The species is endemic to southeastern Brazil and occurs at elevations up to 1000 meters above sea level.

[1][2][3] Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, rivers, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, and heavily degraded former forests.

[1] It is an opportunistic sit-and-wait predator and preys on spiders, larval butterflies, moths and orthopterans.

[4] P. rodhei is able to consume larger prey compared to smaller hylid tree frogs such as Dendropsophus branneri, like due to a larger mouth size.

Clutches are laid in leaf-made nests on water and eggs fall in underlying streams.