Species Profile & Temperament

Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Arboreal (Tree-dwelling). They require tall, vertical enclosures rather than long ones.
• Enclosure: A tall, front-opening glass terrarium with a screen top. Ask our staff to help you choose a size.
• Ventilation (CRITICAL): Do not keep them in a completely sealed, dripping wet box. Stagnant air causes rapid, fatal bacterial infections. Use an enclosure with screen ventilation.

Substrate & Bioactive Setup

• Recommended: A bioactive setup is highly recommended for all amphibians to manage waste and mold. Use a drainage layer (hydroballs), covered by a mesh barrier, topped with 3 inches of ABG mix (tree fern fiber, sphagnum moss, charcoal, and orchid bark).
• Clean-up Crew: Seed the soil with springtails and tropical isopods to eat mold and frog waste.

Décor & Enrichment

• Broad-Leaf Plants: These frogs sleep stuck to the underside of large leaves. You must provide broad-leafed live or fake plants. Pothos, Monstera, and Philodendron are excellent live choices.
• Branches: Provide horizontal branches, vines, and bamboo across the middle and top of the enclosure for nighttime hunting.

Heating & Lighting

Temperature Requirements

• Heating: They are very sensitive to heat. Too hot is more dangerous than a little too cool. If your house is cold, use a low-wattage heat mat stuck to the side (not the bottom) of the tank, or a low-wattage ceramic heat emitter, controlled by a thermostat.

Lighting & UVB

• UVB: While they are nocturnal, a very low-output UVB bulb (like the Arcadia ShadeDweller Arboreal) is optional (recommended but not mandatory). It must not heat the enclosure. Date the bulb and replace it when its label says.
• Light Cycle: 12 hours on, 12 hours off.

Humidity & Water

• Target Range: Ask our staff for the humidity range we keep ours at, and keep a hygrometer in the enclosure.
• Misting: Mist the enclosure thoroughly with a pressure sprayer 1 to 2 times a day (ideally in the morning and evening). Let the enclosure dry out a little between mistings to prevent mold and bacterial blooms.
• Water Quality (CRITICAL): Tap water contains chlorine and chloramines that will instantly burn and kill amphibians. Treat all dish water with a reptile water conditioner (like ReptiSafe). Never use plain tap water. Mist with RO or distilled water, but never use RO or distilled water alone in the dish.
• Water Bowl: Provide a shallow water dish. They cannot swim well; the water should only come up to their chin.

Diet & Nutrition

Red-Eyed Tree Frogs are insectivores and hunt purely by sight at night. If it doesn't move, they won't eat it.

Feeding Schedule

• Babies: Young frogs eat more often than adults. Ask our staff for a schedule.
• Adults: Feed in the evening and watch body shape. A thin frog needs more food, and a round one needs less.
• Size Rule: Insects should be no longer than the space between the frog's eyes.

Prey Items

• Staples: Gut-loaded crickets, small Dubia roaches.
• Avoid: Mealworms and superworms (their hard shells are difficult for tree frogs to digest).

Supplements

• Calcium: Dust insects with calcium at every feeding, using calcium with D3 at most feedings. Follow the powder label.
• Multivitamin: Dust with a reptile multivitamin about once a week, following its label.

What We Use & Recommend

These are products we use and recommend for this species. Stock varies by store, so ask us what we have in store today.

Last updated: 2026-08-04

How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply

• Beating Dry Oregon Furnace Air (and Summer Heat Spikes): Across the Willamette Valley and Portland Metro, running the house furnace all winter drops indoor humidity to 25–35%, which quickly causes dried-out skin and dehydration in screen-top tanks. To hold steady humidity with good ventilation for Red-Eyed Tree Frog, our crew uses a deep substrate bed (or our store-shelf 10-Part Bioactive Mix of ReptiSoil, Coco Fiber, Orchiata Bark, Sphagnum Moss, and Leaf Litter), a dedicated humid hide packed with damp sphagnum moss, and partial screen cover when needed.
• Thermostat & Linear UVB Standard: Every heat source in our Newberg and Gresham rooms runs on a thermostat, with a warm end and a cool end and lights on a 12-hour day/night timer. Too hot is more dangerous than a little too cool.
• Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, thermostats, UVB lighting, bioactive supplies, springtails, isopods and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.

Common Questions (FAQ)

What size tank does an adult Red-Eyed Tree Frog actually need?

An adult Red-Eyed Tree Frog needs a tall, front-opening glass terrarium with a screen top, broad leaves to sleep on, and a warm end and a cool end. Ask our staff to help you choose a size and for the temperature range we keep ours at.

How do I keep Red-Eyed Tree Frog humidity up during dry Oregon winters?

Oregon winter furnace heat dries out thin bedding fast. Use a deep moisture-retaining substrate mix (such as Zoo Med ReptiSoil blended with coco fiber, Orchiata bark, and sphagnum moss), provide an enclosed humid hide, and cover 50–70% of an open screen top with HVAC foil tape or a PVC panel if ambient humidity drops too low.

What is the best bioactive clean-up crew for a Red-Eyed Tree Frog?

Pair springtails with one isopod kind that likes a humid tank. We'll help you pick an isopod kind that suits your tank's climate, and pick one isopod kind per build. Our 1-Page or Tri-Fold Bioactive Substrate Recipe Guide covers the rest.

Where can I get Red-Eyed Tree Frog setup supplies, live feeders, and thermostats in Oregon?

Ask us what we have in store today at Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).