Red-eyed tree frogs are small to medium sized tree frogs with a smooth skin and a round head with a truncated snout. The dorsal coloration can be light green or dark green, some individuals are speckeled with light cream spots, the under part is mostly white. The flash colors are shown on the lateral coloration which is usually a blue or deep purple background with vertical yellow, cream or white stripes. The hand and feet of these frogs are either orange or deep red in color. The color of different populations vary greatly from locality to locality, but all red-eyed tree frogs have big bulging red eyes with a vertically narrow pupil, resembling the eyes of domestic cats and a reticulated membrane that protects the eye, the membrane is usually clear with a mesh of light colored reticulations.
 

Red-eyed tree frogs are short lived in the wild, falling pray to snakes and other predators. In captivity, animals that are well cared for can live for 5 to 8 years.
 

These are truly arboreal frogs that do not descend to the ground under normal circumstances. Their hands and feet are a tell-tale sign of their ability to grasp the smallest of twigs, and their legs are designed for walking, and not for jumping or swimming. They spent most of their life throughout the forest, and gather to breed in temporary pools, usually in areas where there is dense canopy cover. 

The males call sporadically from floating or emerging vegetation directly above water, usually during rain events. Females select a mate and travel some distance to a secure place, usually under a Spathodea leaf, to lay the eggs.  A mass of anywhere from 20 to 60 eggs are laid on the underside of a big leaf and left there to hatch.  Once the tadpoles emerge, they will drop into the water. Under normal conditions, the eggs hatch in about two weeks, depending on the temperature.

Frog eggs fall pray to snakes that can eat the whole clutch and wasps that pluck individual embryos away from the egg. When a clutch is being attacked, the vibrations caused by the movements of predators triggers an alarm response from the developing embryos. Interestingly, the embryos inside the eggs can tell the difference between a wasp that plucks a few eggs and a snake that will eat the whole clutch.  When the snake attacks, the whole clutch hurries to wriggle free and hatch, while if a wasp attacks, only the eggs closest to the vibration tend to hatch, allowing the rest of the eggs to develop normally.