Hello:

I live in New Brunswick, Canada, and today I was cutting some firewood. I had a big yellow birch on the ground and was starting to limb it, when I noticed a little frog on one of the limbs. I brought him home and googled him, and found that it was a Grey Tree Frog- Wikipedia says that there are only isolated pockets of these critters in NB.

I released him because we are into the first week of October, and I don't at the moment have a suitable aquarium for a frog- I figured he'd be better off getting himself settled for winter.

In the future, however, I'd love to have one of these guys as a pet. Does anyone know of a comparatively easy way to locate and capture Grey Tree Frogs? I've lived here in NB for going on 30 years, and this is the first one I've ever seen, though I've heard that they are not so scarce as Wiki seems to contend.

Welcome to the site!

If they are rare where you are I would strongly suggest leaving them in the wild. As much fun as they are to observe in our homes it stresses them and puts stress on the wild populations. In some places it is even illegal to take animals out of the wild!
You may be able to find a gardening book with suggestions on how to make a frog friendly area in your yard though and still be able to enjoy seeing and hearing the frogs in their own natural habitat. That would be very rewarding especially knowing that you are making a suitable environment for a frog that is rare where you are from.

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

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Lacey:

Thanks for the quick reply. I checked with a friend of mine at a local Marine Science Center (the contact person was actually an ornithologist), and she assured me that they are not listed as rare, scarce, or endangered in NB. It's just that they are fairly secretive critters not often seen, as they are primarily nocturnal.

I live on an 85 acre mixed deciduous/coniferous woodlot which has a brook and pond, and borders a lake, so I think the habitat is just about ideal. The one I found today was at least 300 metres from any permanent water source, and at least 40 feet up in the tree. I just wondered if anyone knew of an easy way to locate them- in fact, the Science Center I called asked if I thought I could get them one for their public aquarium next year!

the only way to catch one would be as you did. Find it randomly. There is no "trap setting" for these little guys. Luck of the draw really.

Keeping them isn't too hard, you pretty much have to mimic the natural environment and I would suggest building a natural vivarium with local plants.

now saying this, i'm all for keeping wild animals wild. There are many frogs that can be bought at reptile shows and pet shops that would be just as gratifying to own. Check out white's tree frogs. They have TONS of charachter.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I have caught 5 different Grey Tree frogs and they all came to me!

I had one of those inflatable pools in my back yard(I live in Virginia) and I left it there for about 3 months. I had no idea that tree frogs even lived in my state. But they do and they came to it to breed in! They quickly adapt to captive life when captured. I didnt know ANYTHING about reptiles or Amphibions back then and even I found it easy to take care of. I kept 3 for only about 2 months before re-releaseing them. Gave one to my friend who still has it after 3 years. Then kept mine for another year before releasing it also. (the nearest pet store is 20 min away and I was tired of driving to get crickets every week)

PS: Have you relized they change color to the light?? They can go all the way white to a VERY dark green camo pattern

Though I'm not one to condone wild capture to others, I'm also not going to tell you not to do something that I've done plenty of times. However, as mentioned, there's really no way to trap them or anything. You just have to know where and when to look for them and then catch one. Greys adjust very well in captivity and can become quite tame for a frog. That said, they're also readily available in the pet trade and cost less than $10 in the US. If you did buy one though, you ought not to release it. There are actually two species of grey tree frog and not knowing which you bought, you wouldn't want to contaminate the local population.

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

As some of you probably read, I have a grey treefrog (verified as a Hyla Versicolor) in my collection. I call him Bob - short for Ribbert. Ha Ha. I found him at a friends house out in the middle of nowhere, a local town called Gobles. He was sitting on a geranium leaf as we were clearing the deck for the winter. ( I found him in late Sept/ early Oct) As we observed him for several hours and after calling our local Nature Center, they assured me that it would be alright to keep add him to my collection as they are fairly common in my local area. He seems quite well adjusted to indoor life and is dooted upon very heavily. He eats well, 3-4 crickets 3x a week, constant supply of clean sparkling water. He has even shed a few times (quite a site). As you may have also read, he was kept in a group tank with other species and seemed fine. In fact, I even caught one my Cubans sitting next to him on one of the branches IMITATING his coloring. I thought for a minute I had 2 grey tree frogs. But now, Bob is in his own terrarium and seems quite happy. I have seen info that they can live in captivity 10+ yrs. I can only hope.