[Frog Missing] [Piggy Escapes] [What's under my bed?] [Behind the Dresser][Traveling Frogs][The Editing Frog] [Sad  escape Story] [Grow a Frog or ?] [Lola on the loose] [Evil Kanevil] [Bucket Escape] [Gilly-Hanna] [Where is Poker][Cats and frogs do not mix!] [Commando Frog][Sad Valentine's Day] [Sydney 's Breakfast escape][Little Boogers] [Elliot under the Microwave] [The Hallway Journey][The Frog Duo] [Another unfortunate escape] [Frog Escape]

[Piggie-wiggie] [Teddy and Freddy] [Super Frog] [Toado and Kermit] [Hopper] [Freddy] [Cyrus] [ [Kermie]

Read more frog owner's stories here

PIGGY ON THE LOOSE! story by Lyn

I awoke one morning to find my frog gone.  I couldn't believe it.  I kept looking in the tank to find her, but she was no where to be found.  I couldn't possibly imagine how she got out.  I panicked!!! I knew she was running out of time.  I wasn't sure how long she had been out of the water.  I looked under things, behind things, and still no frog.  I figured for sure she was a goner.  I had peered behind my entertainment center but couldn't see anything moving. I was about to give up hope when from behind entertainment center came that "darn frog"  I was nervous, and she was a wreck.  She took one look at me and scooted back out of reach again. I had to throw things from the entertainment center and tip one part of it over. (thank god it was 3 pieces that sit side by side)  I had "Piggy" cornered, but I wasn't sure if I should pick her up for fear this would hurt her.  She didn't look so good!  She was discolored and looked to be semi-dried out.  I put a plastic bowl over her and scooped her up and immediately placed her back in the tank.  She was absolutely "freaking out".  She was swimming rapidly from side to side and top to bottom.  It was if she was trying to scratch herself.  (I later learned that she was trying to itch her skin)  She finally came to a rest on the bottom and within the next couple days she shed her skin and settled back down.  Well I was lucky and so was she because she suffered no ill-effects and that was 3 years ago.  I later learned that she had escaped from the small area around the outside filter system.  She had positioned herself on the powerhead inside the tank and pushed off from it.  The outside filter left about an inch of open area between it and the tank hood.  It was just enough for her to squeeze through.(I have fixed this area by putting a mesh material over it)  So a word of caution to all you frog owners...Yes, they can escape.  ( My friend's frog got out too, only her story did not have a happy ending.)

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Fluffy Edits Homework sent in by Jason from Fluffy's Frog Pond

Fluffy was about 7 yrs old when this happened.  She had survived a number of moves between Baltimore and Boston (traveling by thermos bottle), prankster roommates(once I found her in the microwave), and someone who had never met a houseplant he couldn't kill--me.  I had just moved her into a larger , 20 gallon aquarium the day before.  I was awaken at 2:00 am by a knock on my door (no, it wasn't the frog).  As I was too confused to answer coherently, my roommate finally opened the door.

"Very Funny," he said in a really sarcastic tone of voice. "Humph?" is all I could reply.  "Your frog--it's in my room.  I was kind of groggy.  "Huh?"  "Your frog--IT'S IN MY ROOM." "What?" "YOUR FROG IS IN MY ROOM.  Get it out, now!"  "What are you talking about?"  "NOW!!!".  I should mention at this point that Mike really isn't all that into slimy things.

I staggered out of my room and across the hall to Mike's bedroom.  There, army-crawling across his all-weather carpeting, covered with fuzz and dust, was fluffy.  I scooped her up (I think I used a frisbee of all things), and plunked her down in her aquarium back in the living room.  It seems that while Mike was up writing a paper, the frog had leapt out of the aquarium, crawled 50 feet down a carpeted hallway, slipped under his door, come over to his desk, and nudged his foot, causing him to nearly urinate in his pants, or some other such unpleasantness.  Mike thought I  had done it as a practical joke.  He was not amused by my suggestion that Fluffy might just have been trying to offer some editing advice. Anyway, Fluffy was fine, although I think Mike was a little shaken up by the whole experience.  

