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Giant Monkey Frog
Phyllomedusa bicolor
Giant waxy monkey frog. Famous Amazonian canopy dweller with a bright green body, white breast, and cream-spotted flanks. Known for its slow, deliberate movements and unique biological secretions.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Phyllomedusidae
Subfamily:Phyllomedusinae
Genus:Phyllomedusa
Species:Phyllomedusa bicolor
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
60 - 80 %
Day temperature
24 - 29 °C
Night temperature
20 - 22 °C
Ambient temperature
24 - 29 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 150 L
UVB
None
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the high canopy of the Amazon rainforest across Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. It inhabits the upper layers of the forest, descending closer to the ground only during the rainy season to lay eggs on leaves overhanging slow-flowing rivers or ponds.
Taxonomy and Genetics: One of the largest tree frogs in the world, with females reaching sizes of 11 to 14 cm. It features a bright green dorsal surface, cream-colored undersides, and distinct white and dark spots on the flanks and limbs. Eyes are large and greyish-silver. It possesses specialized glands that secrete a waxy lipid layer used to prevent dehydration.
Behavior and Habits: Strictly nocturnal and arboreal. Instead of jumping, it climbs slowly using opposable thumbs and fingers with a firm, monkey-like grip. During the day, it sleeps exposed on branches, having wiped its waxy secretions over its skin to lock in moisture.
Morphology: Females are significantly larger, heavier, and broader than males. Males possess vocal sacs and emit loud, deep vocalizations during the breeding season.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a very tall, spacious, and highly ventilated vertical enclosure (minimum 60x45x90 cm). Furnish with thick climbing branches, bamboo tubes, and sturdy large-leaved plants (e.g. Monstera deliciosa) to support their weight. Avoid waterlogged soils or boggy substrates.
Lighting and Heating: Provide daytime temperatures of 26-29°C using an overhead heating source for basking, with a nighttime drop to 22-24°C. A 5.0-10.0 UVB source is essential for skeletal health and to prevent metabolic bone disease.
Humidity and Hydration: Keep humidity levels fluctuating between 50-60% during the day and 80-90% at night. Mist the enclosure every other evening. Stagnant humidity and poor ventilation will cause fatal skin infections.
Feeding and Supplementation: Voracious nocturnal hunter. Feeds on large crickets, locusts, and roaches. Provide food using long feeding tongs or in dry, feeding containers. Dust prey items with calcium and D3 weekly.
Compatibility: Peaceful when kept in small groups (e.g. one male and two females) provided there is ample vertical space. Avoid housing specimens of wildly different sizes to prevent accidental injury or stress.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly sensitive to poor ventilation and constant high humidity, which lead to fungal skin infections and ulcers. Susceptible to metabolic bone disease and injury from falls if enclosure climbing pathways are unsafe. Avoid handling to prevent chemical irritation to the frog's sensitive skin.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to the high canopy of the Amazon rainforest across Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. It inhabits the upper layers of the forest, descending closer to the ground only during the rainy season to lay eggs on leaves overhanging slow-flowing rivers or ponds.
Origin
Amazon, Orinoco, and GuianasNorth America
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 13.5 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 13.5 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 13.5 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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