Green Tree Frog Care
Hyla cinerea
Green tree frog (Hyla cinerea), image by TomSpinker
The US green tree frog makes an ideal amphibian pet for both the novice and more experienced keeper. Their small size and hardy nature, not to mention their relatively low price and high availability, means the US green tree frog remains an ever popular addition. Long legged and smooth skinned, most members of this species will be covered with a predominantly green body, although variations range from grey to yellow and sometimes even red with a prominent white or cream lateral stripe on each side of the body. Green tree frogs are arboreal in nature and like most of its tree frog counterparts, nocturnal, means that these frogs will be most active once the sun begins to set and find themselves under the cover of darkness. Adult sizes range from 34mm to 62mm with females tending to be the larger of the sexes, Hyla Cinera is thus sexually dimorphic, meaning visual differences exist between the sexes.
Geographic Range
The green tree frog is commonly found in the central to southeastern United States. Its geographic range stretches from Virginia's eastern shore to the southeast tip of Florida and as far west as central Texas. US Green tree frogs can be found as far north as Maryland and Delaware. Despite being considered monotypic, clinal variation of Hyla cinerea has been observed from Florida north along the Atlantic Coastal Plain as a possible result of strong selection and genetic drift.
Habitat
Green tree frogs are frequently found in small ponds, large lakes, marshes, and streams. They prefer habitats with plentiful floating vegetation, grasses, and cattails. One study suggested that, in an artificial hardwood forest setting, the abundance of Hyla cinerea is related to the openness of the forest canopy. The study noted that 88% of 331 individuals were found in areas of the forest where the canopy was open. The presence of green tree frogs in the open canopy areas was interpreted as a method for finding prey, which concentrate in sunny areas with dense ground vegetation.
Green Tree Frog housing
When housing green tree frogs the most important consideration is to ensure there’s enough height for the frog to be able to exhibit as close to its natural behavior as possible. A minimum height of 24inches is generally recommended as this will allow space to climb and perch above the floor level, generally the area in the wild where Hyla Cinera is most at risk from predation. Naturally, taller and larger is best but an enclosure size of 18 x 18 x 24inches would be adequate to house a small group. Be careful not to anthropomorphise your animals when deciding what’s best for them, green tree frogs are relatively inactive animals, preferring to sit still for hours and hours in the same spot waiting for prey and preserving energy. Naturally, they need space to move, hunt and exercise but careful consideration of the activity level of your animal should be taken into consideration.
The enclosure should be made of glass or any material capable of withstanding a relatively high level of humidity. Care should be taken with wooden vivaria as without appropriate steps to seal the wood it will become rotten and inappropriate for further use.
Green Tree Frog Decor
Tree branches, driftwood and vines all make great additions to the US green tree frog enclosure and give them nice places to climb and chill out away from the vivarium floor. These should be interspersed with various plants to create further hiding places to make your tree frogs feel safe and secure. Artificial plants are readily available but live plants are more attractive, create a natural appearance, help to increase the humidity within the enclosure and improve the air quality, something generally overlooked and of importance to enclosures where air circulation and ventilation are minimised due to the need to maintain high levels of humidity.
If using real plants there are several steps you need to take to ensure they are amphibian safe. Firstly, there are a number of plants that are toxic and should be readily avoided, always check the label if possible and if not find a way to ascertain if the plant is safe or not, the internet makes a great place to start your search. If unsure, stay on the side of caution, there are enough know safe plants to choose from. Shop purchased plants will most probably be fed with an artificial fertiliser and in some cases pesticides. These are deadly to amphibians as they’re porous skin will readily absorb these chemicals. Caution must be exercised when introducing any live plant so please take the following steps with plants you think may contain these chemicals. Remove all soil from around the roots, wash thoroughly under luke warm water, cold or hot water will shock your plant just like it would any animal, also take care to wash the leaves, as these will have been sprayed also. Replant in a fertiliser and pesticide free soil. Leave for at least a week for any chemicals to dissipate, they will still be present within the roots for a while. Ideally, as with any live animal, your enclosure should be up and running well before anything is added, including plants and any other decor, you need to be confident your temperature, humidity, lighting and any decor are all perfect.
