Agalychnis callidryas

The red-eyed leaf tree frog

The red-eye leaf frog is one fo the most popular frogs in the terrariums worldwide and the most recognised one for its vibrant colours: the bright-green main body colour with light-blue wide stripes on the sides and the paper-white stomach. It is also one of those frogs, able of changing its body colour to match the environment! However, the main favoured feature for the collectors and keepers are the bright red eyes of the frogs and they earned the name through that aspect. Also, these frogs are know for their ability of really long jumps (up to 2-2.5 m!).

Background information

This frog species is not very difficult to keep at home, following the rules I discuss below. Agalychnises are nocturnal animals, meaning that you will not see them move during the daytime at all and only during the evening they will start waking up and hunt. These frogs are really interesting to observe during the evening as they change their main skin colour from the bright-green to a dark-vinous/maroon colour with tiny white spots on the back. This allows the frogs to stay less visible when attacking their prey. Red-eyed leaf tree frogs, originating from Honduras, are a great choice for both the advanced amphibian keeper and the beginner. The female frogs are usually larger (approximately 8 cm in length) than the male ones (6 cm). 

Terrarium

When keeping the tree frogs, one should consider purchasing a vertical tank as these frogs are not terrestrial and usually live in the tropical trees and other plants in Central America (obviously). If keeping juvenile species, not bigger than 2.5–3 cm long, you can have a 45*25*25 cm (minimum) (height*width*depth) terrarium. If your frogs are grown, you will need to change it to a 60*35*35 cm terrarium. 

When decorating the terrarium, remember, that your frogs will use all of the equipment you install as hiding and sleeping areas. Your Agalychnises will thank you, if you decide to plant them one of the following plants: Bromelia, Philodendron, Spathiphyllum and Epipremnum are the only ones I can name now. These plants have wide, lasting leaves, which are firm enough to hold the weight of your frogs. If you decide to plant something else, consult a zoologist, as some plants release toxic compounds onto their leaves, which will end lethally for your amphibian friends. 

If you decide to add smaller branches, the width of them should not be smaller, that the width of your frogs.

I just planted a small bromelia plant. I like it, because it matches the colours of the frogs and you can still see the frogs during the daytime, even though they are asleep.

Besides for the humid substrate, described in the next section, these amphibians should always have access to separate water source. I am talking about a small water bowl (ALWAYS REMEMBER: not smaller than the size of the frog). The water in it should be refreshed regularly and should always be fresh. Also, make sure it contains minimum Magnesium (as it causes loss of appetite and muscle weakness) and no Chlorine (Chlorine causes serious damage to their digestive system).

Try to refresh the water every 1-2 days and clean the water bowl every 4-5, as these frogs have the habit of defecate in the water. 

Humidity, Substrate & Ventilation

One of the main points, and one of the most challenging ones, in keeping these frogs is maintaining a stable humidity level. In order to keep the humidity at the needed 55 - 65% one must spray the substrate and the decorations with lukewarm water every second day and the substrate must not be dry at any point. On the other hand, you shall not allow the substrate to be soggy, otherwise you are risking the growth of bacteria and mould.

Do not allow the humidity level to cross 45% or 85%. The best way to control it is by installing a hydrometer (digital hydrometers are more accurate).

The most appropriate substrates are sphagnum moss and coconut flakes. However, if you rather prefer easy cleaning than decorations, wet kitchen towels will work, though they will need to be changed every third day.

Ventilation is a very significant aspect when keeping amphibians and the red-eyed tree frogs are no exception. Some people purchase the wrong terrariums or make an error when making the ventilation slots in the tanks, which makes it difficult to maintain the humidity and temperature at the appropriate levels. When considering to keep a frog, keep in mind that they all require good ventilation. 

Back to the red-eyes: if you are facing the problem of air stagnation or just low air circulation level in your frog’s terrarium, I would recommend you to install a small PC ventilator in the terrarium’s top ventilation slot, allowing new fresh air to flow in the tank. 

Temperature

Luckily, the temperature gradient is very easy to maintain as it is 24 – 30 ºC, so all you will need is a heating pad in one of the bottom corners of the terrarium. Though, if you decide to plant decorations and flowers, the heat will damage the plants, therefore, I would recommend to install a heating cable on the back of the of the walls of the terrarium. If you choose this option, you will also have to attach a thicker layer of glass, polished polyamide or styrofoam (you can decorate it) for the frogs to avoid burns from the glass wall they sit on. Otherwise, the average room temperature varies between 22–25, so basically, if your room if this warm, you do not need any external heating source.

