What Do Tree Frogs Eat? List Of Foods And Feeding Guide

We all know tree frogs as small frogs with sticky tongues and the great ability to climb trees.

They are also very popular pets, and many tree frog species can be kept comfortably in well-equipped tanks in your home. They don't take up much space and are great pets for kids.

When keeping a pet tree frog, make sure that you have a medium to large-sized cage or enclosure, which has sufficient floor space or climbing space- depending on the tree frog species.

Make sure that the tank has a damp, humid environment so that your frogs can absorb sufficient moisture through their skin, and a number of live plants as decoration.

Using driftwood and cork bark as ornamentation is also recommended.

Do not provide pools of water as tree frogs are not that great at swimming- instead, place shallow wading pools for your frog to submerge itself in without the fear of drowning.

A few species of tree frog may require special heating, however, this is not necessary for the American green tree frog - a very common species which can be found in parks and gardens. When taking care of your tree frog's health, make sure to take veterinary advice if anything seems off.

Common conditions such as ammonia poisoning can be treated effectively if caught early. Their health also depends greatly on their diet, which is why it is important to feed them well-balanced, pet store-bought insects only.

To learn more about a tree frog's diet, read on!

If you like this article, you may also enjoy our pages on what quails eat and what squid eat.

What do baby tree frogs eat?

Baby tree frogs actually have a quite different diet than adults do. As baby tree frogs are growing at a rapid rate, they have a very high metabolism. This means that they need to eat several times a day to keep up with it.

Frogs start out as tadpoles, which essentially are herbivores. They feed on plant matter like algae, moss, and duckweed.

Pet tadpoles can be fed fish flakes and algae wafers. After they transform into baby frogs, their diet will slowly transition from herbivorous to omnivorous. In the wild, they will eat plant matter such as leaves and roots, the larvae of mosquitos as well as various insects such as water striders, gnats, and ants.

When kept as pets, their diet will vary slightly, with more emphasis on meat. You can feed your pet baby frog a variety of insects such as fruit flies (remember to pluck off the wings first), bloodworms, brine shrimp, redworms, and pinhead crickets, as well as small mammals such as pinky mice.

What do tree frogs eat in captivity?

Tree frogs are omnivorous in nature. In the wild, they normally feed on a range of insects such as mosquitoes, crickets, locusts, slugs, ants, snails, and even small rodents! They are very adept at hunting, however, when kept as pets they do not need to do so.

A pet tree frog can be fed crickets for the bulk of its diet. These crickets should be gut-loaded at least a day before feeding them to your pet frogs (i.e.

fed with a high protein, nutritious diet) and can be dusted with multivitamin and calcium supplement powders a few times a week, to ensure proper nutrition is being provided.

Besides live crickets, they can also be fed moths, mealworms, fruit flies, and snails. To make sure that the frog food is small enough for your tree frog to swallow, make sure that it is smaller than the distance between the frog's eyes.

You should assess your feeding portions as well as the number of feeding times per day based on the size of your frog, and its species. They are likely to eat more food during summer and spring than in the winter months.

Smaller frogs can be fed every day, as their growing nature means that their metabolism is still pretty high. Adult frogs can be normally fed every other day, as well as daily if it seems like they are hungry.

Provide them with only three to four live insects per feeding, as giving them more may lead to them becoming obese. Tree frogs are opportunistic feeders, and most frogs can tend to gain weight if they are fed too much as they will keep eating after they are full.

If you notice your frog gaining weight at a steady rate, then cut back on the number of feedings or feed them less.

Feeding them live food is a good idea, as chasing these insects around the cage helps to provide them with some sort of exercise so that they stay lean and build up an appetite. All live prey can easily be obtained at a pet store, and large quantities often come at affordable rates.

Do not attempt to feed your pet frog insects caught from the wild, as they could contain parasites or other harmful bacteria which may affect your frog negatively.

For water, frogs absorb the humid air through their skin, so it is important to keep their cage airy and damp. Make sure to spray it with plain, dechlorinated water in order to maintain ideal conditions. They may drink any condensation which forms on the walls of the tank or dew drops from plants.

What do brown tree frogs eat?

Southern brown tree frogs are native amphibian species of Australia. Brown tree frogs are mainly found in swamps and wetlands, as well as in gardens and parks in the suburbs.

They prefer living in humid conditions. They are very adept hunters and catch their prey mid-flight by leaping into the air, after climbing into high positions in trees.

Using this hunting technique, they are able to feed on a number of airborne insect species such as flies, mosquitoes, and moths. For larger insects, however, they pounce onto their prey and push it into their mouths using their tiny hands.

Similar to other tree frog species, they are nocturnal in nature - hunting at night and resting during the day.

What do green tree frogs eat?

Green tree frogs are mainly found in the United States and in Australia, with both populations being separate species. Many tree frogs species also live in the Amazon rainforests of South and Central America.

Most tree frogs use their sticky toe pads to climb up the trunks of trees, where they stay on the lookout for prey. Once they catch sight of a choice morsel, they either leap into the air or use their long, sticky tongues to trap the insect and bring it back to their mouths.

Most tree frogs are nocturnal, with them fulfilling all their hunting and feeding needs at night. Though rare, tree frogs have been observed to hunt during the day when they are really hungry.

The American green tree frog is a usual garden visitor, with its diet focusing on insects. It was observed that these tree frogs hunt for their prey depending on their activity level rather than their size.

More active prey is preferred rather than slow-moving insects which go unnoticed most of the time. The typical diet of an adult frog consists of crickets, flies, and mosquitoes. This makes them quite useful in the suburbs, where these insects are considered pests.

The most popular species of Amazon tree frog, the red-eyed tree frog, follows a similar carnivorous diet as well. The variety of insects that tree frogs eat in the rainforest ranges from crickets, moths, and grasshoppers to flies and beetles. Tadpoles here are omnivorous in nature, feeding on tiny pinhead crickets and fruit flies.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what tree frogs eat then why not take a look at what poison dart frogs eat or tree frogs facts.