I bought an aquarium lid the very next day.  Mike stuffed towels under his door for the next two weeks.  

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WHAT IS MOVING UNDER MY BED?   sent in by KBrock4501

Five years ago I purchased Grow-A-Frog kits for my two asthmatic children, who have come to love reptiles and amphibians as a substitute for the forbidden hairy animals. (We also have two Ball pythons and an Iguana.) While building a new house, we had to temporarily move into a small condominium after we had rented our old house and our new one was not ready to live in. My son's frog was smallish, probably because he did not feed it as often as it would have liked, but my daughter derived great satisfaction in "taming" her frog and having it eat from her hand, and so she fed it constantly. It got so big that the small tank that came with the kit seemed inadequate, although the frog seems to like it just fine. One night, just as I had gotten into bed, I heard a very disturbing noise coming from under the bed. It was definitely a living creature, and it sounded bigger than a mouse, so I cautiously peeked under the bed and saw a huge frog flopping around frantically. I still did not connect this frog with our aquatic frog, and I couldn't see well enough in the dim light to recognize it. I chased it into the bathroom and cornered it behind the door, where I discovered, to my horror, that it was indeed my daughter's frog, completely covered with carpet fuzz balls and dust bunnies, which I presume helped to keep it from drying out. I had no idea how long it had been out of the tank, but when I ran into my daughter's room to check the tank, I found that the frog had simply popped off the tank top and escaped. Afraid to touch it, I scooped it up with a plastic bowl and deposited it back in its tank, and put a heavy book on the top for safe measure. The frog was none the worse for wear, and has lived for over four years now since that incident, without any illness, although with a very heavy river stone on the top of the tank cover! Years ago I purchased african frogs to go in my 35 gallon tropical tank and was forever having them escape from the filter opening and getting behind some immobile object, dying, and stinking up the place for a few weeks, so I much prefer keeping them in their separate habitats. They are easy pets to keep, and friendly and fun to watch, and so far have lived almost 6 years without any problems.

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A FRIEND NOTICES FROG ESCAPED sent in by Madalyn

I have two frogs named Webber and Cloudy.  Once I was cleaning their bowl and my friend was watching them swim and all the sudden she says Madalyn where is your other frog?  I said in the bowl and she no it's not so.  I said let me see and he wasn't there!  We were looking everywhere but my cat found him first. My frog was on the kitchen floor with my cat right in front of him. Once I found him I threw my cat away from him and ran for the net.  I put the net on the floor and he jumped right in it.  (Now I would say this poor frog had Top of pagehis froggy life scared right out of him)

Hiding Behind the Dresser sent in by Jeff Yachnin

Neat site. Thanks for all the info. I have one african and three firebellies - not all together. This is my second african. The first I inherited from my son when he left for the Marines. That one lived about 8 years and was close to 10 inches in length. Died of old age, I believe. The current one is about 1-2 years. I just moved him from a 29 gal. tank that he shared with a big plecostomus (algae eater) into a 10 gal. All he has ever eaten has been feeders-either goldfish or rosies. I usually put in 2-3 dozen at once and he works his way thru them. He escaped the other day, took a dive at nite out of the 29 gal. tank. I found him the next day behind a dresser. Except for a bruise, he was fine. I couldn't believe how fast he hopped across the floor until I caught him.

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Traveling Frogs sent in by Dawn Hookano

I purchased a Grow-A-Frog kit for my school aged children nearly a year ago, and we have all delighted in watching the antics of our four new slippery floppy friends. One evening in late September, the frogs were making much more noise than usual, and were making a great commotion jumping out of the water and splashing about. The tank was particularly "X-rated" that evening, with the lone female entertaining each of the other 3 males in turn. In the morning, I woke to find the tank strewn with hundreds of tiny white eggs, and only one frog! I looked everywhere in the tank, behind all the rocks and hiding places, under the pump, etc. About that time, I heard a scratching sound coming from behind the tank stand. When I pulled the stand away from the wall, I found our big albino female, covered with dust. I promptly scooped her up, washed her off under the tap, and returned her to the tank. I found another frog along the baseboard on the kitchen floor, and by the time I had to leave for work, one frog was still missing in action. I received a telephone call at work later that morning from my 5 year old daughter, saying she had found the last frog down the hall outside her bedroom door (a distance of approximately 40-50 feet, assuming he hopped in a straight line, which frogs hardly ever do!). Even more interesting is that the two lazy housecats who "patrol" the premises did not notice 3 frogs flopping around the house all night. Our froggy friends do not seem to be any worse for the wear after their midnight foray, but I highly recommend preventative measures as this story could have had a very different ending.

