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The Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris)
The Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris) is not only a very intriguing creature but it has been found to have immense medical capabilities. In fact it has been discovered that the skin secretion of this frog species have been found to destroy the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) without harming healthy T-cells. It has been asserted that the peptides which destroy the virus are the same as those of the White Tree Frog but the Red-eyed Tree
Red Eye
Frog produces it in larger quantities.
This species of frog is associated with rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and woodland. The call is several long, moaning “aaa-rk”, followed by soft trills. Males call and breeding takes place mostly after rain in temporary ponds, roadside ditches, dams, ponds and creek offshoots where the water is not flowing.
The Red-eyed Tree Frog is a uniform bright green creature, occasionally with yellow spots, and bright yellow on the underside. The front side of the arms and legs are green, while the underside could be yellow or white. The thighs may be blue/purple to blue/black in colour in adults.
As their name states, they have bold red eyes with a gold colour at the centre. They have vertically narrowed noses. The tympanum is visible and a mature frog reaches a size of 65 millimetres. The tadpoles are generally grey or brown, and can have gold pigment along the side.
Males range from two to two and a half inches, while female range from two and a half to three inches on average. Young frogs are typically brown in colour and turn greener as they mature, although adult frogs can change their colour slightly depending on mood and environment. Red-eyed tree frogs have soft, fragile skin on their belly, and the skin on their back is thicker and rougher.
During the mating season, when rainfall is at its highest, males of the red-eyed tree frog call (“chack”) to get the attention of the female, who then carries him around on her back for up to several hours during the opposition process. The female chooses a leaf above a pond and lays her eggs, called a clutch. The eggs develop into small tadpoles, which hatch after several days and fall into the water below. Dragonflies, fish, and water beetles prey on the tadpoles. They remain in the water anywhere from three weeks to several months, until they metamorphose, or develop into frogs.
After full metamorphosis weeks later, the juveniles that survive the first few weeks crawl back into the undergrowth and security of plants in the vicinity of these pools, often in the hollows of tubular plants like bromeliads.
Juvenile specimens prey on very small flies and insects during the first months of their lives. The young mature after two years and begin mating at the age of three–four years. These tree-frogs are known to live as long as five–10 years (data from captive breeding programs), depending on the health and conditions of their habitat (i.e. abundant plant growth, plenty of fresh water and abundance of small and larger insects to prey on).
They are sometimes successfully bred in captivity if kept under adequate conditions in high-humidity vivaria (e.g. by using misting equipment), tropical plants like bromelia and other epiphyte plants, together with well-aerated water pools. Their captive habitat should have an 11-12-hour light cycle and an average day temperature of 26 to 28 degrees Celsius (with night-time averages of approximately 22 to 24 degrees Celsius).
Snakes, spiders, bats, and birds of the rainforest are predators of this frog species which is said to have three eyelids and sticky pads on their toes. In fact tree frogs are arboreal animals, meaning they spend a majority of their life in trees, which also makes them great jumpers.
These frogs are however not poisonous and rely on camouflage to protect themselves. During the day, they remain motionless, cover their blue sides with their back legs, tuck their bright feet under their belly, and shut their red eyes. Thus, they appear almost completely green, and well hidden among the foliage.
They eat crickets, moths, flies, and other insects, but have also been known to eat other small frogs. Their meals of choice are froglets, fruit flies and pinhead crickets.
(Source: Wikipedia – The Free Online Encyclopedia)
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