Defining Characteristics:

• Blue-green with yellow flanks and black striping
• Medium-sized tree frog
• Periodic “HOO” call, similar to a wooden flute
• Fringing on the limbs

Name: Cruziohyla craspedopus or the Fringed Tree Frog is named specifically for the fringes on their feet. Craspedon is Greek for "fringed" and pous means "foot" or "leg". 

Recommended Enclosure Size & Setup: Fringed tree frogs are easy to house. Choose a large enclosure—an 18x18x24 glass terrarium is a good size for 2-4 juveniles or adults. Opinions on substrates vary—we’ve had luck with damp paper towel, or sphagnum moss over your preferred bioactive substrate (we prefer Tropical BioBedding) and false bottom. If using sphagnum moss, make sure to press down the moss so it is flat, as this will greatly reduce the risk of impaction. Paper towels will need to be changed 2-3 times a week.

Fringed tree frogs need constant access to fresh, clean water, so a large water bowl is a must! Use an easy to clean dish, such as an Exo Terra Water Dish, as the frog will be using the dish as a latrine and you will need to clean daily. Scrub the dish and disinfect with a 5% bleach solution or ReptiSan once a week. Want to make caring for your Fringed Tree Frogs easy? Check out Josh's Frogs Tree Frog Kits!

Temperature (°F): Cruziohyla craspedopus are native to the Amazon basin in South America where temperatures year round stay between 75 and 90°. However, frogs will not be seeking out direct sunlight during the hottest parts of the day.  At Josh's Frogs, we house our Cruziohyla at 74-78 degrees. Temperatures in the high 80s can quickly be fatal, especially when coupled with a lack of water or humidity.

Measure temperature with a digital temperature gauge.

Humidity: Fringed tree frogs experience anywhere from 50-100% humidity in the wild—the lower levels are during the dry season and the higher are in the wet season. In captivity it is recommended that the frogs be kept in the 50-70% humidity range, unless you are trying to breed them. In that case, an increase in humidity is recommended. 

Modifying your tank lid may be necessary to reach these ranges and should be tested before adding the frog(s) to the enclosure. Desiccation is the most common issue we see in captive frogs. Monitor humidity with a digital hygrometer.

Size: When these frogs emerge from the water they’ll be around 1 inch, which is larger in comparison to their cousins in the Agalychnis and Phyllomedusa genera. 

At the time of sale, fringed leaf frogs will be at least an inch long. Adult males measure up to 2.25 inches and females will be slightly larger, around 2.75 inches.

Age: In captivity, these frogs will be able to live up to 15 years with ideal care. At the time of sale, these froglets will be at least 2 months old.

Feeding: In captivity, a staple of appropriately sized crickets or roaches are recommended. For the occasional treat, waxworms, butterworms, and silkworms are also an option for these frogs. Wild frogs will typically try to eat anything that can fit in their mouths, which would include ants, beetles, grasshoppers/crickets, and other insect larvae. 

At the time of sale these frogs will be eating 3 to 4 -1/4 inch crickets 3 times a week.

Sexing: The most prominent sexual dimorphism present in the fringed leaf frog is the size difference between males and females. Males will also have visible nuptial pads when breeding conditions are met.

Color/Pattern: Fringed tree frogs are a blueish-green color dorsally with a large quantity of very light green speckling, varying per individual. This typically resembles lichen in shape. Their sides are bright yellow with black striping. This is not visible when the frog is at rest. The striped pattern continues onto the hind limbs to the first outer digit. The fringes on the hind legs are typically dark brown to black. The striping pattern exists on the inner forearms, and the toes are mostly orange in color aside from the outermost digit on the hind limbs which is the same as the dorsal coloration.

Josh's Frogs does not recommend, support, or endorse line breeding as we believe this leads to weaker captive animals and nature has done a wonderful job of creating an amazing variation in color and pattern of frogs already. 

Social Behavior: These frogs like most other frogs will not seek each other out for reasons other than breeding, however they can be kept in groups provided you have enough space. Males and females can be kept together but if you end up with an overzealous male, he may need to be separated to prevent stressing out any females he may be amplexing too frequently. 

Breeding: Fringed tree frogs breed during the rainy season by attaching their egg clutches to vines, sticks and leaves overhanging bodies of water. Egg clutches are small and only contain up to 21 eggs. Tadpoles can grow to a very large size in comparison to other Phyllomedusid species.

Josh's Frogs recommends purchasing multiple frogs if you are interested in breeding them–this greatly increases the chances of getting a pair (male and female).

Natural Range: These frogs are native to Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

History in the Hobby: These frogs have been sporadically available over the years in the US. Many of the original frogs were captive bred in Ecuador and exported to the US for sale but since then there have been captive breeding efforts by businesses and hobbyists that have made them a bit more common.

Links of Interest: 

• Amphibiaweb
• Wikipedia

Still not sure if Fringed Tree Frogs from Josh's Frogs are the right pet frog for you? Read the reviews below and see what other customers are saying!