primary species that share the name "green tree frog": the American green tree frog and the Australian green tree frog. As insectivorous animals, green tree frogs eat only insects. Both species have similar diets.
American green tree frogs are known to eat flies, mosquitoes, crickets, and anything else they can easily consume. Frogs aren't picky eaters when it comes to bugs, and the American tree frog is no different. While they may eat any insect, they do seem to have a preference. One study revealed that American green tree frogs prefer more active prey, even more so than larger prey. The study followed the dietary habits of the frogs, and 90% of their diet came from insects that needed to be actively pursued.
Australian green tree frogs are about twice the size of their American counterparts, reaching around 4.5 inches, resulting in a diet that includes larger prey. Tree frogs are able to eat spiders, crickets, and mosquitoes, but the larger members can even eat things like lizards, cockroaches, and other frogs. There have even been instances in captivity where frogs being used for research have eaten small mice. Funny enough, Australian green tree frogs are prone to overeating and can become obese.
Read also: Is Blue Tree Health's Weight Loss Program Right for You?
Red-Eyed Tree Frogs
Red-eyed tree frogs are known for their striking appearance, with their red eyes and multicolored bodies. Like other tree frogs, their diet consists primarily of insects. In the wild, red-eyed tree frogs consume mostly crickets, grasshoppers, moths, and flies. However, they will also eat other insects if the opportunity arises.
White's Tree Frogs
White's tree frogs are native to Australia and New Guinea. In their natural habitat, they feed on insects like roaches, grasshoppers, moths, and spiders. They have also been known to consume other small animals, such as snakes and rodents. As pets, White's tree frogs should be given a variety of staple insects, including grasshoppers, roaches, crickets, and silkworms.
Hunting Methods
Both species of green tree frogs use similar methods to hunt their prey. Frogs only have an upper layer of teeth. While most animals use two layers of teeth for chewing, frogs have a different approach. Their single layer of upper teeth is designed to hold insects in place as they munch them with their jaws. Frogs, in general, are famous for their use of sticky tongues to snatch up their prey. While they may not be feet long as depicted on television, they are proportionally long when compared to a frog’s body. Generally, their tongues are a third the length of their bodies. When a frog notices a bug, it launches out its tongue and whips it back in faster than a blink. Bugs don’t really have time to react, and when they get hit, it often knocks them off their feet. Additionally, frog mucus becomes sticky right before they shoot out their tongue.
Supplements and Gut Loading
Like most captive insectivores, pet tree frogs need supplements to their diet. It is best practice to dust their bugs with calcium and multivitamin powder a couple of times a week. In the wild, tree frogs may eat dozens, or even hundreds, of different bugs each day. Pet tree frog owners do their best to provide variety, but it’s just not practical to source so many different types of prey. Giving supplements to your tree frog is the easiest way to make sure they’re getting the nutrients they need.
Gut loading is another way to provide variety to your tree frog’s diet. Gut loading is simply feeding the bugs nutrient-dense food. When your tree frog eats the bugs, it also gets the nutrients from whatever the insects ate!
Read also: Is Fever-Tree the Best Tonic?
Gut-loading diets are fortified with vitamins and minerals to help provide optimal nutrition to the reptiles that feed on them. To gut-load prey, pet parents need to place insects in a container with a gut-loading diet that the bugs can gorge on.
Portion Size
Tree frogs are notorious for becoming obese when kept as pets. The best way to prevent this is to keep track of how much you feed. How many bugs your tree frog needs to stay a healthy weight will depend on the species and age. Make sure you know the number of insects your tree frog should eat to avoid obesity and health complications. Larger frogs are usually fed every other day and can get three to five insects per feeding, provided they are eating all of their food. Smaller frogs can be fed daily.
Insects to Include in a Tree Frog Diet
Dubia roaches and mealworms are excellent additions to a healthy tree frog diet. Roaches in particular are great because of their nutrition and gut load-ability.
As insectivores, green tree frogs should be fed a variety of gut-loaded insects and worms. For a happy and healthy frog, feed a variety of insects rather than the same ones every day. Before feeding, pet parents should dust their frog's insects with a powdered vitamin supplement. To dust insects quickly and efficiently, place insects in a bag or disposable plastic container along with a powdered supplement.
