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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Hourglass Treefrog
Dendropsophus ebraccatus
Hourglass Tree Frog. A tiny, colorful tree frog named after the distinctive hourglass marking on its back and bright yellow-orange legs. Highly adaptable breeder.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Hylidae
Subfamily:Dendropsophinae
Genus:Dendropsophus
Species:Dendropsophus ebraccatus
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
26 - 28 °C
Night temperature
22 - 24 °C
Ambient temperature
26 - 28 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 45 L
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Distributed across warm, humid lowland tropical rainforests and wetlands of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Colombia. They inhabit grassy margins of pools, reed beds, and large forest leaves. This treefrog is widely distributed across the humid lowlands of Central America and northern South America.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Family Hylidae. Commonly known as the Hourglass Tree Frog or Pantless Tree Frog. The name "ebraccatus" (pantless) refers to its unpatterned yellow inner thighs. Highly popular in vivarium hobby. Classified in the family Hylidae, it is famous for its reproductive flexibility, laying eggs on land or in water.
Behavior and Habits: Quiet and inactive during the day, sleeping flat against broad leaves. At night, they become active climbers and gliders. Males emit a loud, distinct "creeeek" mating call. Primarily nocturnal, it spends daylight hours resting quietly on broad leaves to conserve moisture.
Morphology: Tiny species reaching 2.5-3.5 cm. Golden-cream or mustard-yellow dorsal skin with a dark mahogany brown hourglass-shaped patch. Thighs are smooth and yellow. Males have yellow vocal sacs, while females are larger and rounder. Features a bright yellow to tan dorsum with a dark brown hourglass-shaped pattern and golden-colored eyes.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Vertical tropical terrarium (minimum 45x45x60 cm). Provide thin climbing branches and broad-leaved live plants (Pothos, Heliconia). Include a shallow water area at the bottom. A vertically oriented terrarium with live plants and branches is required to accommodate its arboreal habits.
Lighting and Heating: Maintain day temperatures between 26-28°C, dropping to 22-24°C at night. Avoid temperatures above 30°C. Provide a 5% UVB light source. Provide gentle lighting and moderate daytime temperatures (24-28 °C), with a slight drop during the night.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high humidity (80-90%) with strong ventilation. Spray nightly with dechlorinated water; ensure the leaves dry during the day. Maintain high humidity levels of 70-85% by misting the enclosure daily with clean, dechlorinated water.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insectivorous. Feed daily with fruit flies (Drosophila hydei and melanogaster), micro-crickets, and small roaches. Dust prey with calcium and vitamin D3 three times a week. Feed a variety of small live insects such as wingless fruit flies, pinhead crickets, and small roaches.
Compatibility: Peaceful and social. Can be kept in groups. Do not mix with other species. Can be kept in small, single-species groups; do not mix with larger frogs that could pose a predation risk.
Health and Common Diseases: Never handle; their skin is highly sensitive to toxins and salts. Prone to snout rubbing against glass if stressed. Maintain strict terrarium hygiene. Ensure a clean environment and use gloves when handling to protect the frog's sensitive, permeable skin.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Distributed across warm, humid lowland tropical rainforests and wetlands of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Colombia. They inhabit grassy margins of pools, reed beds, and large forest leaves. This treefrog is widely distributed across the humid lowlands of Central America and northern South America.
Origin
Tropical oceans and reefsExtra-Amazon South AmericaCentral America and CaribbeanNorth America
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 3.7 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 3.7 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 3.7 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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