My Frog is very....odd.....

[InfinitysDaughter]

She, apparently, takes after her mommy in that respect. X3 I dont know why but I wanted to share the sillyness and see if anyone else has odd little frogs like me.


So recently I've started watching horror movies a lot and I've noticed that Azy has too! At first I thought it was just her doing the usual "Whites stare" thing, that she was just staring into space and not actually watching TV cuse, well, thats silly right? So I just started to watch her when I was watching different shows. Cartoons she has no interest in. She actually turns away. Shows like Law and Order she is mildly interested in but usually she just sits on her branch in what I've dubbed the "Tree Frog Rest Pose" with her back legs tucked and her front legs crossed under her chin, just at rest. Real crime shows like Dateline she is a little more interested in, she'll have her head up and her eyes are usually open and looking at the TV. But Horror flicks? She is RIVETED to attention. She usually has a tense pose, similar to the red eye depicted at the top of the forum up there *points up* with wide eyes. Even when she soaks in her water dish she props herself up so she can see out the glass and keep watching to the point only her butt is partially in the water with her back legs stretched to hold her up, her front legs holding onto the little ledge over the secondary circulation opening (zoo mead tanks have a strip of black plastic with holes in it right below the door if you didn't know. thats what she props herself up on cuse the plastic blocks the view). Sadly she hasn't done this in a while cuse she figures out I usually change the channel when I go to bed so she just waits to soak until the horror movie is over (if I can catch her I'll take a pic cuse its ADORABLE!).

I just thought this was the strangest thing in the world when I realized it. My green and gray never seemed interested in TV. Maybe slightly with a cartoon but I figured, bright flashing colors would attract anyone's attention. But Azy has preferences! Maybe it should worry me. Yaknow, a frog the size of my fist who could get very large (some of the pics of I've seen show them getting pretty big!) with a mouth that big likes to watch violent and gory movies..... maybe I should invest in a lock for her tank.... >>

XD

I also was gone for the first time over night saturday to sunday since I got her. I went campin with mum and obviously I couldn't bring the baby's with me. I left crickets in the tank and knew we'd be back before dinner the next day so I wasn't worried. When I got home I found her shoved, literally, against the glass just staring at my bed across from the tank. Her eyes were practically plastered to the glass and her little fingers were on the glass on either side of her head. When I opened up the tank and got her out she went right to my shoulder, climbed all over from one side to the other then slide her way down and rested on my chest just below my chin (right about where my heat beat is the strongest) while I checked her tank for poop and the like. And she was very reluctant to go back in her tank when I was done. All night she sat up watching me to make sure I didn't go anywhere. Even at 3:30 in the morning (dont ask why I was up. I dont even know @.@) she was watching me. I was gone all the next day and came home to her already sitting on her limb (hours before dusk when she usually comes out) waiting for me. We went threw the same routine of crawling all over me then settling above my heart while I checked her tank.

I know people, even around here, say frogs dont get lonely but, well, what do you call that?! Think I might have to give serious thought to getting the larger tank soon and then getting her a tank mate (the one she had before I bought her is actually still at the store too) because we go camping a lot (its not far from home so I can come back every day for basic care but still) and I cant just pick her up and take her with me (as much as I want to).


So my Azy is a very strange frog. How about you?

[Odica]

i have 4 green tree frogs and they are strange as well they croak every time i turn up my radio its funny but i try not to do it alot because it may be they are scared of it but i dont think its that because they still stay sitting in the same spots an i have had them for some time now and they seem to be doing well

[BlueisallIneed]

When I was growing up, Hetfield would croak every time the radio would come on, Tv, vacuum, and my school alarm. Almost anything even people talking hahaha LOVE it. He is old now and croaks once in awhile If I went away he would get depressed and not eat! My mom would put the radio on in my room just to hold him over hahah.

[Bolisnide]

I happen to be "one of those people" that believe frogs do not have emotion... perhaps Azy is responding to the type of noise that comes along with a horror movie (screaming, etc.).
My white's certainly croaks more when there are certain noises around him, he especially croaks when I spray his enclosure with a squeeky spray bottle.
I read somewhere that there are only three things white's treefrogs concern themselves with:
1. Don't eat me!
2. Don't squish me!
3. Survival (where's my food, clean water source, warmth, shelter)
Through observation and research, I truly believe that frogs are emotionless. Your frogs don't miss you, love you, or want to cuddle with you. Nor do they like watching tv.
Sorry

[ViperJr]

I happen to be "one of those people" that believe frogs do not have emotion... perhaps Azy is responding to the type of noise that comes along with a horror movie (screaming, etc.).
My white's certainly croaks more when there are certain noises around him, he especially croaks when I spray his enclosure with a squeeky spray bottle.
I read somewhere that there are only three things white's treefrogs concern themselves with:
1. Don't eat me!
2. Don't squish me!
3. Survival (where's my food, clean water source, warmth, shelter)
Through observation and research, I truly believe that frogs are emotionless. Your frogs don't miss you, love you, or want to cuddle with you. Nor do they like watching tv.
Sorry

Indeed. They can certainly react to things like a radio (or horror movie...) if it create some sort of stimuli in their primitive brain. People really like to be loved like they love their pets, even when it's not going to happen, like with amphibians. I do find it a little bit strange that some amphibian-keepers fool themselves with this kind of mindset. I mean, I really like my frogs and do what I can to make sure they stay healthy, but I know I'm not going to get any love back. Like you said, their brain is hard-wired to do three things:
Eat
Survive
Reproduce

[Owler]

As humans I think we deceive ourselves in trying to see human in every living thing so we can relate.

