Everything You Need To Know About Red Eyed Tree Frogs
Introduction – Frogs
Colorful shiny, slick, and small
Leaping from branch to branch
Quiet as a mouse, quick as a fly
Graceful and elegant
Croaking during the night
Nocturnal and shy
Is called the Red eyed tree frog.
You see a set of red glowing slits. You jump back in total alarm, having seen them on a leaf. Then you see it move, and you realize it is a red eyed tree frog. They are amazing majestic creatures. You might think of them as poisonous animals that could strike at any moment, but if you don’t strike first, they will leave you all alone. They are found in the wet and humid climate of southern Mexico and southern North America. You might still think these creatures are creepy, but there’s always more than what meets the eye.
Chapter 1
3,2,1, Action!
Red eyed tree frogs are amazing amphibians. Their scientific name is Agalychnis Callidryas.They are usually found in hot humid rainforests.
Have you ever wondered how they lay their eggs, hunt for food and how they stay safe? These behaviors help them survive in their environment. During the day, the red eyed tree frogs lounge on the bottom of leaves and jump to life at night.
You should Be Sleeping!
Red eyed tree frogs are nocturnal animals, so they hunt at night when less predators are lurking around. Red eyed tree frogs have big bright red eyes that help them see better in the dark, wet, rainforest. They still have to be careful to not become another predator’s meal! Their bright red eyes can scare or confuse the predator for enough time to make a run for it.
What’s That I Hear?
Red eyed tree frogs make a croaking noise that sounds like “ Guck, Gluck, Gluck!” They do this to communicate with each other in the morning when they wake up.They also croak to attract a mate, or to warn others if there is a predator lurking in the midst of the rainforest. They also croke to find out where to lay their eggs.
That’s Gotta Hurt!
Red eyed tree frogs have another defense mechanism which is painfully poisonous! Red eyed tree frogs have pores in their skin that release the poison from their body. They only use it when they are being threatened by a predator and need to stay safe. Their vibrant colored skin will usually warn a predator to stay away, but there’s always a hungry predator that won’t notice…
Plop, Plop Plop!
A mother red eyed tree frog will lay her eggs on the bottom of a leaf above a pond. She lays them under a leaf so a predator won’t see them. When the eggs finally hatch, after 5 to 11 days, they fall into the water, ready to start a new life. The mother will leave her eggs after they hatch so they are all alone. She will lay up to 60 eggs at a time! Then the baby red eyed tree frogs will have to learn how to find food, and make sure they don’t become food for another animal.
Looks Like You Changed!
Red eyed tree frogs go through metamorphosis which is the change that starts from an egg and goes to adulthood. If they don’t go through metamorphosis, they won’t be able to reproduce and have eggs of their own. After they finish complete metamorphosis, which takes a full three weeks (they are slow pokes!), they hop out of the pond they’re currently living in and start to find a new life in the rainforest.
Chapter 2
Looking Good!
The red eyed tree frog is escaping the deadly boa. Only standing at 2.75 inches long, it stretches its long legs out for a giant leap. It grips the leaf with all its strength and launches itself off the leaf onto another tree to safety. The red eyed tree frog uses all these physical adaptations to help it survive in its amazing environment.
Hide & Seek
Red eyed tree frogs have a special feature that not many amphibians have, which is camouflage. This is a very important mechanism when you are in the wild so you can hide and stay safe when you are wandering around. Camouflage is useful if you use it correctly. When a red eyed tree frog has to find a home, it needs to make sure its camouflage somewhat matches its environment.
Bling, Bling
A red eyed tree frog has very slick and shiny skin. It is very colorful to warn predators it is poisonous. Their skin is important in many ways. One way is the red eyed tree frog has pores in its skin that let out the poison. Another way their skin helps them is they breathe through their skin when they are tadpoles. Their skin also is helpful for camouflage so they can blend in with their surroundings. They also have a very thin layer of skin covering their eyes like a mask. The skin makes their eyes a vibrant shade of crimson red.
