The eggs are attached to vertical emergent vegetation such as bulrushes or cattails. It takes between 6 to 14 day for the eggs to hatch and approximately 3.5 to 7 months for the tadpoles to develop into frogs. Tadpoles and young frogs thrive on invertebrates, which they catch with their mouths. They hunt day and night. This constant activity makes them visible, and, therefore, more vulnerable to predators.
Adults feed and are active largely at night.
Over the last two decades, scientists have noted a widespread decline of frogs and other amphibian species, the causes of which are not fully understood. The decline of the California red-legged frog is attributed to the spread of exotic predators such as bullfrogs, and the widespread changes that have fragmented habitat, isolated populations, and degraded streams. Its decline signals a loss of diversity and environmental quality in wetlands and streams that are essential to clean water and to the survival of most fish and wildlife species. The California red-legged frog was federally listed as a threatened species in May 1996. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's draft recovery plan for the California red-legged frog will be released for public review in the Spring of 2000.