Saturday, February 21, 2009

Our terrarium and its inhabitants


You may have noticed the terrarium in our waiting room. It has a small fountain, live plants and is home to five little tree frogs. These tree frogs are not poisonous.

There are three marbled tree frogs who look like this:

Their scientific name is Hyla marmorata. They are found in Central and South America.Marbled tree frogs are often called"bird dropping tree frogs" due to their color and shape. This camouflage protects them from predators.

They have very bright orange colors and spots on their undersides so if you catch them while they are sticking to the side of the terrarium glass you might see something like this:



There are two little green tree frogs that look like this:

The green tree frogs can change color. Sometimes they are green, sometimes they are brown and sometimes they are almost white. Their scientific name is Hyla cinerea. They are native to the United States and can be found in Cincinnati in the summer time. The females are typically larger than the males.

Both these species of frogs are nocturnal so when you see them in the office they are likely to be sleeping. They are very good at hiding. Children have the best eyes for spotting them it seems. The marbled tree frogs like to sit around the fountain or stick to the back of the cage. The green tree frogs hide under or on leaves or high up near the top of the terrarium.

We hope you enjoy looking at our little tree frogs as much as we do!