Light

These frogs do not need any special light sources. What they do need is determined daytime and nighttime. This will help your frogs with their biorhythm and hunting abilities. Fluorescent lamps can serve as a good “daylight simulator”.

Feeding

Here it gets a little complicated, because these frogs (almost) never eat dead food. Also, they do not eat from the ground. Hence, their prey needs to be able to crawl on walls, plants and decorations. I would recommend to feed your red-eyed leaf frogs small crickets, when young, and roaches, when older, because roaches can literally “chew their way out” of the frog’s body, if not killed, but just swallowed. Grown frogs have quite powerful jaws, which allows them to kill the insect. The size of their food shall not exceed the size of their palm of their front legs (very specific, I know, but that it the perfect way to measure it!). Every second to third time you feed your green jumping amphibians, place and shake the insects in a small container with Calcium powder (needed for their bones and jumping) and either special multivitamins for reptiles and amphibians or just Vitamin D3.

Breeding

I do not know much about breeding and it is not much about keeping anymore, however, I have learned the basics about how to make them make babies! If you are interested, please email me or ask a question below.

Extra information

When buying your decorations, remember, that you will not be able to show off your pets to anyone (unless you pick the amphibian up), if your frog is hiding in a closed-for-view plant or ‘cave’. 

When planting the flowers, create a mixture of approximately 40% decorative flower soil and 60% coconut flakes for the substrate. Or, if to make it easier to keep and clean, plant them in a separate flowerpot.

When using tree cork and branches for decorations, make sure they have NO (!) sharp edges.

Keep in mind: the higher the temperature is, the better the ventilation should be and the lower the humidity is.

Lastly, do not make your frog try to bite you. It WILL bite you and you WILL regret it :)

Thank you

More pictures, as requested:

Snails

Keeping snails at home

For some people snails are the prime choice as pets. But what makes them so popular? Well, this animal does not require everyday walks, it doesn't make any noises, it does not smell, it does not cause any allergies, they are very easy to take care of, especially in terms of feeding, it does not require much space, it doesn't bite, it doesn't scratch, you can take this pet with you on the holiday or leave it at home  for a very long time without feeding. Today I will describe the conditions of keeping two snail species: Limicolaria flammea and Achatina fulica albino.

Limicolaria flammea

These snails are very common in the collections on snail keepers. They are very common, easy to breed and give a good understanding of how to keep snails at home. They originate from the tropical island of Singapore and are the easiest snails to keep at home.Background InformationThe main colours are light-beige to pale yellow with light-brown to brown helical lines on the shell. The snail itself usually differs in colours as well: the colours may vary from dark-brown to paper-white. The unicolour morph is usually light-beige to paper white without any patterns on the shell.The size of a grown species is up to 8 cm. These snail are considered full-grown at 9 month and are already ready to reproduce at that stage. *Will talk about breeding later on.

Achatina fulica (albino)

This species of snails is known as one of the largest snails on our planet. The length of the shell can exceed 25 cm and the overall length can get up to 35-40 cm. These snails originate from the middle areas of the African continent.Background InformationThe colours of the shells vary from light maroon to dark-nut brown. The body colour does not vary greatly from grey-beige. Albino morphs are common as well. The colours vary from light-yellow lemon to paper-white and the body colour usually matches the colour of the shell (unicolour).

Terrarium & Light

The tank for keeping a couple of grown snails of this species should not be smaller than 30*30*15 (width*depth*height). The tank does not to be a terrarium. It could as well be any plastic box from your local hardware store. But try not to use a tank too big, as you might lose your gastropod pet and it would become difficult to maintain the needed humidity on a larger area. However, make sure (THIS is very important!) that you provide good ventilation in the tank in order to prevent stagnation. If you ignore my tip, your snails will die because of the bacteria and parasites, growing in the food because of the high humidity.For a pair of larger snails, such as the Achatina fulica, I would recommend a tank of 45*45*30.The snails do not require any special light and can live in complete darkness. However, they still need a heat-source. I would recommend to use a thermal cable or a heating pad in one part of the tank. The other part should stay more humid and chill. And do not use heating stones, as they will harm your snails. You do not have to use a water bowl in the tank, though, if you do, you will need to refresh the water at least once per 3 days.

