Local Residents

[Baccus]

I see them don't you see them???

These are actually a few of my local green tree frogs that come every evening hoping for a hand out, and here they are dreaming about getting in to my mealworm farm. The one on the corner is the only one with a name GUTS simply because we have had to rescue smaller frogs from (most likely her) mouth and it eats fingers and once even tried eating our Staffy's nose.

 

[scampi]

They're so cute - how lovely to find those outside your door every day. Where abouts do you live??

Sorry - just found out on your profile- Australia.

 

[Baccus]

I know how lucky I am to have any frogs espceially since so many are dying from a nasty illness, so I do my bit by not poisoning around the house (inside or outside) and don't let the dogs play with or kill them. I love

the fact that I actually have 7 types of frog/toad in my yard the common green tree frog like in the photo, Dwarf tree frogs (sooo cute

), Roths tree frog, Salmon striped frog (which I have always just known as burrowers). Ornate Burrowing frogs, Northern Banjo frogs, Rocket frogs (which my Mum calls drip drip frogs thanks to the noise they make all night in her pond keeping her awake) and the dreaded and much hated Cane Toad (I didn't add cane toads in my list of 7 because they are introduced and a MAJOR pest!). And these are just the one's I find regularly around the yard. When we used to have our fish tanks on the back patio the frogs used to line up watching the fish swim around trying to figure out how to get them through the glass

. And now the fish tanks are in the carshed at least 1 Roths tree frog has a nightly dip in the tanks. I know it does as not only have I caught it in the act early in the morning but it also has a habit of knocking anything left on top of the tank into to tank. Only the common green tree frogs will take food from our fingers and even then some wont, they only get the odd mealworm mostly we just catch a couple of geckos (an introduced variety and another pest) or any handy insects that are silly enough to venture on the back patio. One of these nights I'll try to get a pic of all the green tree frogs exiting the gutter on our house, there is usually at least 10

.

 

[scampi]

They-re so beautiful and you're so lucky - wow. People pay the earth for those frogs over here.

 

[bae1994]

wow you should definatly try to get more pics of them all

 

[Baccus]

People down south sometimes keep them has "pets" but you have to have a licence (

native animals licences, a Betong makes a quiter pet than any cat or dog and cuter

). I much prefer having the frogs come to the patio on their own free will and doing as they lilke. I got some nice pics of one of my salmon lined frogs and also a couple of pics of one of the Roths. But sadly the Roths refuses to show off the beautiful black and yellow speckling in the back of its legs. Will up load these pic and some other candid frog pics later today. Nice to know I'm not the only one who things green tree frogs (well all frogs and most toads really) are beautiful.

 

[Baccus]

A Roths tree frog blending into the roof of our back patio.

And now one showing a little leg colour

A Salmon line frog

And again from another angle

Guts in its home, obviously we don't have enough BBQ's

And I know its not a frog but here's another visitor to our yard (my aviary to be exact)

We only discovered it and relocated it back to the bush after it had eaten my two canaries

, oh well at least it didn't get the gouldains, red stars or cordon blues.
Although I think it did eat some young king quail as well, but I can handle that coz my king quail breed like guppies

And another tree frog showing we had no mail

I think he looks rather sad about the fact he got no mail.

Hope these keep you happy

for a bit. Will try and track down where the dwarf tree frogs are hiding and have a hunt around for the banjo frog and hopefully get a pic of the frogs leaving the gutter this evening if it isn't raining.

 

[bae1994]

see why cant the frogs snakes etc be there and the spiders not if that was the case id love to go to aus but the spiders

 

[Baccus]

see why cant the frogs snakes etc be there and the spiders not if that was the case id love to go to aus but the spiders

The spiders aren't so bad (except maybe the Sydney Funnel Web, glad I don't live in NSW any more) Golden Orb spiders get huge but are harmless and don't invade the house it's just a #29### when you walk into one of their HUGE webs and nearly bounce off it

Yes they are that tough a web, but it is a beautiful golden colour hence the name.
I actually quite snakes the harmless ones at least (like the python above) but alas all too often I come across Eastern Browns which like being around houses and are deadly without medical treatment. The only reasons I relocated the snake was A. My husand hates them (am slowly teaching him that the only good snake is NOT a dead snake), B it would just eat more of my birds, C would also make a big dint in my frog population and D I really don't want my dogs to get the idea in their heads that snakes are fun to chase and play with. A python might be harmless but Browns aren't and we lost a cat to a Brown snake a couple of years ago

. She survived the invenomation but her kidneys packed it in and didn't start working again after 3 days in intensive care at the vets, and dogs have an even lower survival rate than cats for this type of snake bite. But really as a tourist you have an extremely low chance of running into our more nasty

native critters unless you really go looking for them.

 

[Baccus]

I tracked down one of my resident Northen Banjo Frogs hanging out in its favourite haunt in the front garden, so I quickly took some pics and put it back out to continue it's night of foraging. Enjoy

Personally I think they look like a very solemn frog, but have a pleasant disposition and lovely markings.

 

[bae1994]

are so are they a "pacman frog" if so do they bark when destressed?

 

[Baccus]

are so are they a "pacman frog" if so do they bark when destressed?

I don't know if you meant a "Pacman frog" becuase of the computer in the background, the only reason I took it inside was because that was where I left the camera

. Can't say I have ever heard one make a sound about getting picked up, but the ornate burrowers scream/ squeak (I call it a scream because its so loud). The cat finds them sometimes and can't resist tapping them to make them hope but it ends up going something like tap -scream, hop,- tap, scream hop until I remove the cat and the burrower can go back to its nightly activities. I think the cat thinks its a fantastic game because its only the Ornates she can't resist, if she was really out to get frogs she has no end of other species in the yard to play with, but she ignores the lot. The Roth's tree frog makes a churring mating call but again I have not had one squeak, growl or make any other noise when I have caught one.

 

[Jenste]

are so are they a "pacman frog" if so do they bark when destressed?

I don't know if you meant a "Pacman frog" becuase of the computer in the background, the only reason I took it inside was because that was where I left the camera

. Can't say I have ever heard one make a sound about getting picked up, but the ornate burrowers scream/ squeak (I call it a scream because its so loud). The cat finds them sometimes and can't resist tapping them to make them hope but it ends up going something like tap -scream, hop,- tap, scream hop until I remove the cat and the burrower can go back to its nightly activities. I think the cat thinks its a fantastic game because its only the Ornates she can't resist, if she was really out to get frogs she has no end of other species in the yard to play with, but she ignores the lot. The Roth's tree frog makes a churring mating call but again I have not had one squeak, growl or make any other noise when I have caught one.

 

[bae1994]

sorry no its a name for (ornate frogs) in pet shops

heres one look similar just different colour to the banjo frog

http/www.heathwood.org/simpson/quicklinks/animalsoftherainforest/pacman11.jpg

 

[Baccus]

sorry no its a name for (ornate frogs) in pet shops

heres one look similar just different colour to the banjo frog

http/www.heathwood...st/pacman11.jpg

No the closest we have here to a frog that looks a bit like your pic (but is no where near as "warty") is The Striped burrowing frog - but its snout is also pointier, The Rocket frog - angular all over built for speed, The Green and Gold Bell frog but they only live in a limited area around Sydney. Our ornate frog doesn't really have "pretty markings" but has a mix of blotches over its body. If your intersted in Australian Frogs a handy site is http/frogs.org.au/frogs/species/Opisthodon/ornatus/
It will show you pics of our native frogs (as well as the dreaded Cane toad), as well as show where they are found and habits etc.