Sad Escape Story by Lyn

One evening when feeding the fish and frogs, I noticed that my little male frog was missing out of his 40 gallon tank.  I looked and looked and could not find him anywhere in the tank. I had taken precautions to make sure that he could not get out of any holes at the top of the tank.  (well somehow he did anyway)  I was frantic. I had my son and husband looking everywhere.  We turned the house upside down and never did find him.  We don't know exactly how he managed to escape or where he went after doing so.  We have decided that he either got ate by the dog or he managed to get outside and is enjoying himself in a mudpuddle!

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Grow a Frog or Lose a Frog? sent in by William Wilkins 

Two summers ago I got a Grow-A-Frog and named it Iculis. My friend loved the frog and got two (Cheshire and Nod). They both disappeared one night after a breeding session. She did find one of them, but, unfortunately it was a year later. I asked how could she lose her frogs and made fun of her. My mom; however, used to have dwarf ones in her fishtank as a child and said they escaped alot. Still, I thought it was crazy. Well, one night I came home from kayaking and Iculus was gone. I looked every were for hours, then I gave up. I felt awful. Two days later I woke up and there the frog was, in the tank. My tad told me he went to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and heard a strange noise. He came into the bathroom and our two dogs were growling at it and the cat had her paw ready for attack. My dad picked it up and brought it upstairs. The dumb frog had made its way down thirteen stairs and across the house without being noticed. It was covered with hair and had several marks that reminded me of skinned knees. Iculis is still alive and well, and hasn't escaped lately,(apparently he climbed out through the filter) due this I have some mesh covering all holes in the top. Top of page

Lola On The Loose sent in by Rjvbalog

Lola is a misnamed or maybe not, male African clawed frog who lives with me in my sorority house. She travels between school and home in a black bucket covered with a mesh top. Twice in her many back and forth trips between school and home, she has escaped. The first time she abandoned her companion, Abdul (my misnamed female frog) was on her first trip to school. She was safely secured in a net awaiting transfer to her lovely new aquatic home when all hell broke out. She jumped out of the net and began leaping around my room. Mom, who was helping me setup the new aquarium leap into action throwing a tee-shirt over Lola and scooping him up and plopping him in the tank. He was fine and has escaped at ever opportunity when being transferred from home to school. In all, he has escaped no less than three times and will be making another attempt in a few days when I return to school.

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Evil Kanevil sent in by Chris

Hi, My name is Chris. I have an African frog that I used to keep in a very cool aquarium that I have. It is a 60 Hex that is 4 feet tall and 12 inches wide(side to side). This take also has a stand and cap, each one being adding 1 foot the the height of the aquarium. I once discovered, to my dismay, that he had escaped one day. I searched all over my room and around my apartment. I couldn't find him. The next day, my room mate got home(who actually owns the frog, but keeps him in my tank since he has proven himself inept at being an aquarist) and I told him. We both looked around and he found the frog by the door to the patio. When I first saw the frog I was instantly reminded of the desciated, flattened frogs seen on the roadside after losing a fight with a car. We both were sure he was dead. I went ahead a put him in some water just to be sure, but when he just sank and didn't move, I took him out. I was morbidly curious about the frog so I took a close look at him. I was amazed at how much dust he had collected and how rubbery his skin had become. Then I was even more amazed to see his nostrils move. Here was this desicated little frog(about a year old) with rubberized skin, dust, hair, sunken in eyes and no discernible life signs, except his nostrils were moving! I quickly put him back in the bowl of water but drained it so that his nostrils were above water. Then I took a wet paper towel and very gently cleaned all the dust and stuff off of him. Within a few hours, he began moving(a little) and his eyes took on their normal shape again. In the next few days, some of his fingers, skin and webbing came off and we again were worried whether or not he could recover enough to eat and keep healing(he had been fed on guppies). Fortunately, I fed him some blood worms and I put 1 guppy into the bowl with him as he recooperated. After a few days, he ate the guppy and I knew he was going to be alright. About a month later he has regrown all his fingers, skin, and webbing. He has also not been given the opportunity to escape again. Hard to believe, but this little frog survived a six foot jump(narrowly missing the light) to the the floor and a 2 day safari into the dusty depths. I'm gonna try to get my roommate to rename him to Evil Kanevil.

