# Frog noises coming from orchid benches



## gore42 (Aug 7, 2007)

Some of you may recall that last winter, I found a little frog on one of my Paphs that must have come in from Hawaii. (If not, here's the thread... http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2673&highlight=frog)

Well, I was peacefully working on my computer today, no more than 30 feet away from my orchids, when I started hearing some loud noises from the benches. I couldn't tell what it was at first... sounded more squeaky than the tree frogs that I'm used to. But I listened for a moment, and that's exactly what it was.... a frog. 

I never did catch that little guy last winter. Girl, I mean. I assumed that it would just die after a while, and I'd find its bones while repotting. But I've seen it hopping around a few times since then, and now, it's making noise. I don't know how it's staying alive in there... must be living off of fungus gnats, though I don't have many. 

So far, I've only heard one... but if I hear more, I'll start to worry  For the moment, it's kinda nice!

- Matt


----------



## Heather (Aug 7, 2007)

I've been out taking walks around twilight the last few nights. Around 8pm. We have a neighborhood bat that hunts above me. It's pretty cool to watch him hunting in the evenings. I haven't been bitten by any skeeters. Buddy Bat's doin' his job. 

Don't ask me about squirrely girly, aka sister squirrel. She's more intermittent but when it is really hot she comes and lounges on our dogwood tree. For hours. Hanging her legs over the branch and airing the snacks. 

The turkeys returned this week also. I don't know where they went after they mated, but apparently their kids are old enough now to be out in public.

I think autumn may be coming. Oh, horror....I love all of the seasons but winter is a trial, for sure.


----------



## dave b (Aug 7, 2007)

airing the snacks. ???

Just when you thought you've heard it all.


Last year, i had a Praying Mantis that hung out on the plants on the patio. It seemed to prefer the rubber tree plant. Id go out at night, when it was most active finding it munching on what was left of some bug. Hung around for weeks.


----------



## jediphrag (Aug 8, 2007)

Matt,
I had a tree frog make it into the house one winter and it spent the winter in the area of the betta tanks I had at the time. I would see it keeping moist by crawling to the top of a tank and sitcking it's butt in the tank to get moist. It grew and porspered and I cought it and let it out in the spring.
Dawn


----------



## jediphrag (Aug 8, 2007)

I usually go out to my garden arround 3:00pm to 4m and I have been able to watch a garter snake hunt. I acctully saw him catch and eat a frog the other night. It lives between one of my raised ponds and the wood I used to camofloge it. They seam to keep the bugs and now I know frogs down to a managible no.
Haven't seen him catch any of the baby fish I am growing out yet.
Dawn


----------



## Frederick (Aug 8, 2007)

*Just a precaution*

Hello Matt
I wouldn't want to alarm you but if the frog travelled from Maui you surely must know they have a variety there living in sugar cane fields which is very poisonous (tourist boards don't tell you this kind of thing). Perhaps you should have your frog identified... Better be safe than sorry. In the mean time don't let anyone touch it.
Happy growing
Frederick


----------



## littlefrog (Aug 8, 2007)

I'd wager not poisonous... I'd wager a fair amount on it, actually. Not tasty, either, I don't suggest eating it. Usually it is pets that run into trouble with the poisonous ones, not people.

I'm not good with anything that isn't a poison dart frog, but I'd say if it is loud it is probably a coqui frog. Look that up?


----------



## goldenrose (Aug 8, 2007)

I'm with littlefrog, I would guess it is not poisonous. I'm no frog expert but usually aren't the poisonous ones quite colorful? I'd welcome one in my GH!


----------



## Frederick (Aug 8, 2007)

Does not look like a coqui to me
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/differences.asp
Frederick


----------



## gore42 (Aug 8, 2007)

From the picture, it may not look like a coqui, but I'm certain that it is. It looks like some of the younger females that I've seen photos of, with the stripe down the back... and the call is pretty unmistakable. There is a lot of variation in the species, as you can see... http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/morphs.asp

But I still won't try to cook it for dinner.

Apparently, there are no native frogs in Hawaii, but there are at least 5 that have been introduced, including a few dart frogs, all of which are brightly colored. Supposedly, two of the dart frogs that were introduced are no longer poison in the wild... but I don't know whether that's true.

- Matt


----------



## dave b (Aug 8, 2007)

I remember hearing about these frogs in a show i saw last year about invasive species. A couple living in Hawaii were interviewed. They lived in an area that was severely infested and the noise level was incredible. It was greatly disturbing their lives and the lives of many other folks im sure.


----------



## Heather (Aug 8, 2007)

dave b said:


> airing the snacks. ???
> 
> Just when you thought you've heard it all.



I'm sorry, my honey and I got in the habit of calling it that when our cat did this: 







It is a regular habit of her's when she is hot. The squirrel does the same thing but with all her feet hanging over the branch so just her tum is touching it. My cat does that position too.


----------



## Rick (Aug 8, 2007)

gore42 said:


> From the picture, it may not look like a coqui, but I'm certain that it is. It looks like some of the younger females that I've seen photos of, with the stripe down the back... and the call is pretty unmistakable. There is a lot of variation in the species, as you can see... http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/morphs.asp
> 
> But I still won't try to cook it for dinner.
> 
> ...



Given the variation in coloring I could see in the web photo's I agree it's likely a coqui. However, generally only the male of anuran species is the one that calls. That could make the coqui that much more obnoxious if both sexes call I guess.

I recently read a good article on how poison dart frogs get there poison from eating tropical ants. So in captivity (and maybe the wilds of Hawaii) PD frogs loose their toxicity with time. Also even the hotest of PDfrogs are handleable, you just can't eat them or get the venom into cuts. The venom is excreted from skin glands on an as needed basis, and you need to rough them up a bit to get them to exude it.


----------



## gore42 (Aug 9, 2007)

I should mention that I'm only assuming that it's the frog in the photo that is making the noise... it's the only one I've seen, and there certainly aren't any wild ones around here  However, if one got in, there might have been two... and as soon as I get close enough, the frog stops making noise... so I can't find it. I hope it is only one.

- Matt


----------



## rdlsreno (Aug 10, 2007)

Cute frog! And it help to keep the insect population down!

Ramon


----------



## NYEric (Aug 11, 2007)

Around 2:00 AM here the sound of the frogs from my window is..oh wait those are yellow taxicabs...never mind.


----------

