What Do Red-Eyed Tree Frogs Eat?

• Crickets - easiest to breed in captivity and available in multiple sizes
• Mealworms and giant mealworms - readily available from pet stores, though they contain significant chitin (should be fed in moderation)
• Wax worms - highly palatable and commercially available; treat as an occasional supplement rather than a staple

• Roaches - efficient feeder insects; vary the size to match your frog
• Grasshoppers and locusts - wild-caught or bred; avoid brightly colored nymphs (some species are toxic)
• Termites - excellent for newly metamorphosed frogs; collect fresh from damp wood

• Fruit flies and houseflies - ideal for hatchlings and newly metamorphosed frogs

Insects to avoid: Fireflies and ladybugs are toxic to amphibians and should never be offered.

Why Feeder Insect Quality Matters More Than You Think

Here's the critical point that separates frog keepers who succeed from those whose frogs silently decline: a poorly fed feeder insect is nearly worthless to your frog.

You can watch your red-eyed tree frogs eat crickets or mealworms every single day, yet if those insects are malnourished, your frogs are slowly starving. They may develop metabolic bone disease, loss of appetite, lethargy, or other complications-all while appearing to eat regularly. This happens because insects held in captivity for long periods lose most of their nutritional value unless you actively feed them well.

Wild-caught, non-noxious insects need little nutrient supplementation because they've foraged naturally. But captive-bred feeder insects are nutritionally hollow unless you intervene through two critical practices: gut loading and dusting.

Gut Loading: Feeding Your Feeders

Gut loading means providing your feeder insects with a highly nutritious diet throughout their captivity, especially in the hours immediately before offering them to your frogs. Insects with healthy, full digestive tracts pass far more nutrition to your frog.

Best gut-loading foods for feeder insects:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables (carrots, apples, leafy greens)
• Fresh alfalfa or bean sprouts
• Chick-starting mash (for wax worms, giant mealworms)

• Bran (for mealworms)
• Wheat germ
• High-calcium foods

For mealworms and giant mealworms, use a 2- to 3-inch layer of bran as the base substrate, and add fresh potatoes, apples, or leafy vegetables for both nutrition and moisture. They will absorb water from fresh produce, so you don't need a separate water source.

For wax worms, create a syrupy paste of chick-starting mash, wheat germ, honey, and yeast.

For crickets, keep fresh fruit, vegetables, and leafy greens available at all times. Store crickets in crumpled newspaper, egg-crate inserts, or paper towel tubes for easy management (you can lift a tube and shake crickets out into a transport jar).

Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation (Dusting)

Even gut-loaded insects may lack sufficient calcium and vitamin D₃, which are critical for bone health and preventing metabolic bone disease. This is why dusting (coating insects with a powder supplement) is essential.

Dusting schedule:

• Adult red-eyed tree frogs: Dust feeder insects with a calcium and vitamin D₃ supplement at least once per week
• Newly metamorphosed frogs and fast-growing juveniles: Dust at least twice per week

Apply the dust by placing a few insects in a plastic bag or shaker container with a small amount of supplement powder, then shaking gently until coated. Offer the coated insects immediately.

Always match insect size to your frog's mouth. A small frog should receive pinhead-sized crickets or tiny mealworms; larger adults can handle adult-sized crickets and giant mealworms. Multiple small insects are generally safer and better nutritionally than one or two large ones.

Housing and Breeding Common Feeder Insects

Crickets

Crickets are the gold standard for home-breeding feeder insects because they're easy to sex, breed rapidly, and available in multiple sizes.

Housing:

• A tightly covered 20-gallon long tank can house up to 1,000 crickets
• Use sawdust, soil, or vermiculite as substrate; change frequently to prevent odor and die-offs
• Keep paper towel tubes or egg-crate inserts for shelter and easy collection
• Maintain temperature at 76-86°F

Breeding:

• Females have three projections from the rear; males have two
• Place a shallow dish of slightly moistened sand, vermiculite, or cotton balls on the tank floor as a laying medium
• Keep the laying medium consistently slightly moist
• Eggs hatch in 8-20 days depending on species and temperature

Size progression:

• Pinhead-sized crickets for newly metamorphosed frogs
• Half-grown crickets for small adults
• Adult crickets for large adult frogs

Feeding tip: Feed your frogs at night and provide an easy way for crickets to escape from any water dish (use a sloped surface or small rocks) to prevent drowning.

