Home | Livestock | Shop | Care Sheets | Feeding | Health | Articles | Q&A | Gallery | Events Diary | Guest Book | Links | Forum

Care Sheet: Mexican Masked Treefrog (Smilisca baudinii)

Common Name: Masked Tree Frog, Mexican Tree Frog.

Scientific Name: Smilisca baudinii.

Distribution: Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Size: The females of this species often attain a Snout-to-vent length of up to 8cm, the males usually slightly smaller reaching 5.5cm.

Sexing: A sure sign of a male is if it can be heard calling, the males also develop nuptial pads on the inside of the thumbs during the breeding season. Females tend to be larger and have more truncated snouts and a rounder body shape.

Colouration: The dorsal surface can be a golden-green or grey-brown with irregular darker markings, a dark band runs from the snout and finishes above the forelimbs giving the name of the Masked Tree Frog.

Requirements: Being a rather active but secretive species they require quite a spacious terrarium. A 20-gallon tank would be ideal for a pair of adults. They require a tropical woodland type set up with a substrate of either bark chips or topsoil covered with a layer of live moss. The tank can be furnished with a selection of logs, cork bark, and sturdy leafed live plants. These items should be arranged in such a way that they provide a number of climbing, perching and hiding areas for the frogs. A medium sized water bowl (no deeper than the frog's height at rest) should be provided with clean de-chlorinated or spring water which will need changing daily so as to avoid the risk of ammonia and bacteria building up in the water. The enclosure will need to be heated to a daytime temperature of 26-28°C with a drop at night to 20-22°C. This can be done using an under tank heat-mat controlled by a thermostat. Spot bulbs / heat lamps are not recommended for use with amphibians and so a fluorescent UVB tube should be provided as a light source. The tank should be visually inspected daily and any soiled items should be removed, cleaned and replaced, if this is done at the same time as changing the water it will cause less disturbance to the frogs. Once every two-three weeks the tank and its contents should be completely cleaned and sterilised using an amphibian / reptile safe disinfectant.

Feeding: Young Frogs should be fed daily with a mixture of suitably sized insects including fruitflies, curly flies, and small crickets. These food items should be dusted with a calcium and vitamin supplement two-three times a week. Adult Frogs will take considerably larger insects including adult crickets, small locusts, flour beetles, moths, and curly flies. They should be fed every two-three days and the insects dusted with calcium and vitamin supplements once a week.