The Cuban tree frog by Aliyah-Rianne Guerrero

Location in Florida *

stoner28_3 — 2025-05-15 14:59:16 UTC

The Cuban tree frog is most commonly found in the peninsula of Florida and very rarely, but more over the years, has started to pop up in the panhandle. The most common theory for how Cuban tree frogs were introduced into Florida is by cargo ships coming from Cuba. These frogs can take away resources and food from other native animals that are apart of the same trophic level. They expand throughout ecosystems very quickly since they are very fast breeders. They are mostly secondary or tertiary consumers since they mainly eat bugs and sometimes other frogs, snakes, or lizards. With the amount of their reproduction, along with their role, they need a lot of food that they take from native species. This leads to a decrease in native populations of animals, which could lead to extinction.

beersa28 — 2025-05-16 15:56:53 UTC

General description

guerreroa28 — 2025-05-19 18:39:10 UTC

The Cuban tree frog is an amphibian and has the scientific name of Osteopilus septentrionalis and it’s also part of the Hylidae family which consist of tree frogs. Some of its features include darker colors like green and gray and its been known to change colors to match the environment. They have spots along their back and feet that allow them to stick to many surfaces. They also can reach a size around 5 to 6 cm which makes it the largest tree frog species in North America. Their lifespan is relatively 5 to 10 years and each female will lay about 3,000 eggs in each clutch making the Cuban tree frog a difficult species because they are eating all the native life.

beersa28 — 2025-05-20 16:41:02 UTC

Controlling the Cuban Tree Frog species can be difficult challenge, especially when they blend into the Florida environment. If you come across a frog some identifications the Cuban tree frog has are a blue like skeleton that can be viewed from the belly, skin that is fused to the skull, and a size to around 4 to 6 inches which is not the case for native frogs which average to around 3 inches. Besides finding them in the wild, another good way to collect the Cuban tree frogs is by placing a PVC pipe into the ground behind bushes around your home. The frogs are attracted to the shelter of the pipe and stay there during the day. Once you’ve caught and identified a Cuban Tree Frog you don’t need permission to euthanize them, and in the state of Florida it’s recommended. A good way to do this is by putting them in a plastic bag and into a freezer for around 24 hours. Another way to deal with them is to contact originations. A good one that is recommended is the University of Florida. These options are recommended due to the destruction the Cuban Tree frog is causing by eating native species of Florida and decreasing the population of multiple species.

guerreroa28 — 2025-05-20 17:05:07 UTC

Native habitat

stoner28_3 — 2025-05-21 13:25:02 UTC

The cuban tree frog is originally from Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. Some of its main predators are rat snakes, black racers, crows, ribbon snakes, Cuban knight anoles, and other Cuban tree frogs. Mostly eats invertebrates like beetles and roaches, but will also eat other frogs and certain lizards. Cuba has two distinct seasons, a wet season and a dry season. May through October is the wet season, with around 1000 mm of rain, and the rest of the year is the dry season with around 300 mm of rain. These conditions are similar to Florida’s habitat and is part of the reason they thrive so well. Main limiting factors include population density, predator-prey relations, and cold temperatures. Cuban tree frogs don’t have many relations with their environment, but they can carry pathogens.

guerreroa28 — 2025-05-27 00:41:35 UTC

Work Cited

stoner28_3 — 2025-05-27 00:44:55 UTC

Work Cited

stoner28_3 — 2025-05-27 00:58:37 UTC

“Cuban Tree Frog Facts and Information: United Parks & Resorts.” Cuban Tree Frog Facts and Information | United Parks & Resorts, seaworld.org/animals/facts/amphibians/cuban-tree-frog/. Accessed 26 May 2025.

“Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus Septentrionalis).” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Sept. 2014, www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ecological-Risk-Screening-Summary-Cuban-Treefrog.pdf.

Dameron, Marisa. “Osteopilus Septentrionalis (Cuban Treefrog).” Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Osteopilus_septentrionalis/. Accessed 26 May 2025.

Morningstar, C.R., et al. “Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus Septentrionalis) - Species Profile.” USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, 2019, nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=57.

NPS. “Nonnative Animals.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2024, www.nps.gov/foma/learn/nature/nonnative-animals.htm.

O’Connor, Rick. “Hunting for Cuban Treefrogs.” UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County, 20 Apr. 2018, blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/escambiaco/2018/04/20/hunting-for-cuban-treefrogs/.