Several years ago back when I lived in New York State, I had many pets. Reptiles and Amphibians, my apartment looked like a pet shop. I had a very large green iguana named “Mr. Spock”, named after the character from STAR TREK, and several Australian Bearded Dragons. Those were awesome; they are easy to keep and bred well in captivity. I sometimes would have hatchlings and in a month or two, young juvenile beardies to sell to local pet stores.

I always had an aquarium or two that was ‘unoccupied’ at any one time or another, and one night when I came home from my mundane job, there was Gray Tree Frog on the galvanized pipe handrail to my front door. Attracted by the bugs that were lured-in by the houselights, the frog had found a virtual delicatessen of buggy food. He clearly appeared to have fed-well earlier in the evening.

I spied the frog closely and was almost afraid to disturb him for fear he would leap fearfully away into the darkness. Cupping my hands carefully I was able to capture the frog that surprisingly, offered no resistance whatsoever. The frog seemed quite at ease with being picked up and held. I could handle the frog easily; he would walk around on my hands, up my arms and showed no sign of fear.

I brought the frog inside, and placed him in the spare aquarium with some water, clean gravel and live plants to climb on and he seemed right at home. A flat piece of screen would prevent the frog from escaping. Or, so I had thought!

Amphibian Jailbreak

The frog would climb up the glass walls of the would-be prison and push the screen aside, and be free. Leaping to the nearby shower curtain, the frog got into my shower stall where it was dark, cool and humid. The next morning I searched everywhere for the escapee frog; everywhere except where he was. I found the frog in my bathtub. Pulling the vinyl curtain back, he would climb the wall and sit on the edge of the tub. This would become the morning ritual to recapture the frog, always without any resistance, and return him to the aquarium.

Gray Tree Frog Chirping in the Night

Many nights were filled with the prolonged chirping of this frog, as he would ‘sing.’ I enjoy the chirping of frogs, this is ‘country white noise’ for me and it led me into sleep on many nights.

I attached a soap dish securely on the shower wall below the showerhead with a dedicated wet washcloth for the frog. When I needed to use the shower I would turn the water on full and cool, and the frog would climb up the shower wall and get onto the soap dish! That would be his place.

I would leave the frog in my shower stall for a day or two at a time where he would climb up or down the stall as desired, returning him to the aquarium for feeding upon crickets, flies and whatever bugs I provided.

I kept this frog all that Spring and Summer. The frog Wintered with me as well, and again it was Spring. By later Summer, I decided that I had kept this frog long enough, and decided to return him to the wild. He was released into the thicket of wild grape vines in my back yard, which overlooked a moist ravine and shallow creek. The frog very calmly crawled from my hand and onto the grape leaves, and climbed up into the tangle of vines and out of sight. The Gray Tree Frog was set free.

For weeks aftrwards, I would hear the distinct chirping song of a Gray Tree frog in the backyard. I wonder if it was he, calling for a mate. I am glad that I kept this unique pet for a time, and happy that he did so well with it. He deserved to be free in the end. I wish however that I had taken more photographs of him, the tree frog that came to live with me for over an entire year.