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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Red-Eyed Tree Frog
Agalychnis callidryas
The icon of the rainforests. The red-eyed tree frog is famous for its bright green coloration, blue-and-yellow flanks, and large scarlet eyes. Nocturnal and strictly arboreal.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Phyllomedusidae
Subfamily:Phyllomedusinae
Genus:Agalychnis
Species:Agalychnis callidryas
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
60 - 80 %
Day temperature
24 - 29 °C
Night temperature
22 - 24 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Found throughout the dense, warm primary rainforests of Central America, from southern Mexico to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and northern Colombia. It inhabits the high branches of broad-leafed evergreen trees and shrubs near slow-moving rivers or temporary rain pools.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Features striking green dorsal skin, which can change shade from light green to darker hues depending on mood and temperature. The flanks are adorned with bright yellow stripes on a deep blue or purple background. The hands and feet have large, orange adhesive discs. Females reach up to 7 cm, while males are more slender and grow to about 5 cm.
Behavior and Habits: Strictly nocturnal and arboreal. During the day, it sleeps flat against the undersides of leaves, hiding its bright colors and red eyes. When disturbed, it flashes its large red eyes, blue sides, and orange feet to startle predators. Males call at night using a vocal sac, creating a distinct "chack" sound.
Morphology: Sexual dimorphism is highly pronounced: adult females are significantly larger and rounder than males, while males are smaller, more slender, and possess vocal sacs to produce mating calls.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Arboreal setup required. Use a vertically-oriented terrarium of at least 45x45x60 cm. Provide a dense arrangement of sturdy broad-leaved plants like Monstera, Philodendron, or Pothos to support the frog during daytime sleep. A drainage layer topped with a moisture-retaining substrate is essential.
Lighting and Heating: Require tropical temperatures of 25–28°C during the day and a night drop to 22–23°C. Provide low to moderate UVB lighting (2–5%) during a 12-hour day cycle to prevent metabolic bone disease.
Humidity and Hydration: High humidity of 80–90% is required, achieved with regular misting. Good ventilation is vital to prevent stagnant air, which can lead to bacterial skin infections. Use clean, dechlorinated or reverse osmosis water.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insectivorous. Feed active insects like crickets or moths at night. Dust all prey with high-quality calcium, vitamin D3, and multivitamin supplements every 2–3 feedings to support bone structure.
Compatibility: Very peaceful and social with their own kind. Can be kept in groups or harems (e.g. one male and three females) in spacious enclosures. The mating calls of males at night can be quite loud.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly susceptible to Red Leg syndrome from poor hygiene. Delicate froglets are prone to rapid dehydration if humidity drops. Avoid feeding oversized insects, which can cause intestinal impaction or stomach prolapse. Do not handle these frogs as skin contact can harm their permeable skin.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Found throughout the dense, warm primary rainforests of Central America, from southern Mexico to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and northern Colombia. It inhabits the high branches of broad-leafed evergreen trees and shrubs near slow-moving rivers or temporary rain pools.
Origin
Extra-Amazon South AmericaCentral America and CaribbeanNorth America
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 7.72 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 7.72 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 7.72 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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