Provide your green tree frog with a shallow water bowl for soaking. Either make your own or purchase one of the commonly available bowls on the market. The water must be dechlorinated, either leave it standing outside the enclosure for 24 hours or add decholrinator, available at most aquatic websites and shops.
Green tree frog (Hyla cinerea), image by cotinis
Temperature and humidity
Generally a temperature of around 22-26c is advisable for green tree frogs. All individuals are different however, according to geographic location and similar factors, keep an eye on your frog and monitor its behaviour. Inactive, not feeding, losing its colour? Temperature may well be a factor. Don’t rely 100% on care sheets; learn to understand what your frog is telling you.
Lighting is generally down to the individual but please make sure a day/night cycle is adhered to, so your green tree frog knows when to be up hunting and when to sleep. 12 hours on and 12 hours off is a good start, decreasing the daylight by an hour so in the winter and increasing by the same during summer, but this last step is not compulsory. Lighting levels do, however, affect your plants, generally any bulb in the 6500k (daylight) range is adequate to grow most commonly available plants. For any specialist or more sensitive plants, do your research, they will require care sheets all of their own. Obviously plastic or silk plants need no extra lighting!
The humidity requirements of your green tree frogs must naturally relate to what they experience in the wild. Stick to around 60-70% humidity and everything should be fine but as with your temperature levels; your frog’s health is the best guide. If the humidity is too low, your frog will be constantly in its water bowl, too high and it may begin to develop bacterial infections. You can raise humidity using a simple hand sprayer or invest in an elaborate, and expensive, misting system. Misting systems aren’t really necessary unless you have multiple enclosures, but everyone is different so it’s your decision. Please do purchase a digital hygrometer as they are far more reliable than the standard dials.
Feeding green tree frogs
Green tree frogs, Hyla cinerea, are insectivores and will happily consume anything they can fit in their mouth. Crickets, locusts and flies make a good staple. As with all live food, ensure they are appropriately gut loaded so as your frogs will receive all the nutrients their bodies need. Fresh veg, fruit and commercially available gut load formulas are perfect. It is also advisable to dust food with a powder which contains both calcium and d3. This is vital for bone structure and to prevent the development of metabolic bone disease, known as MBD. This occurs when access to Calcium and especially d3 is limited or nonexistent. If you decide to use UVB lighting in your enclosure the inclusion of d3 is not required, the frogs will utilise the calcium for d3 production by themselves.
Breeding green tree frogs
In their natural habitat of the green tree frog, breeding is decided by day length, temperature, and precipitation, usually engaging in breeding activity after rainfall. Males will start to call more frequently as temperature and day length increases. To attract mates, males use a distinct advertisement call which is noticeably different than release or warning calls. Once the male has attracted an appropriate mate they begin amplexus, with the male tightly grasping onto the female to bring their cloacal openings close together for fertilisation. Male green tree frogs generally try to mate with as many females as they can attract, but in the captive environment this is not always possible. Individual females may become stressed by constant male harassment, so add a few different females to ease the pressure. Breeding puts strain on the females body and they should be monitored closely during this period.
Clutch sizes can range up to 400 eggs with females sometimes only laying once in a season. This naturally depends on the individual female, as some will lay more than once. The breeding season is from March to September, hatching times are often around 5 or 6 days, but can range from 4 days up to two weeks.
To imitate the rainy season, you’ll need to contract some form of rain chamber. They’re very simple, a small level of water is added to the bottom of an enclosure and a small pump is places inside, this will lead through a standard return hose to the roof where an s shape pattern can me made complete with multiple holes for the “rain” to fall. This should be run for several times during the day to help initiate a breeding response.
Green tree frog (Hyla cinerea), image by Hunter-Desportes
I hope you enjoyed this read and good luck with your new green tree frog!
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