Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Herps in the News! Kissing a Frog?

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/04/15/living/kiss-a-frog-bad-idea-for-both-you-and-the-frog/?ref=relatedBox

A White’s tree frog perches on the hand of biologist Matt Evans at the National Zoo in Washington in 2009. April is National Frog Month, and by now, most people know kissing a frog won’t give you a prince and touching a toad won’t give you a wart.

Kiss a Frog?? Bad idea for both you and the Frog!

April is National Frog Month! So I believe it is time to make you aware of a few things about frogs. This White's tree frog  in the picture above is being held by biologist Matt Evans at the National Zoo in Washington. Now, while most people (I hope!) know that kissing a frog will not turn them into a prince, nor will a toad give them warts, what people are not aware of is the fact that frogs can transmit diseases. This month is a great month to be aware of the possibilities of hurting yourself or possibly hurting a frog by picking them up and playing with them. Oh, yes the temptation is hard because they can be such cute little things, but in all reality it may be best not to.

According to Jeremy Goodman, the direct of the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey, frogs can transfer salmonella poisoning to humans or give humans tapeworm cysts. On the other hand, humans can have naturally dry, salty hands which could cause harm to a frog while touching them. This is why it is so important to have wet hands and keep consistently dipping the frog in water to hydrate it if you are ever holding one. Frogs breathe and drink through their permeable skin so need hydration at all times.

While I am not a fan of keeping frogs in captivity as pets, some people enjoy doing that and believe frogs can live in captivity many more years that out in the wild. The record for a captive African clawed frog is more than 20 years old and a captive American toad lived to be 36. 

It is your own opinion if you think frogs should be kept in their natural environment or not, we could sit here all day and battle what's best for them. But, I believe all frogs should be living out its natural life cycle in its habitat it was born in with all the other little froggies in the world! But, before you do pick up a frog in the wild, it may be a good idea to wear moist gloves to protect the frog and yourself! 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you imagine having a frog for 36 years?! hah, so cool! Thanks for sharing, people (including me) are so quick to grab little critters so this information was good to read.

Allison Welch said...

Princesses, take note!

On a more serious note, pet owners with frogs are typically advised not to handle their pet frogs, but simply to enjoy observing them.

Holly Kinsey said...

Good to know, as I chased down and held about every Acris gryllus I could get my grubby little hands on at our most recent field trip! Never thought I could possibly get salmonella poisoning from handling them! Boy would I have been confused!