Substrate & Feeding

I combined these two aspects as for snails (almost) everything in their living area they consider food, even the substrate. As for the substrate I would strongly recommend to use coconut flakes, which are usually sold in compact bricks, as it is affordable, easy to clean and for some snails even works as a secondary/tertiary food source. If you decide to use coconut-flakes, the snails will use it for laying their eggs when breeding or hibernation. The recommended layer of substrate should be approximately 8-10 cm deep, so it would completely cover the snails when they are hiding. You could also consider using polished gravel with a thin layer of water covering the surface of the stones. If that is your choice, you will have two install a water filter for aquariums or refresh the water every second day. The water level should not exceed 1-1.5 cm in depth, otherwise your snails might drown. Other options for substrate include coconut-chips and sphagnum-moss. The negative aspects of these two variants, as well as the gravel option, are that snails will not be able to go “under the ground” and would feel unprotected.You will of course need to feed your snails and their diet varies greatly. However, I prefer to feed my snails mostly fruits and vegetables. Salads, apples, cabbages, grapes, tomatoes (the favourite meal of my snails), cucumbers, basically anything cut and chopped into smaller bits. However, there is one detail you should consider about their feeding. Snails must have source of calcium. The way you can provide calcium is to buy calcium powder in your local pet store or go the “natural” way, crushing the egg-shells into tiny pieces of 0.5-1 mm. You can either add the calcium to the food or place a separate bowl. As an alternative secondary feeding source, especially relevant when leaving the snail without feeding for over a month, you could place a piece of wood (cork, branch) in the tank. But make sure you disinfect the item before adding it to your snail by either placing it in the oven for 20 minutes at 220ºC or boiling it in hot water for 8-10 minutes. And, please, never use alcohol or other disinfecting substances in this situation.You could also try growing oat sprouts by changing the substrate to 60-70% soil for decorative plants and 30-40% (respectively) of the current substrate. Usually the plant shoots disappear as soon as they appear on the surface of the ground. Snails love it and it is completely natural as well.

Temperature & Humidity

These two factors you should be careful with. I have made several mistakes with keeping the right levels of temperature and humidity which did not always end well. As for the temperature I have already mentioned the fact, that an alternate heating source would help keep the level constant. In the ‘warm’ corner the temperature should not exceed 30ºC. The humidity in that corner would thereafter be lower, than in the ‘cold’ corner, where the humidity should be 70-90% and temperature of minimum 19ºC. The normal temperatures vary, however I keep my snails at 21ºC(‘cold’ corner)–26ºC(‘warm’ corner). You can maintain the temperature by spraying lukewarm water mostly in the ‘cold’ corner.However, going back to the part, where I discussed good ventilation, if that is not provided mold could start growing and your naive hungry snails would start eating it. That could not only cause various diseases, but stagnation of the humid air could be lethal for your mollusks.What would happen if the humidity is too low? Usually substrate takes long to dry out completely and this process forces the snails to prepare for hibernation. Snails can hibernate without any food source up to 1.5 year, however, I would not risk it and would just allow them to hibernate no longer than 2-3 month if needed. 

Breeding

If you follow all of the instructions above and you have a pleasant environment for your snails you might start seeing random egg clutches popping up in different areas of your snail terrarium. As most snails are hermaphrodites, including the species Limicolaria flammea and Achatina fulica albino, they are able to reproduce no matter what sex they are. Limicolaria flammea are able of reproduction at the age of 9 month, Achatina fulica albino– 11-13 month.Although, you might be thinking that you will not have eggs as you only have your one snail, you are wrong by all means. If the conditions are good, the snail can reproduce without the presence of another specimen.But be careful with breeding as reproduction of snails of same brood and crossing over of alleles might cause severe mutation problems of the offspring.If we go back to the subject of feeding snails calcium, parent snails might start eating their own offspring, as it is a great source of calcium and the parent snails have a deficiency of calcium in their bodies after giving birth to 20-40 eggs. Extra informationEven though snails are very easy to keep, some basic rules should be followed as they are still live creatures and are sensitive to such factors, as humidity and temperature.I hope I have covered everything and I do not have anything to add. If you have any questions, please write me on my email or post your response in the comment section below.