Gray treefrogs and children

[Dennis1079]

I live in an area where there lots if gray treefrogs and children my 2 year old son likes to pick them up.Should I not let him or just make him wash his hands after handling them?

[LilyPad]

If you can't stop him, definitely get his hands washed. I didn't wash my hands once after getting peed on by one, just wiped them off because I got distracted. About an half hour later, I rubbed my eye and it started burning horribly and was inflamed. I do not doubt that the cause of inflammation and burning was from the grey tree frog.

Personally, I'd just stop him from picking them up so that he doesn't squeeze one to death or put it in his mouth or something. 2 year olds come up with very interesting things to do with the stuff they find.

[Dennis1079]

Thanks for the info.I try to keep him away from but we have so many of them in our yard he can find them even in daytime. But he is very good about not hurting them.

[sschind]

One of the worst pains I have ever experienced was when I rubbed my eyes after handling gray tree frogs. I was out road hunting on a rainy night and I got back into my car and just went to rub the water out of my eyes and WHAM the pain was intense and instantaneous. I sat for about 10 minutes with my eyes held as tightly shut as I could. Whenever I tried to open them even a little the pain just hit again and I think I shed more tears than it rained that night. When I was about 2 years old I was running with a sharp stick and I fell and it went into my eye. Well, I am here to tell you the frog pain was worse than a sharp stick in the eye.

Watch your son very closely and if at all possible don't let him handle the frogs unless you can be there to wash his hands right away.

[flybyferns]

Keep in mind your son is at an increased risk of being exposed to salmonella after handling a frog.

Therefore, to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading salmonella poisoning (especially to immune suppress humans of which some examples are: someone undergoing chemo therapy, chronic anemia, or debilitated /frail elderly),
all handlers should wash their hands after handling any reptile and/or amphibian.

We like to think they are clean ( especially our captive/bread species) but they're not.