The Cutest Frog: Desert Rain Frog

 

I'm sure that most of you already know about the desert rain frog from its viral squeaking video from a few years ago(video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBkWhkAZ9ds), where the desert rain frog is showing a display of self-defense that is more cute than terrifying.  Did you know that is not the only comical behavior of this frog though?  Pretty much the entire existence of this frog is funny.  For instance, they have an extremely odd way of mating.  In order to mate, the male glues himself to the back of the female because of their size difference and how round they are.  Desert rain frogs also puff up to make themselves even rounder as a method of self-defense in an attempt to appear larger which just makes them look even cuter.  The way they move around is also very awkward because of their general body shape, but despite that, they are still efficient at burying themselves!  You can watch them dig in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNlN_neSgxs

Desert rain frogs are not common pets at the moment because they are considered near threatened on the IUCN Red List and they are also not domesticated.  The few places that do sell them as pets usually sell wild-caught frogs or frogs that have not been through many cycles of breeding in captivity, so they do not do well in captivity yet.  I hope to own one someday though as it is my dream pet!

Photo sources: 

https://www.treehugger.com/meet-the-desert-rain-frog-worlds-cutest-amphibian-4863402

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Ffrogs%2Fcomments%2Fpkq74c%2Fdoes_anyone_know_where_i_could_buy_a_common_rain%2F&psig=AOvVaw383Vxa6twPIokI7DukzkJn&ust=1651029791226000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCLDJrLTjsPcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vice.com%2Fen%2Farticle%2Fk7w5wn%2Fhow-do-frogs-mate-science-adhesives&psig=AOvVaw1yHMYNhLK7bGQQ-eMwxyrN&ust=1651029825580000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCNDu98TjsPcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE