Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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.

Post a picture of him (make sure it's reasonably well-focused and exposed!)

Exotic frogs and lizards (even small snakes) sometimes come along for a ride to the nursery. And since some plants come from across the border or over the ocean, you can get some strange little visitors.

My son was at the nursery the other day, and a frog jumped out of and then back into a plant. The person at the register said "don't worry, we don't charge extra!".

So I wouldn't count on that frog being a native species. It could even be an American species, but one that requires a different environment than your own.

>>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.