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Ethical Question

KellyBelly

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Hi there! So I have a wild-caught leopard frog (northern I believe). What happened was that I was working in a store and one came in with our feeder goldfish because they come from a pond in PA. I am located in PA. My coworkers were morons and I wasn't there at the time, so they put the frog in with our fire belly toad! When I came in a few days later and found out, I took the leopard frog home. At the time I was also working at a zoo and a coworker there told me that even though this type of frog is native to the area, I should not release it because it could pass pathogens from the fire belly toad to the native wildlife and cause problems. The last thing I wanted to do was upset the ecosystem so I set up and enclosure and took it home. It has been three months approx. and the frog is still alive. However, I feel it is unhappy and extremely nervous. It hides ALL the time and if its hiding place is disturbed (to spray or to check on it), he flips out. He only eats the crickets I provide, I have not seen him eat from the dish I sometimes put bugs in. Would it still be dangerous to release him? He is still wild and I just feel sorry for him. His current setup is decently nice, but it isn't like being in nature. What do you think? Thanks!
 

KellyBelly

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Also, just in case it you were wondering, I have him in a spare ten gallon tank that I have divided to provide a land and water area. He has a big plant and hiding log on the land side with coconut fiber substrate and some moss in the hide. The water area has a ramp that leads down to it and is bare- bottom.
 

Niels D

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I can understand the problem, but I would advise you to never set it free again. It has been with an Asian species, which comes from a totally diffirent "universe" regarding to possible pathogens and such. There's still little known about possbile threats and diseases, so don't risk a possible disaster.
 

Neotenic_Jaymes

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Passing pathogens is a serious concern. Should not be released at this point. Especially coming into contact with firebelly toads that are from China, BSAL comes from Asia. It will hide and be nervous for a while. It's just acting natural. Crickets and other insects will be acceptable but it may hesitate to eat out of a bowl. Frogs are natively ambush predators. So basically something has to come within range of the frog when it's posing still. Then the frog will lunge and try to eat whatever is moving on by.

I think a decent amount of room and very little intrusions will make the frog less stressed.
 
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