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Cuban Tree Frog
Osteopilus septentrionalis
A large, highly adaptable tree frog known for its voracious appetite and loud, rasping call. It thrives in diverse environments, from forests to urban areas.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Hylidae
Subfamily:Hylinae
Genus:Osteopilus
Species:Osteopilus septentrionalis
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
60 - 80 %
Day temperature
24 - 29 °C
Night temperature
20 - 24 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the northern Caribbean region, including Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. It has been introduced to Florida and other parts of the Caribbean, where it has become a highly successful invasive species. It thrives in tropical forests, agricultural areas, and humid suburban gardens.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belongs to the family Hylidae and the genus Osteopilus. Scientifically described by Duméril and Bibron in 1841. Genetic studies indicate a high evolutionary plasticity, which allows this species to easily adapt to new environmental conditions and urban landscapes.
Behavior and Habits: Primarily nocturnal and arboreal. It spends the daylight hours hiding in cool, humid microhabitats like tree hollows, water pipes, or banana plant leaves, emerging at dusk to forage. It is an opportunistic, extremely voracious predator that will consume almost any animal it can swallow.
Morphology: This is one of the largest tree frog species in North America. Adult females can reach lengths of 10 to 14 cm (4-5.5 inches), while males are significantly smaller. The skin is warty and rough. Coloration is highly variable, ranging from grey, brown, and green to bronze, and can change. They have large toe pads.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: A vertically oriented terrarium measuring at least 45x45x60 cm (18x18x24 inches) is recommended for one or two frogs. Furnish the enclosure with thick climbing branches, cork bark tubes, and sturdy, broad-leafed live plants (such as Pothos). Substrate should consist of damp coconut fiber or peat moss.
Lighting and Heating: Keep daytime ambient temperatures between 24°C and 28°C (75-82°F), with a night drop to 20-22°C (68-72°F). Heating should be provided via an overhead heat bulb. Low-intensity UVB lighting (2-5%) is recommended to regulate circadian rhythms and support calcium absorption.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain relative humidity between 60% and 80%. Mist the enclosure daily with dechlorinated water. A large, shallow water dish filled with treated water must be provided and cleaned daily, as these frogs hydrate by soaking and frequently defecate in it.
Feeding and Supplementation: Voracious eaters. In captivity, feed them crickets, roaches, mealworms, silkworms, and occasionally earthworms. Prey insects must be dusted with a high-quality calcium and multivitamin powder containing D3 twice a week for juveniles and once a week for adults.
Compatibility: Due to their size and aggressive feeding response, they must be housed alone or with other frogs of similar size. They will readily eat smaller frogs, lizards, and even smaller conspecifics, making size-sorting essential to prevent cannibalism.
Health and Common Diseases: Vulnerable to Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) if calcium and UVB are lacking, and skin infections caused by dirty water or substrate. Regular spot cleaning of waste and a complete water change every day are critical to preventing bacterial blooms.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to the northern Caribbean region, including Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. It has been introduced to Florida and other parts of the Caribbean, where it has become a highly successful invasive species. It thrives in tropical forests, agricultural areas, and humid suburban gardens.
Origin
Cosmopolitan or introducedCentral America and CaribbeanNorth America
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 16.5 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 16.5 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 16.5 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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