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Bucket Escape sent in by DNSK

I owned two Pitbull dogs at the same time that I had my African Clawed frog. One day upon cleaning my frogs tank (I had carefully put the frog in a bucket with an encyclopedia covering almost the entire top of the bucket...keyword being "almost" oops..) my frog decided to take a leap of faith...both of my dogs ears perked up and they both charged across the living room with a look of amusement mixed with competition on their faces, which one of them was going to get the froggy prize first? I immediatly went into a state of panic, screaming, shouting and flinging things to divert the dogs attention. I was able to grab both of their collars and hang onto them (each dog weighed about 70 lbs. and it took all I had to keep them back.) Mean time my dear frog was totally unaware of the danger he was in or my heroism. He continued to make his way across my living rm. and then for some reason decided to circle back around and started to hop straight towards us, by this time the dogs were beside themselves, they started barking, growling and pulling me across the floor. Luckily my frog must have sensed the danger or maybe his guardian frog was with him but just in the knick of time he turned and hopped under the couch. My husband came in from the backyard to see what all the noise and commotion was about. He helped me get the dogs secured in another room. I then was able to retrieve my dust covered, furry frog...from under the couch.(doesn't say much for my house keeping skills..) anyway needless to say my frogs near miss ended happily. He lived for 9 more years (2yrs. longer then the dogs) and passed away 2 days ago. I will really miss him and his froggy antics.

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Gilly-Hanna sent in by Cynthia

I am delighted to find so much information on African frogs since I recently inherited mine, Gilly-Hanna, from my seven year old nephew who more or less lost interest in her after she ate his sister's African frog. Anyway, not even having a clue as to what type of frog I was gaining, I set out to purchase an aquarium in order to give her better accommodations than what came with her. I felt the little grow-a-frog container was a little cramped for her. Needless to say, after over a month of successfully taking care of and growing fond of my African frog (I gained knowledge from your web-site)she managed to escape in the middle of the night last week and would have surely perished if not for my faithful three weimaraners who were sleeping in the kitchen. Fortunately, my dogs were not interested in doing harm to Gilly-Hanna, but they certainly made sure to wake us up so we could remove this strange invader from their sleeping quarters. I was confused as to how she escaped but after studying the aquarium decided she squeezed through the back of the lid where the electrical cord for the filter & light feed through. I now have the hole stuffed with paper towels until I come up with a better fix and have placed objects on top of the lid - to take every precaution. She seems pretty happy in her home but I am considering purchasing a large goldfish for companionship. Hopefully Gilly-Hanna learned her lesson about being a frog out of water. Thanks for the info. Cynthia

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Where is Poker? sent in by Mc Williams

I have two frogs,a male and a female. Poker is my albino male frog. One day I was cleaning out the frog's tank and had put the frogs in a large plastic bowl( so they wouldn't escape, it didn't work). While I was in the other room, with my sister we making jokes about "What if Allie or Poker escaped"? As we worked our way into the room, the top was off the bowl and water was splashed around on the desk. I panicked BIG time!!! I started panicing and screaming for my mom. We looked up and down. In closets and in laundry baskets and everywhere. Poker was no where to be found. About 20 minutes had gone by. We figured Poker was gone for good. Then, we heard a banging under my sister's bed. We looked under, and there was Poker, hopping up against a cardboard box. We finally got him back into his tank. Poker had been out of water for about a half an hour. We figured he had been standing on top of Allie and just, kind of JUMPED out.

