Houdini FBT--keep those lids on tight!

[heyjude2200]

I have a 55 G tank with 7 FBT's, 60% water & 40% land. One of my toads, whom I call Motley, is much more inquisitive & active than the others--a real personality. If I change anything around, or put in a new plant he is right there investigating. A while back I posted a pic of him when he had scaled all the way up the glass to the top, (18"!) so I've always been careful about keeping the tank secure; I have magnets siliconed to each corner, so the top is secure and I put a book on it also.

But tonight, I had the top off and was doing some of the things I regularly do--changing out some water, misting, fussing with some of the plants. I noticed that Motley is really looking good--I've been feeding the crickets Fluker's orange cubes and I noticed how much brighter his abdomen is. He was in the water and I stepped away for a couple of minutes and turned back just in time to see Motley flying out of the tank!! Couldn't believe my eyes, but there he was sitting on my bed, checking everything out. Needless to say, I put him back in the tank & secured the lid.

But it leaves me wondering about a couple things:

First, there has been a couple of times when I've had the top off--it's a regular top with metal edges and screening--and it seemed to me that Motley was looking up, checking it out--maybe thinking about making a break? But I thought I was just imaging it, as it's a long way up and their eyesight isn't all that good--based on how many crickets they miss. But I maybe I was wrong about that--did he really know that the lid was off & was he planning an escape?! Are their little frog minds that complex?

I also have put some pictures by one side of the tank, one is of the ocean with a lot of large rocks, and he sits and looks at it. Now, I'm concerned, because he is such a feisty little guy, could he be feeling 'trapped' in this tank, and really trying to escape? Does he need more space to explore? Am I turning into an old, weird frog person?

[kueluck]

They can see the openness when lids are removed. My 2 Grey's raise up their heads and look when the lids off and try to make a break for it when they can. They also enjoy just sitting on the edge when the lids off, gives them the opportunity to survey the land. I just don't leave the area when they do this cause they will head for the wall and since we have an A-frame home I don't want to retrieve a frog from a 20 ft ceiling. And I wouldn't be to concerned about turning into the old weird frog person, we all have some of that in us.

[GrifTheGreat]

Frogs are a lot smarter than people give them credit for. I can assure you that they do plot and think some things through. He may have been planning to expand his territory to your bed

[heyjude2200]

Thanks for your responses. You're right, I didn't give them enough credit for being that smart--it had crossed my mind several times--as I said he is the one who is always investigating. But sometimes he sits and looks right at me. The thing that really shocked me was how he came flying out--my tank is 18" high & I know he wasn't scaling the side--he's done that before, but I would have noticed. There is one plant that goes about halfway up, and he sometimes climbs around in it, but it's really flimsy. Well, lesson well learned for me.