Red Eye Tree Frogs are a colorful and interesting species to keep as pets. Easily one of the brightest colored of all frog species.

Description

Red Eye Tree Frogs are bright green in body, with a creamy white belly. They have large red eyes with vertical slit pupils, and yellow and blue stripes down their sides(although colors can vary with region). The males get up to about 2 to 2 ½ inches in size, the females get slightly larger at 2 ½ to 3 inches. They have long orange toes with pads at the end they use to climb trees. Their skin is delicate, so these guys are more for looking at than handling.

Housing

A good rule of thumb for Red Eye Tree Frogs is 5 gallons per frog. A ten gallon tank is perfect for a pair of frogs. Flip it on its end to make the tank taller, Red Eye Tree Frogs are arboreal and like to climb. The cage top should be half glass, half screen to keep humidity up.

While they can survive at temperatures ranging from 60-90f degrees, they do best at a daytime temperature of 75-80f degrees, and a nighttime temp of 70-75f degrees. So in most places, room temperature is fine. Avoid keeping them at the extremes of their temperature range, as this can be unhealthy. Usually a low wattage heat light, or ceramic heater is all that is need to heat a tank. During hot months, make sure there is a fan to move air around to cool them off, and that they are not in direct sunlight..

You want humidity in the 60-80% range. This can be achieved by using potting soil, orchid bark, sphagnum moss as a flooring substrate. These substrates help hold moisture in. You can also do regular misting, or close off part of the cage top to hold in moisture. A good rule of thumb is, if the glass has water beading on it, its to moist. Adjust as needed. It is a good idea to mist your frogs a few times a week.

They will require branches and plants to climb and have hidey holes.

Diet

Red Eye Tree Frogs are insectivorous. So a diet of crickets, mealworms, fruit flies, and just about any insect that fit in their mouth is fair game. I recommend gut loading anything you give them, as this adds to the nutritional value of your insects. Provide them a large water dish with fresh water, they rehydrate themselves by soaking in the dish. Use ONLY distilled water, or filtered and dechlorinated water. Chemicals in tap water can kill your frog.

Maintenance

Red Eye Tree Frogs are easy to maintain. Spot clean as needed to get dead insects and droppings out of the cage. And as needed (couple of times a year) change substrate so mold does not grow. After removing substrate, spray with a 5% bleach solution, then wash the tank out. Make sure to wash anything you sprayed with the bleach. And make sure to wash your hands after handling the cage and accessories.

I would recommend Red Eye Tree Frogs for someone who is beginning in the hobby. They are simple to keep, and fun to look at.