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Cats and Frogs Don't Mix! sent in by Nor1911a1

I have two African frogs, Mr. and Ms. Frog. My mom received Mr. Frog as a tadpole about three years ago. I thought the concept of receiving a frog, much less any pet, through the mail was so fantastic that I ordered one as well. Ms. Frog arrived to me about two and a half years ago. My mom decided maintaining Mr. Frog was not her cup of tea, so we arranged a marriage. An immediate attraction developed between Mr. and Ms. Frog. Even when they were in separate tanks, separated only by glass, Mr. Frog serenaded Ms. Frog. I've had two cats in the span of time I've had Mr. and Ms. Frog. It was my first cat's sole intention to get the Frogs. However, Ms. Frog developed a ravenous appetite and nibbled at anything that entered the tank. For months, the cat made attempt after attempt to get to them. I was constantly shouting at him to get away from the tank. Finally, the cat just stopped coming near the tank, and gave it funny looks when he passed. It is my contention that Ms. Frog nibbled the cat's paw when he stuck it in the tank. The fact that the creature being hunted fought back, most likely frightened the hunter. The other cat's tale is one of pure survival. My newest kitty is a trouble maker, plain and simple. She also was very interested in the swimming duo in the tank. On one occasion, she dared a cat's natural hatred of water to take a swim with the Frogs. Another time, I was getting ready for work, when I heard a loud pop and crash. I ran to the living room where Mr. and Ms. Frog live. The 10 gallon tank was lying on it's side on the floor, shattered into a million pieces. The cat was standing to the side, stricken with the ramifications of what she had done. The Frogs were no where to be seen. I freaked. I set to work picking up glass, mopping up water, and searching for the missing Frogs. I found them hiding under the couch, away from the grasp of the cat. I put them in a bowl of water, which I placed in the bathroom, and went to work. When I returned home, Mr. Frog was missing. He had jumped out of the bowl, hopped under the bathroom door, and hid behind a book shelf. Ironically, it was the cat who told me where Mr. Frog was hiding. Mr. and Ms. Frog survived with a few minor cuts and scratches.

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Commando Frog sent in by James Wood

Dear Lyn your page has provided some great information for my new pet from which I 've had for three months now, it may interest you to know that on the very first night when I got her, she escaped through the filter, and was thought to be a gooner, I looked every where but amazingly she was still alive a day and a half later. Commando frog ( as I now call her because of her survival techniques ) was covered in dust and looked quite dead when I eventually found her, but once I clean her up, ready for herfuneral, she jumped back to life, to this day no one believes, anyway I thought it may interest you.

James Wood.

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Valentine's Day Dilemma sent in by Doug

VALENTINES DAY MY FAMILY WAS AT MY GRAND MOTHERS HOUSE MY SISTER WAS HOME ON AOL MY FROG JUMPED OUT MY SIS THOUGHT IT WAS NOTHING WHEN SHE HEARD IT MAKING SOUNDS I GET HOME 3 HRS LATER MY SISTER SUE IS STILL ONLINE AND MY FROG WAS ON THE RUG AND SADLY TO SAY HE DIED HE LOOKED LIKE A RAISIN IT WAS A SAD DAY FOR ME MY SIS SAW IT AND THOUGHT HE WAS A STAIN ON THE RUG.

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Sydney Escapes At Breakfast sent in  by Lynn

One day my cousin was over at my house for breakfast and I was showing off my frog to her. I showed her how Sydney ate out of my hand and even sat in it if if I put it in the water. Suddenly Sydney leaped out of my hand and onto the table! He was sliding all over the place, and every time I thought I had him, he slipped out again. He ended up on the chair and then the floor. My cousin was screaming and so was I. She blocked Sydney with her foot and I scooped him up and put him back in the tank. He started swimming around like crazy. My cousin still reminds me about that.

