If you are thinking about owning a red-eyed tree frog as a pet, then you must understand what they will need from you to survive. First and foremost, this means that you must understand what they need to eat to stay happy and healthy.
These types of tree frogs love to eat insects, think crickets, moths, flies, grasshoppers. They will also eat smaller frogs, as they are carnivorous animals, but most red-eyed tree frog owners do not feed frogs to their pets.
The Diet of the Red-Eyed Tree Frog
Insectivores
This species is mainly insectivores, so they love to eat bugs and insects. One of the great parts about the diet of these frogs is that you can feed them almost any type of insect.
Say that a fly is buzzing around your apartment or kitchen, you could capture that fly and pop it into your frog’s enclosure. The frog may or may not eat it, depending on whether it can catch it or if it likes it. Red-eyed tree frogs are great eaters.
Healthy Red-Eyed Tree Frog Diet
A healthy red-eyed tree frog should have a balanced diet that consists of a variety of different foods. For example, even though you might be feeding your frog crickets and other insects, you should make sure that there is plenty of greenery in their enclosure and different insects for them to eat.
Red-eyed tree frogs do like to have a variety in their meals, so make sure that you are switching it up enough for their taste. Besides giving them more excitement in their day to day meals, different insects have different nutrition. The variety in food helps your tree frog get all of the necessary nutrients that they need!
Red-eyed tree frogs are not poisonous, which means that you do not have to worry about if the foods you give them will cause them to produce venom.
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Red-Eyed Tree Frog Tadpole Diet
When red-eyed tree frogs are babies, they are tadpoles just like all other frogs. In this early stage of their life, they are unable to catch and consume bigger prey. They must focus on catching prey that they can fit into their tiny bodies.
Red-eyed tree frog tadpoles love to eat pinhead crickets as well as small flies, such as fruit flies. Make sure that you are providing enough fruit flies or pinhead crickets so that the tadpole is sure to be able to eat enough. If your tadpole is struggling to get enough food, then they will have a much harder time trying to grow.
If your tadpole does not get enough energy or nutrients, they might not be able to reach fully-fledged adulthood.
However, most places where you can purchase red-eyed tree frogs as pets sell them as adults, so you do not have to worry about raising and taking care of a tadpole by yourself. Rearing tadpoles is a tricky job, especially for someone who is not an expert in red-eyed tree frogs or exotic animals in general.
Where to Find Insects to Feed to Your Frog
Most common pet stores sell crickets and mealworms, but finding grasshoppers or moths might take a bit more time to locate. As stated earlier, house flies can be fed to your red-eyed tree frog, but do note that sometimes they might not eat them, as house flies can sometimes be too large.
If you catch a moth, fly, grasshopper, or any other insects, you can typically feed them to your red-eyed tree frog. Sometimes they may turn away from the insects you give them, but that might be because they 1) do not like that insect, 2) they are not hungry, or 3) the bug is too big for their tiny bodies.
Feeding Your Frog Other Frogs
Most red-eyed tree frog owners do not feed their frogs other smaller frogs. However, there are always exceptions. That is not common because red-eyed tree frogs only eat smaller frogs occasionally, and pet owners often struggle with the ethics and morality of feeding their frog another frog.
That said, you can probably find smaller frogs to feed to you red-eyed tree frogs at select exotic pet stores that sell frogs as food for other animals.
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When Your Red-Eyed Tree Frog Will Not Eat
If your red-eyed tree frog is not eating, something may be wrong with it. If your pet does not eat for far longer than usual, you should bring it to see a vet.
If your pet will not eat when you provide it food, it could also be full from the last meal it had. That is not a reason to take it to see the vet. Only take your red-eyed tree frog to see a medical vet if it refuses to eat for an extended amount of time that is uncharacteristically long.
Overall, red-eyed tree frogs eat most insects and can be a great way to get rid of any flies or bugs that you might catch in your garden or your house.