Insects to Avoid
It can be tempting to just go outside and catch grasshoppers, or to get rid of the fruit flies in your kitchen by giving them to your frog. But don’t feed these bugs to your tree frog. It’s not worth it. Wild insects can have diseases and parasites that could cause serious harm to your tree frog. They could also carry insecticides and weed killers.
Other Considerations for Green Tree Frogs
Green tree frogs can be found near bogs, ponds, and streams throughout the southeastern United States. Male green tree frogs have a loud, bell-like call that can be heard during the evening and night.
A 15-gallon glass tank is the minimum recommended habitat size for up to four adult frogs. Enclosures should be tall with plenty of vertical space to allow for climbing. All habitats should be well-ventilated and secured with a screened lid to prevent the frog from escaping. Green tree frogs are naturally social and can be housed together in small groups if the habitat is large enough. Frogs should be introduced to each other gradually and under close supervision to ensure they are compatible.
Frogs need a thermal gradient in their enclosure so they can warm up and cool down as needed. At nighttime, a green tree frog’s habitat should be 65-68 F; during the day, temperatures should be between 72-80 F. Pet parents must check the temperatures of their frog’s habitat daily. Two thermometers-one in the warm area and one in the cool area-should be placed in the enclosure so that both zones can be checked at once. Although green tree frogs are nocturnal, they still need regular light exposure to maintain a healthy day/night cycle. Pet parents should provide 10-12 hours of light each day with the help of a fluorescent bulb. The wattage needed for the heat bulb will vary depending on the size of the enclosure, the distance of the bulb from the frog, and the ambient temperature of the room in which the enclosure is kept. Note: Some light bulbs provide not only light to the tank, but also heat and/or ultraviolet (UV) light. Large rocks should be placed over under-tank heating pads to absorb heat and create an area for frogs to rest. Studies show that daily exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light can improve frogs’ immune system function and promote normal behavior.
Humidity levels should be maintained between 70-90% and monitored with a hygrometer (humidity gauge). At all times, frogs should have a shallow bowl of dechlorinated water in their habitat that’s wide enough for them to soak in. The water inside the bowl should be about 1-2 inches deep. To boost humidity levels, mist your frog’s habitat once or twice a day using either a gentle misting spray bottle or a humidifier designed for terrariums. Green tree frogs have delicate skin that needs to stay moist. Do not use gravel or pieces of bark that are small enough to be swallowed by a frog. When decorating a green tree frog’s habitat, don’t overcrowd the tank. Green tree frogs love to climb! Pet parents should arrange live or artificial plants, driftwood, cork bark, or other types of branches at a diagonal to create places for their frog to leap from and climb. Cover the outside of the habitat’s rear wall with dark green paper or slabs of cork bark (secured with suction cups). Frogs need at least two hiding areas in their habitat-one kept on the warmer side of the enclosure and one on the cooler side.
Spot-clean your frog’s habitat daily, removing any discarded food or droppings. A frog’s habitat needs to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected at least once a month with either an amphibian-safe habitat cleaner or a 3% bleach solution. Using moistened latex gloves, move the frog to a secure habitat. Scrub the empty tank and any furnishings with an amphibian-safe habitat cleaner or 3% bleach solution. The bleach solution should stay on the habitat for at least 10 minutes to ensure that the surfaces are properly disinfected. Return the frog to the clean habitat.
Water should always be available and replaced daily. Green tree frogs should only be handled when necessary. Pet parents should always use moistened, powder-free latex gloves when handling their frog. Frogs have glands in their skin that can secrete toxins. Amphibians shed, or “slough,” their skin regularly. Some frogs will shed their skin daily, while others will shed every few weeks. Younger frogs that are actively growing tend to shed more frequently than adults. A frog's skin may turn cloudy or milky in color when the animal is ready to shed.
Green tree frogs should be seen by a veterinarian once annually. A secure transport carrier can be purchased from major pet stores that would be an appropriate size for a frog.
Handling Green Tree Frogs
It is technically safe to touch green tree frogs, but doing so can transmit Salmonella. If you do touch one, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands afterward. Additionally, green tree frogs don’t generally enjoy being handled, so it isn’t recommended to do so except when necessary.