However my White's jam with me whenever I play guitar - this is pretty cool, but they have zero rhythm

[InfinitysDaughter]

Well the only argument that I have against her just responding to a noise is the appearance she shows a preference. Like I said, I've been watching her, really watching, and she does show a preference in her posture. She only ever croaks when I happened to squirt her butt while misting (lol!) but she does seem to show interest in movies that have blood, guts, gore, and violence. Its more the visual because the cartoons I watch has people screaming and she shows no interest. Its very possible that there is something in a horror movie, like the splattering sounds of blood or the like, that for some reason interests her in a basic level. Dont know how it would fit. Maybe the "dont squish me!" and she hears the squish sound makes her scared. But I usually if something frightens her she makes a bee line for her half log to hide.

The other part that I have doubts about being "lonely" or something similar is when I got back and she curled up over my heart beat. With cats, dogs, and small children hearing a heart beat is comporting because it reminds them of the womb. Even as adults if we have something traumatic happen think about the position we seek comfort in. We put our heads on the chest of a loved one, just over the heart. Now I know that frogs never really hear there mothers heart, they hatch from eggs. So this reasoning is flawed greatly to think shes seeking comfort from my own heart beat. But I just got to wonder why she does it then. I'd assume she'd stay on my shoulder or hop away, or at the very least avoid the thumping of a heart that shows a creature much bigger and very capable of eating her is so close.

Like I said. My frog is very VERY odd. I dun know. I could very well be reading too much into it but some of the behavior is odd, ya gotta agree with that. :3

Now Percy, the green, while a horrible trouble maker, falls right into the typical frog thing. What I see as mischief is just his way of acting. He tries to escape to find "greener pastures" then realizes that the best place is in the tank (he escaped a few months ago and was found by my mom hanging on the opposite side of the tank about 20 minutes latter).

[UncleChester]

Be very, very wary of your own personal observation bias. You obviously love your frogs (which is awesome) and you hope that there's more to their behavior than just basic instincts. This has a tendency to skew any observation you make and rationalize it in a way that fits your hope and cast off anything that doesn't support your belief. Like the possibility that it's a fear (or reproductive) response that puts your frog on alert. Or maybe the horror shows generally happen later in the evening, perhaps after an evening misting or after AC turns off. Higher humidity generally leads to a more open and thus less moisture preserving posture.

As for the frog settling down on you- I've handled many, many wild gray tree frogs (generally to move out of danger like the incoming lawnmower or off the top of the door that's about to be shut) that could have formed no attachment whatsoever to me. It is pretty standard that once I pick them up they cling to me somewhere and won't let me put them down someplace safe. I doubt this is because they like me and I've always took it to mean they are choosing to prefer being stuck to me to the possible alternate of being eaten. If you're a frog, it's a good day if you don't get eaten. So if you're not currently being eaten, you're currently doing alright so let's not let anything change if you can. Whatever it is, it's definitely NOT because they 'like' me, I was the strange giant dude who just about mowed them down after all.

Everything I've seen supports the three motivators Martin has mentioned and never to any kind of added emotion. I'm also sorry this is the case, but I find they interplay of these natural instincts so fascinating that it's never taken away any of my enjoyment of watching frogs. I'm always open to evidence to the contrary but I hold a very healthy skepticism of anecdotal reports.

[Froggiefressh]

Infinitysdaughter your frog loves you as much as you love her! Just because they show no emotion doesn't mean they're emotionless. Each frog has their own characteristics that has to build of something and definitely not their "survival instincts". Your frog is very odd! I wish mine would watch movies with me!

[InfinitysDaughter]

(I'm not ignoring the discussion. I'm having back problems so I cant sit at the computer for long periods so the frog forum usually only gets a quick glance most days ^^; )

I totally understand where your comin from Brian and I know my judgment is clouded because I want the love I show my pets returned to me. I do, however, think Azy does get lonely when I'm away. I was gone all weekend again and once again I was greeted with great gusto by my little girl. I dont think it has to do with survival instincts because I left her more then enough food for the 2 days I was away and plenty of water too. There was even crickets left over when I got back. The temps and humidity were also kept constant so all her basic needs had been taken care of but she still seemed ecstatic to see me and settled down while I cleaned her tank. And, to be clear, this isn't normal behavior for her. She sits and watches me from her perch in the tank or will settle in my hands or on my shoulder (sometimes trying to climb to my head. figure this is an attempt to get to the highest point she can find). Her greeting after I've been gone (the smushing herself against the glass towards my bed and the seeking out my heart beat) is completely new.

I'm thinking maybe this weekend I'll leave the TV on and see what happens. Its plausible she just wants companionship. I dont think shes ever been alone. She is captive breed and when we got her at petsmart she has a tankmate we assume was from the same clutch of eggs. Then when I got her she always had me around to watch and I often handle her (at least once a day). I would put her and Percy's tank next to each other so she could see him but, well, Percy is scared to death of her and I think she would just see him as lunch (hes just a little bigger then the crickets she eats XD). I'm thinking of getting the other Whites who is still at petsmart (the same one she'd been with before I bought her) but I need to get a larger tank for that. I know many people say they dont get lonely but it wasn't that long ago people said the same for cats and not long before that was dogs. So you never really know.


hehe Thanks Greg! You make me feel loved by my little girl. ^w^


Also, I dont mind the discussion about Instinct vs. Emotion in frogs but I really created the thread for people to talk about or post pics of there frogs doin silly stuff. ^^;