Phyllomedusa bicolor ‘Waxy Monkey Tree Frog’
Intro
Phyllomedusa bicolor (pronounced f-eye-low-med-usa, known as the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog, are large green and cream frogs. These larger tree frogs are nocturnal, so they’ll be active during the night. Popular but uncommon in captivity and easy to care for, bicolor frogs have been kept as pets since as early as the 80s.
Quick Stats:
Enclosure: 45cmX45cmX60cm(18”X18”X24”)
Heat: 18°C-27°C (65°F-80°F)
Humidity: 70% juveniles, 40-50% adults
Food: Crickets.
Description
Bicolor frogs are not too variable in their coloring. Green bodied and yellow, white, or cream underneath, these frogs have slight white speckling on their legs and torsos. Their feet are a semi-transparent brown color with large green disc toes. This can vary somewhat in each individual frog. Fairly large in size, adult females can grow to 119mm (4.7in) and males to 103mm (4.1in).
Distribution and Natural Habitat
Bicolor are native to the Amazon Rainforest, and can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, southeastern Colombia, southern Peru, southern and eastern Venezuela, and the Guianas. These frogs are arboreal and typically make their homes on the leaves, bark, and branches of the trees in their habitat. Bicolor is considered by the IUCN Red List as “Least Concern”, making bicolor stable in the wild and fairly frequent inhabitants within their geographic range.
Behavior
Like all Phyllomedusa, the bicolor frogs are nocturnal meaning they are awake during the night. They are arboreal and typically prefer to stay above the ground of their regions. Bicolor live near streams and ponds, or right on the edge of slow moving water. While being frogs they are not very good swimmers and great care should be taken when making a suitable vivarium for them to live in. Once mature, the males will boldly perch in the open and call out to attract females. The bicolor call is quite loud and varied.
Phyllomedusa frogs are the only tree frog that can handle prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. These frogs produce a waxy substance that protects their sensitive skin from drying out. This allows them to dwell in the canopy in the forest, way up in the trees where the sun can reach and away from predators. They also get quite a bit more airflow than other tree frogs, being up so high.
Life in the Vivarium
Phyllomedusa frogs require a humidity range of 40-70%. Adolescents require more humidity while adults require less, and will be happiest around 50%. You can place a bromeliad or small shallow dish of water in the enclosure or add a pond feature to achieve this. Remember, bicolor cannot swim well, so ensure that the water source is shallow and easy to get out of. The water level should be no higher than the smallest frog can sit in with his head and upper torso out.
Bicolor thrive at temperatures near 24°C (76°F) but can survive a range of 18°C-27°C (65°F-80°F). Never exceed 29°C (85°F) as this can be fatal to the frogs. Generally a heat source such as a pad or light is not needed on a dart frog vivarium, apart from any lighting for plants. Do not rely on sunshine from a window, because the sun through the glass will heat up to extremely unsafe temperatures very quickly. Keep note of any air conditioning or heaters used in your home as well, as they may affect the temperature in your frog cage. These frogs are from high up in the canopy, so decent airflow is required as well. Some keepers attain this by using mesh chameleon enclosures.
It is possible to house a single juvenile bicolor temporarily in a 10 gallon aquarium. We recommend much larger than this, with 45cmX45cmX60cm(18”X18”X24”) being optimal for 2 frogs – but bigger is always better. This size vivarium is suitable to house 2 adult bicolor, one of each gender. Remember to provide a larger enclosure if adding more frogs, approximately 10 gallons of space per additional frog.
It is possible that your Phyllomedusa will live to 15+ years in a vivarium. Please consider this before deciding to take them home to your family. As with most amphibians they are considered a “hands off” pet similar to a fish. Due to their delicate and permeable skin, it is not advised to handle your frogs. The chemicals, oils and debris on your hands could prove fatal to your dart frog pet when it is absorbed through their skin. It is recommended that you wear powder free rubber gloves if you are required to handle your dart frogs. In an emergency, such as an escape from the enclosure, try to capture them as fast as possible (bare hands will do… if needed) as they will try to hide quickly, and unfortunately this will become fatal very rapidly.
Bicolor requires live prey to hunt. This is easily achieved by providing them with flightless or wingless fruit flies and crickets. Baby and juvenile bicolor will eat Drosophila hydei. Crickets at 3-5 weeks of age are the correct size for adult bicolor. The flies and crickets on their own are a poor nutritional source. We recommend “dusting” your fruit flies or crickets with a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement. We use and recommend Dendrocare all in one vitamin/mineral supplement. You can combine and use other supplements available to you, however please ensure you research what ratio or frequency you can supply vitamins as some can be lethal in high dosages.
It is very common to build a bioactive vivarium for your dart frogs. This is achieved by introducing isopods and springtails into the environment. These little land crustaceans (no they are not insects!) will eat the decaying and decomposing bio matter as well as any excess feces in the vivarium. Some of these micro fauna will be eaten by your dart frog, as a little snack.
As with all our frogs, we do not recommend that you house multiple species or morphs together. Please supply each group with a vivarium to call their own.
Breeding in Captivity
Bicolor are of above average difficulty to breed in captivity. A simulated dry season must be applied to the enclosure for a month or two, after which an extreme rainy season should occur. During the rainy season, breeding begins by the male frog dropping lower in the enclosure down to the female, where a nest is made a foot or so above a water source. The female lays around 600 clear eggs in this nest. The male will join the leaves together for the female, protecting her and the eggs. At 8-10 days the tadpoles will emerge and fall from the leaf into the pond. Once in the pond, they will eat commercial tadpole foods, algae wafer or dandelion leaves until they emerge from the water. It takes approximately 80-100 days for frogs to emerge.
Final Notes
Phyllomedusa bicolor are a beautiful green and cream frog who are large in size and fairly easy to care for. These noisy nocturnal beauties make a great beginner frog. They are also extremely satisfying for the long time keeper, as they are quite unusual to get breeding. Big, chunky, and gorgeous, consider a big vivarium full of these frogs!
