You might have visited Maine for it’s vast river streams and lobsters, but have you ever thought of going on a vacation there to look at some unique tree frogs? I bet you haven’t.
If you never thought of Maine as the birthplace of a few tree frogs then let me show you the two thriving species that’s been ruling the forest & swamp areas. They are Gray tree frogs and Spring peepers.
Here, I will highlight different characteristics of these two Maine tree frogs, such as their lifespans, skin colors, ranges, natural habitats, hibernation ability, diet, predators, mating season, maturity age, and sizes.
Without wasting any more moments, let’s see both of these frogs in detail.
1. Gray tree frog
Gray tree frog does pretty well & flourishes in the cold, mid-level summer, and snowy climate of the Maine state. Along with that, they are doing well in the wooded zone of the eastern side of the USA like Florida, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, etc.
It won’t be an unusual event for the native people of Maine to see them in their backyard. This Hylidae member is blessed to have the color-changing ability which helps them a lot to survive for a long time.
Moreover, these precious amphibians choose their habitat in varieties of locations like mountain streams, wooded zone nearby humid swamps, agricultural land, and forest.
It’s hard to tell the difference if you encounter them in two varieties of locations. When they live in any greeny vegetated zone, the skin shade turns green; when it takes a rest on a brown surface like leaf litter or bark, the shade turns brown.
On top of that, these little fellas are skilled climbers and they pass a long time residing high in the trees. The incredible average 7-9 years lifespan shows how good these frogs are at surviving.
As soon as the male & female hit sexual maturity, they don’t delay engaging in mating season. The breeding season remains from Spring-Summer. During this time, the male songsters try to grab the attention of females for breeding.
After mating, the mommy frog lays around 1800 eggs on leaves & aquatic plants. These eggs turn into squishy cute looking froglets after 2.5 months.
These vicious eaters enjoy a good amount of mites, plant lice, spiders, slugs, and various invertebrates. All these healthy diet consumption lead to a maximum of 2.25″ size in the adult stage.
2. Spring peeper
This loud frog is a famous member of the Hylidae family that has a strong presence in many areas of the USA. Dwellers of Maine will see them in versatile skin color that includes tan, brown and reddish.
Plus, the species sometimes start their hunting in the early evening. But for the most part, when the sun goes down, they slowly start to get into the mood of food hunting.
The lifespan of this tiny frog is close to 3-4 years in the wild. During the adult stage, they can each have a maximum length of 1.5″.
Excellent climbing ability provides them tremendous support to evade the predator and take safe shelter on top of trees. And the sticky toe pad, small body size, and lightweight give the backup for climbing.
Speaking of the physical differences, the male & females have strong features. The female’s skin looks paler & the male has darker skin shades. These lovely amphibians reach sexual maturity within the first year and start mating activity in the April-June period.
When breeding activity is complete then the female frog would lay 1000+ eggs in a single season. Luckily a significant amount of eggs successfully become froglets that enter the local ecosystem.
As I told earlier, the weather of Maine includes snowy weather and the spring peeper frog has no problem with that. Due to their remarkable hibernation ability, they spend their entire winter season staying under the bark of trees or beneath tree logs.
Plus, the natural habitat of these unique species includes moist areas, wooded zone, grassland, and lowland which are very close to shallow wetlands, ponds, or lakes. Though they hunt a lot but not poisonous at all.
Moreover, different animals like salamanders, fish, birds of prey, and large size amphibians are the main predator of this tree frog. And they live on eating spiders, flies, beetles, etc.
Final words
You might have seen them in a lot of other places in the US, but I’m sure you weren’t expecting them in Maine. But that’s the beauty of life!
You already discovered how well the tree frogs in Maine are doing & growing their number in the state, and that was my goal. Hopefully, now you have an in-depth idea about these cute amphibians. Make sure to be friends with them next time you visit!
