🐾 LandCare difficulty: IntermediateLegal complexity: Low
Red-Eyed Tree Frog
Agalychnis callidryas · also called Red-eyed leaf frog, Gaudy leaf frog, Red-eyed treefrog
The iconic Central American rainforest frog with vivid red eyes, orange feet, and blue-and-yellow flanks; striking but more demanding than beginner tree frogs.
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Quick facts
| Size | Females reach about 2.5-3 in (6-7.5 cm); males are smaller at roughly 2 in (5 cm). |
| Lifespan | 5–10 years |
| Social needs | group |
| Native region | Central America (Atlantic and Pacific slopes from southern Mexico south to Panama, with a marginal record in extreme nor |
| Origin | New World |
| Climate | 🌴 Tropical |
| Family | Phyllomedusidae |
| Genus | Agalychnis |
Part of the Tree Frogs
Arboreal frogs adapted to climbing with expanded toe pads, kept in tall, planted, humid terrariums. Most are nocturnal display animals that should be handled minimally and only with clean, wet hands to protect their sensitive, absorptive skin.
Habitat & space requirements
From the minimum an animal needs to be kept humanely, up to the ideal setup. Bigger is almost always better — minimums are floors, not targets.
Life & growth stages
How this animal changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.
Habitat & enclosure
Red-eyed tree frogs are delicate, highly arboreal leaf frogs that need a tall, densely planted terrarium of at least 18 x 18 x 24 in (45 x 45 x 60 cm) for a small group, with abundant broad-leaved plants (live pothos and bromeliads work well), vines, and branches positioned high in the enclosure. A bioactive or drainage-layered substrate of coconut fiber and sphagnum helps hold moisture, and a shallow water area is needed.
Maintain warm, humid conditions: daytime temperatures around 75-82 F (24-28 C), dropping to the upper 60s to low 70s F at night, with humidity held high at roughly 70-90 percent through daily misting (ideally an automated mister or fogger) while still allowing fresh airflow. Provide a gentle day/night cycle and low-level UVB. These frogs are nocturnal and shelter on the undersides of leaves during the day, so dense foliage doubles as both humidity buffer and security.
Substrate
Set up a bioactive or planted vivarium with a drainage layer beneath a moisture-holding ABG-style or coco-fiber-and-sphagnum mix, topped with leaf litter. The substrate should stay humid to support live plants like pothos and bromeliads that these frogs rest on.
Equipment & setup
These delicate arboreal frogs need a tall, heavily-planted enclosure at 75-82F day dropping to high 60s-low 70s at night, with very high humidity (80-100%) from an automatic mister or fogger plus good cross-ventilation to prevent stagnation. Provide low-level (2.0) UVB, dense foliage, and broad leaves and vertical branches for climbing and sleeping.
Diet
Feed a varied insectivorous diet of appropriately sized live crickets, small dubia roaches, flightless fruit flies for juveniles, and other small soft-bodied insects, all offered after dark when the frogs are active. Gut-load feeders well and dust with a calcium plus D3 supplement at most feedings, with a multivitamin roughly weekly.
Juveniles are fed daily or near-daily; adults eat several times per week. Avoid oversized prey, as these slender frogs can struggle with large or hard-shelled insects. Provide clean, dechlorinated water at all times, both as a shallow dish and via misting, since the frogs rehydrate through their skin.
Behavior & temperament
Red-eyed tree frogs are strictly nocturnal and spend daylight hours motionless and folded against leaves, flashing their startling red eyes and colorful flanks (a behavior called deimatic, or startle, display) only when disturbed. They are best treated as a display species and should not be handled except when necessary, using clean wet hands, because they are easily stressed and have sensitive, permeable skin.
They do well kept in small groups of size-matched individuals. Enrichment is environmental: lots of climbing surfaces, live plants, varied perches, and naturalistic misting cycles that simulate rainfall and often trigger activity and male calling.
Health
Common issues include dehydration and stress from insufficient humidity or excessive handling, metabolic bone disease from inadequate calcium or UVB, and bacterial skin infections from poor hygiene. As with all amphibians, chytrid fungus and ranavirus are serious risks, and wild-caught imports may arrive stressed or parasitized; captive-bred animals are strongly preferred.
Prevention relies on stable warm temperatures, consistently high humidity with good airflow, a dusted and varied diet, clean water, and minimal handling. Signs such as cloudy or reddened skin, weight loss, bloating, limb deformities, or persistent inactivity call for an amphibian-experienced veterinarian. This information is educational and not a replacement for veterinary care.
Tips, DIY & hacks
Mist heavily at dusk to mimic rainforest conditions and stimulate evening activity, and dust feeders with calcium, D3, and vitamin A to keep their vivid coloration and eye health. Use only dechlorinated or RO water, keep them in species-only groups, and add a small fogger on a timer as an affordable way to hold the high humidity they demand.
Sources
- Agalychnis callidryas - Wikipedia (wiki)
- AmphibiaWeb - Agalychnis callidryas (care guide)
- Wikipedia: Red-Eyed Tree Frog (wiki)