Cuban Tree Frogs...

[Xtopher1049]

Long story short:

My wife and I were both frog noobs 2wks ago. At work I found hundreds of tadpoles in a large flooded area that was receding day by day. We decided to capture them before they were doomed and threw them in a plastic pond in our backyard and fed them lettuce. I did some googling and they looked identical to the native Florida green tree frogs and we were really excited to keep raising them! Now that they've turned into actual frogs it turns out they're 100% cuban tree frogs. I'd estimate we have 3-400 of them. Then with further researching today we read that it is ILLEGAL to re-release them into the wild and they should all be euthanized......

We were having a lot of fun raising and watching these little guys transform into tiny baby frogs. We're really interested in continuing the hobby. They are actually really cute but we are both heartbroken to find out they are an invasive species to FL wildlife. Neither of us have the heart to kill them, what should we do? Send them on a 1 way trip back to Cuba lol?

[elly]

I really hate to say this, but these frogs really eat up a lot of smaller species and taking care of hundreds of frogs is an enormous amount of work (not to mention it requires lots of tanks). You can call around to shelters or organizations to see if they have any advice on euthanasia. The humane way generally recommended is a drop of painkilling Neosporin/similar ointment applied to the stomach or a few drops of pure clove oil. But...that's a lot of frogs to work with. I'd almost be tempted to turn my back and let them go, hoping local predators would reduce their numbers. I'd hate to advocate something illegal or endanger other frog species though.

Setting up a tank for a few of them sounds like a good idea though. Keep in mind they get pretty big and eat a lot.

[Cliygh and Mia 2]

Perhaps what you could do is cull a amount of them humanely, and sell a few of them on a site like faunaclassifieds or kingsnake? I'm sure someone would be able to take care of a few, but like you said, more than probably 30 will be too much for any one person to handle, not to mention their invasive status in the US...

[Herpin Man]

I love frogs myself, but Cuban tree frogs and other invasives are detrimental to the native frogs and other wildlife. By all means keep a few as pets, but the responsible and ethical thing to do would be to euthanize the rest.