Defining Characteristics:

• Bright green with yellow to orange flanks and black striping
• Large tree frog
• Periodic “OURH” call
• Easy to keep

Name: Cruziohyla sylviae or Sylvia’s Fringe Leaf Frog is named for the eldest grandchild of researcher Andrew Gray, Sylvia. Sylvia is from the Latin “Silva” which means forest.

Recommended Enclosure Size & Setup: Fringe Leaf 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 on top of your preferred bioactive substrate and false bottom. If using sphagnum moss, make sure to press down the moss so it is flat – this will greatly reduce the risk of impaction. Paper towels will need to be changed 2-3 times a week.

Fringe Leaf 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 it daily. Scrub the dish and disinfect with a 5% bleach solution or ReptiSan once a week.

Want to make caring for your Fringe Leaf Frogs easy? Check out Josh's Frogs Tree Frog Kits!

Temperature: Cruziohyla sylviae are native to Central America where temperatures stay between 75 and 90 degrees year-round. 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 74-76 degrees. Temperatures in the mid/high 80s can quickly be fatal, especially when coupled with a lack of water or humidity. Measure temperature with a digital temperature gauge.

Humidity: Fringe Leaf 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 3/4 inch, which is similar to other cousins in the Agalychnis and Phyllomedusa genera. 

At the time of sale, Fringe Leaf Frogs will be at least an inch long. Adult males measure between 1.5 to 2.5 inches and females will be larger, between 2.75 and 3.5 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 4 months old.

Feeding: In captivity, a staple of appropriately sized crickets or dubia 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 three to four 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: Sylvia’s Fringe Leaf frog is a dark green color dorsally with some lighter green speckling varying per individual. Their sides are bright orange/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.

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: Sylvia’s Fringe Leaf frogs breed during the rainy season by attaching their egg clutches to vines, sticks and leaves overhanging bodies of water.

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

Natural Range: These frogs are native to Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama. These particular individuals are from a line that comes from Panama.

History in the Hobby: These frogs are very infrequently brought into the country and even more rarely bred. Josh’s Frogs is happy to provide healthy captive bred froglets. This specific line originates from Panama.

Links of Interest:

• Amphibiaweb
• Review of the genus Cruziohyla (Anura: Phyllomedusidae), with description of a new species