Read Sydney's update here

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Little Boogers sent by Katie

Hi about a week ago, two of my three albino clawed frogs got out while I was cleaning their tank. I was totally clueless to the fact that they are escape artists.  I had just finished filling the tank with water and the lid was off. I was busy getting my email or something  when my sister squealed in the living room. She saw one of the frogs hopping across the foyer into the dining room. She said, "It's like the little fellow has no idea how to hop!!!." He's just plopping along." He was so pitiful... Of course I became a nervous wreck when I returned him to the tank and realized another one of the little boogers was gone too.  I found him in about 3 minutes, but I don't know how long they were out of water.  It could have been up to 15 minutes, the poor things. That was a week ago and now their skin is looking really gross, like they have algae hanging all over them. What's that all about? One of them died today. I was so sad. I think the water got too hot..  The light was on too long. I just dumped a ton of ice in there and I hope the other two will be okay.  They were hanging out right by the filter just staring at it, plotting I am sure.  I put a rag over the hole next to it. After reading all these stories I'm glad I didn't underestimate those guys!!!

Sincerely Katie

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Elliot Under the Microwave sent in by Jessica

I have a African Clawed Froggie named Elliot and one time I was trying to move him into his other clean tank. Well, he jumped out of my hands and ran under the microwave!!! I was totaly freaking out and having a panic attack I lifted up the microwave and he leaped off the counter on to the floor and I picked him up and put him back into his clean tank! Scared the crap out of me! My poor baby has a lil owwie on his nose now, but I think he knows better now because now I go into the bathroom and put both tanks into the bath and move him that way so if he does get out he wont get hurt again but when I move him he lets me pick him up and move him with out having a fit ( most of the time ). So my advice is go some place safe so IF they jump out of your hands you can catch them easily!

Thanks for taking time to read this!! Your web page is GREAT and very helpfull.  Keep up the good work!!!

~Jessica

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The Hallway Journey sent in by Brittany Evans

I have two clawed frogs. One of them is pretty laid back and has never really escaped. About a year after this frog, I got another, who is really freakish. She shares a tank with my calmer frog, so every time I change their water, she's the first one out, trying to climb up the side of the bathtub. The first few times when she went ballistic, I really spazzed out, but after a while I got used to it and learned how to deal with her. One day, I was changing their water, and they were sitting in plastic cups on the bathroom floor with a little water, and upside-down paper plates w/ holes in them so they didn't jump out. I went downstairs for a sec to get more water, and while I was down there I heard screaming. My sister had walked into the hallway and almost stepped on my whacko frog, who had managed to knock over the cup, scoot across the bathroom floor, and go a little ways down the hall before she was discovered, full of lint. After that there was this big fiasco trying to catch her and rinse her off, with her squirming the whole time. After she got back in her tank, she swam round in circles furiously for a moment, and then quieted down for a while. She is now back to her normal crazy self. I never, ever leave her unguarded like that anymore.

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The Escape Frog Duo sent in by Bob

I have two african clawed frogs named Bubba and Bertha. They are quite commical. Before I purchased a filter, I would clean the frogs' aquarium 3x a week. Every single time that I took the two trouble makers out of their tank to put them into a holding tank, they would jump out onto the bathroom floor, and into my long hardwood hallway. Of course, I always had to retrieve the little beasties!!! It must have been quite the scene, watching me chase two totally psycotic, slippery frogs down the hallway. I finally gained some common sense and purchased a filter so this doesn't have to happen as often.

Bob

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Unfortunate Escape sent in by Loraine

My husband and I have had several African frogs. The first one never even tried to escape, so were kind of unaware that most of them apparently consider escaping a hobby. The way we found out about their escapist nature is this: One morning, I got up made my bleary-eyed way into the kitchen, and was extremely startled to discover something pink and fleshy floating in our cat's water dish, covered in cat fur, dirt and dust. It was our (second) albino frog, who apparently had gotten tired of his tank during the night and hopped out, dropped about 5 feet to the hardwood floor, and made his way down nearly 65 feet worth of floor and area rugs into the kitchen, where he found a nice little plastic puddle to sit in.

Unfortunately, the next time he got out, he wasn't so lucky.  I guess he didn't remember where to find the water.

Great Site, by the way.

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