>>recently, i bought a pitcher plant. when i went to water it, a little frog emerged from the leaves. i'm no expert on frogs, but i have had green tree frogs as pets before. this guy looks exactly like them, only brown with a faint leopard-ish pattern. right now he's in a make-shift terrarium, but i was wondering what i should do. i'm afraid to let him loose (i live in new jersey, and the temperature right now is fluctuating from warm to chilly). also, i read that sometimes the pitcher plants will digest the frogs, so i'm afraid to place him back in the plant. ideally, i don't want to keep the little guy caged up if he can be free. but i'm just not sure if it's safe. any help would be greatly appreciated.

There really is no way to tell what species it may be without a picture or, better, the frog in hand. If it looks like the green treefrog and has leopard like spots, then it could be the barking treefrog, a species from the southeastern United States that thrive in warm climates. It is best to keep it caged because it may have trouble finding food or even water if it is kept where it is and allowed to wander around. If you don't want to keep it, contact the nearest zoo or aquarium and ask if they would accept the frog as a donation. If it is an exotic species, the zoo or aquarium may keep it alive in an enclosure. If it is a native species, perhaps they may release it back to the wild.

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