American Green Tree Frogs are typically green in colour with a lateral cream stripe that runs down their body. These are ideal for beginners as long as plenty of plants are placed throughout the terrarium.
| Origin | Virginia to southeast Florida |
|---|---|
| Environment | Tropical Rainforest |
| Adult Size | 4-5cm |
| Suitability | Beginner |
| Lifespan | 5 years + |
| Food Type | Insectivores |
The American Green Tree Frog is a medium-sized frog reaching an adult size of 4-5cm (1.5-2 inches). They have large adhesive disks on their fingers and toes, the hind feet are webbed. The eyes are large and golden, the head is flattened with a pointed snout. They have smooth skin and the general colouration is a grass green, however, this can vary depending on temperature and lighting from a bright yellow/green to a dull olive green. A cream stripe runs on each side of the frog’s body from the nose to vent, this has a slightly darker colour around the stripe. The underside is a pale yellow or white, males have a darkened throat that is also wrinkled after calling.
American Green Tree Frogs are found in south-eastern America with a geographic range from the Eastern Shore of Virginia to southeast Florida, with populations as far west as central Texas and as far north as Maryland and Delaware.
They are found in woodlands, grasslands and bushy areas, prefering areas with access to ponds, lakes, streams and marshes with plenty of floating vegetation and grasses.
American Green Tree Frogs are best kept in an arboreal glass terrarium, ideally, 45x45x60 would be suitable for a small group.
This needs to be heated to a basking area of 24-26° C (75-79F) which can be achieved with a ceramic reflector clamp lamp, basking bulb connected to a dimming thermostat. The ambient daytime temperature should read 22C (72F) and allow the night time temperatures to drop to no lower than 18C (65F). This species is pretty tolerant to slight variations in temperature for a short period of time. We provide all our amphibians UVB as most will require ‘zone 1’ on the Ferguson index scale.
Use a tropical mix designed for forest species which includes soil, forest bark and moss, this mixture will help keep humidity levels a little higher too. Provide plenty of coverage in the form of natural branches and plenty of artificial plants. You could go down the BioActive route and provide a fully live planted enclosure, to succeed with this, you will need to use a LED light designed for plant growth.
As with all amphibians, provide a decent sized water bowl to allow the animals to fully submerge. The water must be treated with a de-chlorinator to remove harmful chemicals, metals and also to add electrolytes. We would recommend misting the enclosure with treated water once a day, twice a day in the warm summer months, otherwise you may find your tree frog burrowing into the substrate.
Food for these little guys is pretty much anything that moves. Always keep to the guidelines of only feeding insects the same size of the width of the eyes, this prevents choking. We like to feed mainly crickets and locusts with calci worm flies and wax worm moths. The food is always dusted with an appropriate calcium/vitamin supplement as directed on the container.
Do not handle the tree frogs and if you must move them, please do this with wet latex gloves on. Wetting your hands before moving will also help, but keep to a minimum as our skin contains chemicals that can damage the frogs fragile skin.