Giant Mealworms (Zoophobas)

Giant mealworms are larvae of a South American beetle and are excellent for red-eyed tree frogs-more easily digested than common mealworms.

Housing and breeding:

• Keep larvae in shallow plastic trays with 1 inch of sawdust
• Feed a diet of chick-starting mash, bran, leafy vegetables, and apples
• To induce pupation, place individual larvae in empty film canisters or small containers with sawdust, bran, or oats
• Nestle containers together in a larger box to prevent tipping
• After several days, larvae pupate and metamorphose into black beetles
• Transfer beetles to a plastic tub with sawdust and cracked limbs/twigs for egg-laying

Beetles deposit eggs in crevices in wood. Feed beetles and larvae on vegetables, fruits, oats, and bran. Fresh produce provides all necessary moisture.

Note: Giant mealworms are better than common mealworms (which contain excessive chitin), but should still not be fed in excess.

Wax Worms

Wax worms (Galleria sp.) are caterpillars-the larval stage of the wax moth that infests beehives. They're commercially available through pet shops, biological suppliers, and online retailers. They're also sold as fish bait at tackle shops.

Care: Feed a syrupy paste of chick-starting mash, wheat germ, honey, and yeast. No special breeding setup required for casual use; simply purchase as needed.

Fruit Flies

Fruit flies are ideal for newly metamorphosed and hatchling red-eyed tree frogs.

Sourcing: Purchase breeding stock from biological supply companies. Request flightless "vestigial-winged" fruit flies (a genetic mutation) for much easier handling.

Feeding and breeding: Maintain cultures in jars with mashed fruit and agar (a seaweed-based medium). Divide cultures periodically to maintain healthy populations.

Houseflies and Fly Larvae

Both adult houseflies and larvae (maggots) are excellent foods, especially for young frogs.

Breeding: Keep in tightly covered, wide-mouthed gallon jars with air holes punched in the lid. Larvae thrive in overripe fruit and vegetables.

Feeding method: Place the opened jar directly inside your frog's enclosure to minimize escapes. Remove maggots by hand or forceps and place them in a shallow dish. Fly larvae are also commercially available.

Recovering an Underfed or Dehydrated Frog

If your red-eyed tree frog has been deprived of food or water for an extended period (for instance, after shipping), it may initially refuse to feed. Your role is to create an environment so calm and comfortable, with such appetizing food presented so temptingly, that the frog cannot resist.

• Ensure the enclosure is quiet and secure (minimal handling, low stress)
• Provide fresh water via misting or a shallow water dish
• Offer live insects in front of the frog, starting with highly palatable options like small crickets or wax worms
• Be patient; rehydration and resumed feeding often take several days

Once a frog begins drinking and eating again, it typically continues feeding readily and may eventually accept food types outside its normal wild diet.

Feeding Schedule and Practical Tips

• Feed at night. Red-eyed tree frogs are nocturnal and most active when hunting after dark
• Vary the diet. Offer different insect types throughout the week to ensure a broader nutrient profile
• Remove uneaten insects. Live insects can harm your frog if left in the enclosure overnight; remove any leftovers the next morning
• Store feeders properly. Keep insect colonies in clean conditions to maintain their health and prevent escape
• Monitor frog behavior. If your frog stops eating or appears lethargic, check that feeders are properly gut-loaded and dusted, and review enclosure temperature and humidity

Red-eyed tree frogs thrive when their diet is treated as a system: healthy insects, properly supplemented, fed to a frog in a calm, appropriate environment. Attention to these details makes the difference between a frog that merely survives and one that thrives for years.