Defining Characteristics:

• Great beginner tree frog
• Bright teal-bluish coloration with white spots
• Bold
• Loud call
• Large
• Easy to handle
• Can be housed in groups

Name: The White's Tree Frog, also known as the Dumpy Tree Frog, is scientifically known as Litoria caerulea. They are so named for their large, simple appearance (dumpy) and for the naturalist who originally described the species, John White. The Snowflake morph is named for white spots or flecks that cover it's body. This can be highly variable.

Recommended Terrarium Size & Setup: White's Tree Frogs are easy to house. They are large tree frogs, and as such require a larger enclosure – an 18x18x24 glass terrarium is a good size for 2-3 juveniles or adults.

Opinions on substrates vary – we’ve had the best luck with Josh's Frogs Tropical BioBedding topped with a flattened layer of sphagnum moss. White's Tree Frogs need constant access to fresh, clean water – a large water bowl is a must! Use an easy to clean 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.

Make caring for your White's Tree Frogs easy—check out our Josh's Frogs Tree Frog Kits!

Want to spice up your enclosure with live plants? Our experts have curated kits of easy-to-care-for and SAFE plants for your White's tree frogs. Check them out here! 

Temperature (°F): They can tolerate a wide range of temperatures - keep your frogs between 70 to 80°F. At Josh's Frogs, we house our White's tree frogs at 74-76°, with occasional temperature highs in the low 80s. Night time drops down into the 60s are fine, and encouraged if you are trying to breed White's tree frogs. Measure temperature with a digital thermometer.

Humidity: White's Tree Frogs are very tolerant of a wide humidity range, making them an ideal pet frog. Aim for an average humidity of 50% or so, with spikes up to 70% right after misting once or twice a day. Providing ventilation is very important - we recommend using at least a half screen top. Stagnant, humid conditions quickly leads to bacterial skin infections in White's Tree Frogs. A large dish of clean water should always be provided. Monitor humidity with a digital hygrometer.

Size: At the time of sale, these captive-bred Snowflake White's Tree Frogs from Josh’s Frogs will measure about 1.75 inches. White's tree frogs will quickly grow to 3 inches within another 2-3 months. At about 10 months they will be nearly adult size, with adults measuring up to 5 inches in length!

Age: With proper care, White's Tree Frogs can live up to and over a decade. Reports of 15+ year old animals abound. These White's Tree Frogs are about 6 months old.

Feeding: At the time of sale, captive bred White's Tree Frogs from Josh’s Frogs have been chowing down on 1/2 inch crickets for several weeks and growing like weeds! White's tree frogs will quickly grow to 3 inches within another 2-3 months and be large enough to eat slightly larger crickets.

As adults, White's tree frogs will easily eat 3/4 inch or adult crickets. All crickets should be dusted with a quality vitamin/mineral supplement. At Josh's Frogs, we dust with Repashy Calcium Plus, Rep-Cal Calcium with D₃, and Rep-Cal Herptivite.

Sexing: White's Tree Frogs are fairly easy to sex as adults. Females are much larger than males, with a wider and more stout head. Females will be about 1 inch longer than males, and are easily 25% heavier. Males generally have a stretched out looking throat - probably a result of all those nightly calls! All White's Tree Frog froglets sold by Josh's Frogs are unsexable.

Color/Pattern: In daylight White's Tree Frogs are bright green, blue, or teal in coloration. At night when they are active, White's tree frogs are a purple or brown color. The Snowflake Morph has white dots or flecks across its body. The amount of white present, both in size and frequency of dots, is highly variable. This is a relatively new morph, and not very common in the hobby.

Social Behavior: These frogs are easily kept in groups, especially when young. Make sure that all frogs are getting adequate food - sometimes froglets will outcompete each other. Josh's Frogs recommends purchasing multiple frogs if you are interested in breeding them – this greatly increases the chances of getting a pair.

Breeding: White's Tree Frogs travel down to the forest floor in search of pools of water to breed. Eggs are laid among vegetation that's partially submerged - eggs can be laid at or below the water's surface. Tadpoles quickly grow in the pools, and can leave the water in 6-8 weeks. Young White's Tree Frogs live around the edges of the pools, before making their way back up into the canopy. In captivity, White's tree frogs are typically bred in a rain chamber. Check out our video of Josh's Frogs Rain Chamber Setup.

Natural Range: In the wild, White's Tree Frogs inhabit the canopy of tropical rainforests, and are endemic to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. They rely on camouflage to blend in, and do a great job during inactivity during the day!

History in the Hobby: White's Tree Frogs have had a mixed history in the hobby. Available typically as wild caught animals imported from Indonesia, captive bred White's tree frogs tend to be hardy captives. Snowflake White's Tree Frogs are a line bred morph, and relatively new in the hobby. They are still very uncommon, especially compared to Blue Phase animals.

Links of Interest:

• White's Tree Frogs on Wikipedia
• White's Tree Frogs - AmphbianCare
• Reptiles Magazine - White's Tree Frog Care sheet