Green tree frog fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are green tree frogs?

Green tree frogs are large Australian frogs with smooth green skin, white bellies, gold eyes and large toe pads that help them climb. Some green tree frogs have small white spots, and some frogs in inland NSW may look more blue-green than bright green.

Green tree frogs have been recorded across northern and eastern Australia. Their range includes northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, north-eastern South Australia and NSW. FrogID records and Australian Museum research show they were once common in Sydney but are now recorded much less often across much of the Sydney area.

Green tree frogs need damp shelters, safe hiding places and clean water for breeding. They may use tree hollows, loose bark, logs, rocks, garden plants, drains, bathrooms and other cool, damp places.

A green tree frog.

Male green tree frogs often call after rain or when rain is coming.

Where do green tree frogs live?

Green tree frogs have been recorded across northern and eastern Australia. Their range includes northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, north-eastern South Australia and NSW.

They can live in forests, woodlands, wetlands, gardens, farms and buildings where there is damp shelter and suitable still water for breeding. During the day, green tree frogs often hide in cool, moist places such as tree hollows, bark crevices, logs, rocks, pipes, drains, bathrooms and garden plants. At night they come out to feed.

Green tree frogs use still water and wet places for breeding after rain.

What do green tree frogs eat?

Green tree frogs are nocturnal hunters. This means they are most active at night. They mostly eat insects and other invertebrates such as moths, beetles, crickets, cockroaches and spiders. They often wait for prey to come close, then lunge forward and swallow it whole.

Large green tree frogs can sometimes eat small vertebrates, including other small frogs, small reptiles or other animals they can catch and swallow. Around houses and gardens, they may feed near outdoor lights because lights attract insects.

Green tree frogs eat insects and other small animals they can catch.

What do green tree frogs sound like?

Male green tree frogs call to attract females during the breeding season. Their call is a low, repeated “crawk-crawk-crawk”. They often call after rain or when rain is coming.

A male green tree frog uses an inflatable throat sac to make its call louder. Listening for frog calls is one way people can learn which frogs are nearby without touching or disturbing them.

What is the life cycle of green tree frogs?

Green tree frogs breed in spring and summer, often after heavy rain. Females lay jelly-like eggs in clusters that float on the surface of still water, such as temporary ponds, flooded ditches, waterholes and swamps.

The eggs hatch into tadpoles. Green tree frog tadpoles can grow quite large before they change into froglets. During metamorphosis, tadpoles grow legs, develop lungs, lose their tails and become young frogs that can leave the water.

Many frogs lay soft jelly-like eggs in shallow water.

What adaptations do green tree frogs have to help them survive?

Green tree frogs have large toe pads that help them grip wet, smooth and vertical surfaces. This helps them climb trees, plants, walls, windows and other surfaces near shelter or food.

Their smooth skin must stay moist, so they hide in cool, damp places during the day and are usually active at night. Their green colour can help them blend in with leaves and other vegetation. Their large mouth helps them catch and swallow a wide range of prey.

Large toe pads help green tree frogs climb on wet or smooth surfaces.

Why are green tree frogs important?

Green tree frogs are predators and prey. They help control insects and other small animals, and they can be food for snakes, birds and larger animals. This makes them part of food chains and food webs in wetland, woodland, garden and urban environments.

Frogs are also useful indicators of environmental health because they need clean water, safe shelter and healthy habitat. Their skin can absorb chemicals and pollutants, and many frogs need water to breed. When frog populations decline, it can be a warning that an environment is changing.

Frogs are predators and prey in local food webs.

How can you help green tree frogs?

You can help frogs by protecting damp, shady habitat and keeping waterways clean. Around schools and homes, native plants, reeds, tussock-forming sedges, leaf litter, logs, rocks and clean ponds can provide shelter and breeding places for frogs.

Avoid using pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers near frog habitat. Do not handle frogs unless it is necessary, because chemicals on human hands can harm their sensitive skin. Never move frogs, tadpoles or eggs from one place to another, as this can spread disease and move animals into unsuitable habitat.

Before visiting different creeks, ponds or bushland areas, clean and dry muddy shoes and equipment. This helps reduce the spread of frog diseases such as chytrid fungus. You can also help scientists by recording frog calls with citizen science tools such as FrogID.

Green tree frogs may shelter around gardens and buildings, so avoid touching or moving them.

Related fact sheets

More amphibian fact sheets

• Amphibian fact sheets – Browse Field of Mars EEC frog and amphibian fact sheets.
• Amphibians fact sheet – Learn what amphibians are and how frogs grow and change.
• Peron’s tree frog fact sheet – Compare another tree-climbing frog found in many parts of Sydney.
• Common eastern froglet fact sheet – Compare another small frog found in damp places.
• Striped marsh frog fact sheet – Explore a frog that breeds near ponds, wetlands and other still water.
• Red-crowned toadlet fact sheet – Learn about a Sydney sandstone frog with unusual breeding habitat.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Water habitats fact sheet – Explore the ponds, creeks and wetlands that many frogs need.
• Tree habitats fact sheet – Learn how trees provide hollows, bark, shelter and climbing places.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – Explore cool, damp shelters used by many small animals.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Learn how leaf litter protects small animals and supports food webs.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Explore the bushland, habitats and living things of Field of Mars Reserve.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Moth fact sheet – Learn about night-active insects that frogs may catch.
• Red-bellied black snake fact sheet – Explore a predator that may feed on frogs around wetlands and waterways.

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