My New Frog, Survivor

by Jennette Taylor
(California)

It was a quiet morning. I woke up, yawning, stumbling towards the backyard to close the water pump which had refilled my pool. To my surprise, I saw a blurry dark figure at the bottom of my pool. Looking closer, I discovered it was a Northern Leopard Frog, which was a common species around my area.
Not having the heart to kill it, or let it free into the highway, I used a net and scooped it up. Since I had no professional tank or glass container, I took my biggest pot, scrubbed it clean, and found a few dozen rocks from my backyard, placing them in a neat land space in the corner of the pot. Next I added a little water, only enough to cover half the rocks. With a few stalks of grass and other vegetation, I let my little frog free inside. He seemed content, first playing around in the water and then hopping onto the rocks.
I did some research. They were good frogs for beginners, which, of course I was, and they lived in pretty simple conditions. I still had no idea what to feed it. Not sure what to do, I carefully took a few dead spiders and dropped them in the water. Next few days, and nothing.
Soon I was worried it might die of hunger. It was awefully skinny, even if I wasn't a frog expert. Panicked and not having a choice, I went outside and captured three small beetles and one big spider. They were all still alive. I'm not a bug fan, either, and I was terrified. Quick, I plopped them into the pot. I watched them squirm awkwardly in the water.
What happened next amazed me. The frog stood still for a few moments, then turned so quick I wasn't sure if what I saw was real, and leaped to the first bug, its pale red tongue flicking out and next thing I knew, the first bug was gone.
Four bugs later, he lay content on his rock. I got another bug for him, just in case, but he didn't bother to eat it. Following the instructions on this page, I scooped the soon-dead bug out and threw it away.
Survivor and I have been owner-and-pet for a happy two years now, and I will never forget the day I found that blurry blob of black at the end of my pool.