HORRIBLE frog escape???

[Philsuma]

So....Matt (Melas), Alex (Occidentalis) and I are attending the prestigious Pet n' Reptile show in cosmopolitan Reading Pennsyltucky for about 5 hours.

I know, I know....how did we only spend a mere 5 hours at a reptile show you are undoubtably asking? Well, after seeing the 25 lb flemmish welsh meat / fluff / pet rabbit (worlds largest feeder rabbit to us), Matt was frustrated that he couldn't take it home to his albino burm, so we left.

Here's where it gets weird, hard to believe, an' all X files and stuff....

We all arrive at my house and retire to the basement frog room. Alex came all the way from Michigan to view my collection and I did not wish to dissapoint! As we are sitting on the couch and I am begining the "tour" with my laser pointer - extolling the virtues of a modifiyed ultrasonic humidifyer and a double layered Brom canopy, my attention fell upon my Cauchero vivarium, containing my excellently producing group of 1.2 frogs and 2 froglets. As SOON as I said "and this is one of the viv's that I am most proud of" or something similarly humble, I noticed that the front half of the glass hinge lid was WIDE OPEN ! I quickly deduced that it had to have been left open since 9 am or just before Matt and I left for the show.

The 3 adult pumilio and 2 froglets had a half open top for over 7 hours!

Later that night, after staying up till midnight with my princeton headlamp on, making sure that every inch of leaf, branch, brom and panamanian ficus was checked, I found EVERY SINGLE FROG inside the viv.

The end.



Wait....Is there more? A moral perhaps? A joke (you know me by now) ? Something more????

I'll leave you with this, for you to judge. All the Pumilio were F1 to F2 frogs (Captive born, second generation). I've had at least 6 Wild Caught Pumilio either find cracks or otherwise quickly sneak out of an enclosure if I even turned my back for a second, it seemed. Were the frogs so well suited to captive conditions that they had no inclination to search for escape? The one female was found near the brom in the top left corner where she always hangs out - INCHES away from the OPEN top when we discovered it. One tiny jump would have been all it took for her to go over the edge and yet she stayed inside the viv.

My horrible mistake......OUR collective learning experience. Submitted for your perusal. Make of it what you will....

[yumpster]

I don't think a human being can get much luckier than that short of winning the lottery. Glad nobody decided to take a vacation.

[ab1502]

I have a 20 gallon grow out tank for azureus froglets. The sliding lid on top got nudged open halfway sometime while I was out of town for 3 days, when I came back I found all 6 of the froglets that were in the vivarium still happily inside the vivarium as well.

[PumilioTurkey]

Good for you

I know stories of bluelegged Pumilios, Histrionicus and other rare ones escaping while the owner wanted to feed them.

most of those frogs were never to be see again

[Philsuma]

Originally Posted by PumilioTurkey

Good for you

I know stories of bluelegged Pumilios, Histrionicus and other rare ones escaping while the owner wanted to feed them.

Indeed. Most wild caught frogs are normally fast, jumpy and inquisitive. Thats to be expected from a "wild animal". A captive born animal is much more suited and adapted to an enclosure. Ideal for the new hobbyist.

[melas]

Glad to hear everyone was found alive and well! I was thinking about it all evening!

[poimandres]

wow that is pretty remarkable. I guess it speaks for how comfortable your frogs are in their vivs...haha, maybe we should make this a benchmark test for seeing just how well designed one's viv is!

[Philsuma]

CB vs WC.....

[Arrynia]

Phil, you are very fortunate that it ended the way it did! And the frogs are fortunate as well!
I can relate to this in a similar experience that I had years ago. I accidentally left the top open on a grow-out tank that housed a cobalt juv. I left the house for some 4 hours before returning home to find the catastrophe. I quickly glanced around and inside the viv and was just about to start tearing it down, when I looked down at 1 gallon pickle jug that I was using to dump waste water into. The jug was about half full and I guess I had accidentally dropped a small piece of cork bark into it, because there sat the cobalt on the floating cork...staring straight up at me as though saying; 'well do something already...get me out of here!'
The frog was so fortunate to have either fallen into the jug or making his way down into it after his escape. The water inside kept him from dessicating and the cork kept him from drowning.

[PumilioTurkey]

I would love to see a picture of that