Green Tree Frog

This page is educational reference material for preparing questions. A licensed veterinarian examines the animal, makes the diagnosis, and sets the treatment.

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Read the size before you trust the common name

Shops say "green tree frog" and mean at least two animals. This page uses the numbers on its own card: 1.5 to 2.5 inches, 6 to 10 years, 72 to 80°F, humidity 50 to 70 percent, a tall 18 by 18 by 24 inch enclosure, beginner care, insects, vocal and active at night. Those figures belong to the American green tree frog, Dryophytes cinereus, from the southeastern United States. They do not belong to White's tree frog, which is larger, heavier, and often alive at 16. If your frog is a handful of frog with sleepy eyes, you want the White's page.

A simple vertical night shift

Give cinereus branches, a plant, and a clean soak dish. Mist so droplets form, then let the tank exhale. They drink from surfaces more than from a deep bowl, and they still need the bowl. Daytime sticking to the glass under a leaf is rest. The action, and the noise, starts after dark. Feed insects then, small enough that a 2-inch frog is not wrestling a camel cricket. Calcium dust on most feedings keeps the bones from going soft.

Beginner is reasonable. Handling is not the hobby. Their skin is thin, and the fun of this species is the call and the bright green on the glass, not a frog that sits in a palm.

When the night routine stops

A frog that ignores food for several nights, changes from smooth green to dull and spotted with sores, or cannot grip deserves a clinic rather than a new lamp. ARAV is where those clinics are listed. While you look, the checker and the not-eating notes keep the decision from being a guess. This shorter card does not invent a price. A captive juvenile is usually inexpensive next to the vertical tank.

Green tree frog questions

Which green tree frog is this?

Dryophytes cinereus, the American green tree frog. The quick facts list 1.5 to 2.5 inches and a lifespan of 6 to 10 years. White's tree frogs are a different, larger, longer-lived species.

Do green tree frogs need a tall tank?

Yes. Plan on something like 18 by 18 by 24 inches so they can climb. Floor space without height wastes the animal you bought.

Will they call?

Males will, mostly at night. If sleep matters in that room, put the vivarium somewhere else.

What should they eat?

Insects: crickets and other small prey, dusted with calcium. The one-word diet line in the quick facts is insects, and pinhead or small crickets are the practical version.