Sticky Feet
Another adaptation the red eyed tree frog uses is its sticky feet. They use these adaptations in many ways. Their feet are sticky because of a special type of goo called mucus on their feet that makes them stick to the leaves without struggling. It’s very useful if you want to escape a predator quickly in very little time. They can also use them to just get around.
Daddy Long Leg
Red eyed tree frogs also have another adaptation, which is their long legs.They have long strong legs that help them jump and leap from tree to tree with ease in the rainforest. When they feel threatened, they can use their band-like legs and hop to another safer branch. Their legs may look short when they are sitting, but when they stretch out their legs at full length they will be a lot longer!
You Got Some Big Eyes!!!
Imagine, you are in a dark rainforest, all of a sudden you see a set of bright red glowing eyes. Those are the eyes of the red eyed tree frog! They have big eyes that help them in many ways, one way is since they are nocturnal, they need bigger eyes to see in the dark. They also need their eyes because they use their eyes to scare away a predator or confuse them. Next time you see some red eyes look again.
You Got a Long Tongue!
Red eyed tree frogs also have another adaptation, their long tongue. They use it in many different ways. The first thing they might use it for is to catch food. The red eyed tree frog might not want to get close to the prey, so it shoots out its tongue to snatch the meal into its mouth. Another way it might use its tongue to drink water in the pond.
Where Are You?
Red eyed tree frogs have an advantage by having a tiny body. They are only 2.75 inches long, so they can easily hide amongst the leaves of the rainforest. There are some downsides too, like if there’s a hungry predator, the red eyed tree frog looks like a great afternoon snack.
Chapter 3
Where Do You Live?
Did you know that red eyed tree frogs live in the rainforest biome? They are built for their environment. If you put them in the savanna biome it would be like putting us in Antarctica without a coat, gloves and a hat! Their environment is wet, humid and has a lot of precipitation. They are found in southern Mexico, Central America and South America.
What’s The Weather
Red eyed tree frogs live in the lowland tropical rainforest. The rain forest has high humidity and warm days and nights, and the red eyed tree frogs usually live near a river. The red eyed tree frog’s environment is very plentiful for a little frog. There also is a lot of flora, or plants, like trees and flowers. There is also a lot of fauna,or animals like moths, spiders, bugs, bats, monkeys, sloths, and red eyed tree frogs. They have an amazing and peculiar environment that scientists every day are working to study and keep safe. Maybe that scientist will be you one day.
Chapter 4
What’s On The Menu?
Have you ever wondered what the red eyed tree frog eats? They have a unique and interesting food web. They eat a lot of fauna or animals. Red eyed tree frogs are carnivores, which means they eat meat, so they don’t eat any flora or plants. They only eat plants when they are immature.
What’s For Lunch?
When a red eyed tree frog is immature, it only eats small insects and algae. When it is an adult, it eats mosquitoes, moths, small grasshoppers, beetles and even small frogs! Since they are only 2.75 inches long, one moth is a lot of food.
Where’s My Chef?
A red eyed tree frog is a secondary consumer (they are second behind the apex predator on the food web) but they still have to be careful when they are wandering around. They have to hunt for themselves so they have to have many adaptations that help them get food. One adaptation is their quick reflexes so they can escape quickly and quietly.
What Eats It?
Many animals eat red eyed tree frogs. To a predator, a red eyed tree frog is a quick and easy snack. Snakes and jaguars eat adult red eyed tree frogs. When they are immature, they are hunted by birds and big fish. Another thing that helps the red eyed tree frog escape or hide is their camouflage. Their camouflage helps them blend in with their surroundings.
Chapter 5
The Cycle of Life
Like many animals, red eyed tree frogs go through metamorphosis. The first stage of their life cycle is being an egg. The egg stays on the bottom of a leaf above a pond. They hatch after 5 to11 days. The mother will leave her babies after they hatch. She will lay up to 60 eggs! The next stage is tadpole. When the red eyed tree frog is a newly hatched tadpole, it might eat algae and small insects while in the pond. Then, through the process of metamorphosis, the tadpoles start to lose their tail, and they lose their gills and grow lungs. The next stage is froglet. They by now only have a stub as a tail, and start looking more like a red eyed tree frog. Then the last stage is adulthood. By now, they have finished their metamorphosis.
