Red eyed tree frogs are nocturnal, arboreal animals. They sleep during the day high in the treetops and awake at night. Most red eyed tree frog activities involve mating and hunting for insects to eat. They spend a majority of time on the underside of leaves, their legs tucked tightly at their sides and their feet hidden beneath them.
Feeding
The red eyed tree frog can jump up to twenty times its length. This is how they move around the rainforest either to escape predators or to hunt for food. They are precise and stealth in their movements, sometimes sitting still until an insect comes close enough for the red eyed tree frog to quickly dart out its tongue and capture the prey.
Red eyed tree frog activities in captivity do not differ too much from that in the wild; they just have a limited amount of space in which to hunt for prey. You can observe the red eyed tree frog’s nighttime habits by placing a red bulb in a light source. The frog cannot see red, so the light will not disturb its usual behavior.
You can place a few crickets in the tank at feeding time and watch the frog capture and eat the insects. Given the red eyed tree frog’s excellent hunting skills, your green little friend will make quick work of the crickets.
Mating
Amon
g the nighttime red eyed tree frog activities is mating. The males sound a call to place dominance over other frogs and to attract a female that is ready to lay her eggs. The male then attaches to the female in order to fertilize her eggs.
As each clutch of eggs is released, the male fertilizes them and then the female drops to the water below to refill her bladder for the next clutch. The male stays attached to the female through this process, but sometimes another frog will knock him off and the female will return to the tree with a different male attached.
You can observe this most natural of red eyed tree frog activities if you have several frogs as pets. The key is to mimic the conditions of the rainforest that encourages mating. That is, you must create the right balance of a dry period prior to the rainy season. Humidity and temperature will have to be as it is in their natural habitat of the rainforest.
Red eyed tree frogs are amazing to watch. If you are fortunate enough to have several as pets, you can observe the red eyed tree frog activities each night as they awaken to hunt or mate. Much has been learned by observing them during their normal activity period.
