Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) is an arboreal (movement in trees) species that inhabits rainforests. These frogs are very good jumpers, have sticky toe pads and blend perfectly in green foliage.
The red-eyed tree frog has bright green body with large red eyes that usually bulge out. Inside the eyes, there are thin vertical pupils. The color of its toe pads is reddish-orange. The body is soft from below while it’s thicker from above. The sides are yellow-and-blue and have vertical lines.
The red-eyed tree frogs have lifespan of 5 years.
These frogs reach maturity at the age of 2 years but do not mate until 3 to 4 years. In order to search for a mating partner, the male red-eyed tree frogs jiggle the tree branches. However, during heavy rains, it makes a “chack” mating call to the female.
A female
red-eyed tree frog lays a clutch size of 40 eggs. The eggs are hatched after 1 week. The tadpoles are developed (metamorphosed) into froglets in more than 3 weeks.
They are widely distributed from Mexico to northern areas of Colombia as well as Central America and northern regions of South America.
These frogs occupy habitats of lakes and lowlands in tropical rainforests.
Like most frogs, the red-eyed green frogs are also insectivores. They usually feed on moths, young crickets and flies.
The predators for the tadpoles of these frogs are beetles, fish and dragonflies. As it senses any danger, it pops its red eyes swiftly which in turn may unsettle the predator for a while and the frog runs off. In daytime, it is almost invisible in leaf-bottoms because it does not open its eyes and tucks its orange-colored webbed feet under the bellies.