What Happens After?
After the red eyed tree frog goes through complete metamorphosis, which takes 3 weeks, they have to find a mate and then have babies, so the cycle can start again. After the mom leaves her babies,she joins a group of red eyed tree frogs called an army. The baby red eyed tree frog has to start a new life by itself. Then they are alone, they are just fine. They neocell up in their leaf, for the night they are just fine.
Chapter 6
What’s Going To Happen?
Many animals hunt red eyed tree frogs. They are not endangered but are losing their habitat at an alarming rate causing them to have to find a new habitat. They also are also suffering from pollution and climate change.
Pollution Problems
Pollution causes many problems. When humans go on rainforest tours, they might litter or drop something like a plastic bottle that could harm the red eyed tree frog. The red eyed tree frog might end up eating the item and end up dying or getting poisoned. Another problem it might cause is the red eyed tree frog also might end up getting cut by glass or plastic and get a cut or lose a body part. Since they are in the wild, they have nothing to help them cure the injury. The pollution also might get into their food and make it dirty so they won’t be able to eat it and will starve.
If nothing is done, they are done too.
Deforestation
Red eyed tree frogs also suffer from deforestation. Humans and red eyed tree frogs need the rainforest for different things. For a human, a big rainforest is a nice place to cut down trees for their home and a store, but red eyed tree frogs and many other animals depend on the things humans take, in this case, wood. They need it to lay their eggs on, sleep on and to climb on. People are working on making reserved rainforests for that reason so they don’t lose their home.
If nothing is done, they are done too.
Climate Change
There is one last thing that is affecting this little frog, which is climate change. Us humans are polluting the air which speeds up climate change. If they lose their habitat, where would they go? They are adapted to their current climate, so they would not be able to survive if they lost their habitat.
If nothing is done, they are done too.
What Can You Do?
Now that you have learned all the problems we cause, you should learn how to fix them. One way we can help is instead of just throwing things away, recycle them. We can also stop littering so they won’t end up eating trash and getting hurt and end up dying. People are doing everything they can to help these majestic animals. People are making reserved rain- forests so we can’t cut down trees. Scientists are trying to slow down climate change. For this to stop, we all need to do our part. Think, maybe that next scientist will be you.
Conclusion
What will happen to the spectacular animals in 20 years time? Will today be more related or will they be wiped off the face of the Earth forever? No one knows, but we can do things to help them. It is always worth doing something if it’s for the better. Humans are overpowering the animal population.nnIf we don’t help, or do anything at all, all of those animals that depend on the stuff we are taking will soon disappear. The red eyed tree frog needs the things we are taking them. “In some places in the world, certain kinds of tree frogs are already extinct.”( tricky tree frogs pg. 22) If you believe and achieve, which is the first step to saving the red-eyed tree frog’s history.
Red eyed tree frog poem
Now that you know, that that they may go,
Don’t despair,so do things with care
When you next see, that little frog
Clean up their bog and maybe,
just maybe your care will cause something for that little frog.
Glossary
Tadpole- a young frog
Froglet- a frog that is almost done metamorphosis
Climate change- the temperature change in a place usually caused by fossil fuels
Deforestation-humans cutting to many trees at a time
Pollution- humans littering
Habitat- An area that an animal lives in
Adaptations- something that helps an animal survive in its environment
Threatened- an animal that is close to extinction
Mucos- A special goo that help it climb and cling to trees
Camouflage- When an animal’s skin matches its environment
Nocturnal- when an animal is active at night
Work cited
Weir, Diana. Tree frogs. Creative Education., 1999.
Lunis, Natalie. Tricky tree frogs. Bearport., 2017.
Cowley ,Joy. Red eyed tree frogs. Scholastics., 1999.
Golkar, Golriz. Red eyed tree frogs. Abdopublishing.com., 2019