Natural masters of camouflage, frogs are often hard to spot unless it’s obvious.
In the wild, it’s a perfect advantage. However, if your frog is hiding or you have a wild frog loose in your house, you might be anxious to find the frog!
Locating and luring him out safely will require extra steps. The smartest ways to lure them out is to use their own natural instincts against them.
Read on to find out where and how you can safely lure your frog out of hiding, and to do it without hurting the small animal.
Why is the frog hiding?
Shyness
Frogs will naturally be shy when they first arrive at your home. It’s a new environment, a new tank, and you’re a stranger to them because you haven’t created that food giver bond with the frog.
Because of this, frogs will need time to adjust, and for a period that could last a few weeks to a few months, your frog could be in hiding when you’re in the room.
As he adjusts to his new home, new routine, and you, your frog will relinquish some of his bashfulness and become more active.
Loneliness
However, if the hiding persists, one of two factors might be happening. Firstly, your frog could be lonely.
Tree frogs are social creatures. They croak and vocalize to communicate with other frogs, so if you think your frog is lonely, consider purchasing him tank mates the same size as him.
In some cases, the frog will become more active and stop hiding. Before you rush to the pet store to buy your frog some friends, it’s time to check our second factor: your tank.
Inadequate environment
Most tree frogs need a temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius) and a humidity of at least 40-50%.
Any temperature too low or too high could send your frog burrowing or hiding to try and accommodate itself.
Similarly, if the humidity is too high, the frog will burrow to escape it.
Along with these two environmental factors, you should assess your frog’s overall tank: set up and size.
If your frog is starting to grow larger and he’s still stuck in a small tank, he could be stressed out because he can no longer move as freely as he could when he was little.
On the other end, if you have a large tank but it’s sparingly decorated, your frog could feel too exposed and hide to feel safer.
How to lure a frog out of hiding? (3 ways)
#1: Lights off
Most frogs are naturally nocturnal. If you know which room the frog is in, turn off the lights and leave the room for an hour at least.
The frog will feel more comfortable coming out of hiding in the darkness.
Even if it’s daytime, you can close the curtains and let your house be as dark as possible to create an environment in which the lost frog is comfortable.
For some frogs, though, even low light is too much light, and you might have to wait until nighttime!
For example, the red-eyed tree frog was extremely shy and only felt comfortable jumping and moving around in complete darkness. Even a low light would deter him from doing anything.
When you search for the frog, walk slowly in case he’s on the ground and use a flashlight to find the frog.
#2: Food trap!
Another instinct all of us have is to eat! This is perfect for pet frogs that are lost in your home.
If you feed your frog at a consistent time, he will show up. The frog will settle into a routine even if you start to feed him during the daytime.
If you know which room your frog is hiding in, place a shallow dish that holds live mealworms or waxworms on the ground in the room.
You can also place this dish inside an empty tank to lure the frog into an easy place to trap him. If you use this method with a wild frog, you must narrow down the room where it is first.
#3: Humidify the room
Our home is built for our comfort, but I can guarantee you that your frog (or a wild frog) is missing the comforts of his home.
One of the main things the frog will be missing is the moisture it needs on its skin.
So, if you have a humidifier, put it in the room you think the frog is to create some humidity to draw out the frog.
You can also put out paper plates filled partially with water. The frog will be drawn to the water and may even sit in them.
If you don’t want to fill out a paper plate, you can wet a paper towel and put that on the paper plate.
Common Places to Check for Frogs in Your House
Bathroom
These animals are lovers of damp and dark areas. If you were able to narrow the frog down to one room, then your job of locating him would be much easier.
If your entire house is up for grabs, then these are the places your lost frog will most likely show up.
The bathroom is a prime candidate for the frog to hide in because it is moist and dark.
If you run a quick shower to create an environment of humidity inside the room, then this could draw the frog towards the room.
The kitchen and laundry room
The second-best option is the kitchen because it can become humid from cooking.
Boiling a small amount of water would create a slightly humid condition.
Other areas could include the laundry room or any room with direct access to the outdoors.
Tree frogs might be a challenge for you because they could scale your walls, but even then, these frogs can be drawn out and captured.
House plants
Whether it’s a real or fake plant, the frog will be drawn to the familiarity of a plant. Frogs can be anywhere on the plan unless it’s small, so check carefully.
Frogs will try to camouflage on the plant if there are leaves large enough to support the frog’s weight.
The stem of the plant is less likely, but if you have a larger plant, that will be a great place to check to, but the second-best hiding place would be in the soil.
If you have a live plant and just watered it, the frog will be drawn to it, and this is where you can catch the frog.
How to Catch the Frog Without Hurting Him?
Using plants and water
Frogs love water; they need to keep their skin moist, and they’ll find themselves a little dried out as they spend more time inside your house.
So, the frog will be drawn to things it is familiar with, and if you have household plants, you’ll need them.
Misting your plants and leaving them in a dark room or the room when the frog is will draw the frog towards the plant.
If you don’t have a plant, you can take a jar or plastic container, put a small amount of soil in the bottom, and soak the soil with water.
Put the container in the room where you think the frog will most likely show up and leave it.
Nets and gloves
When you’ve finally found the lost frog catching it isn’t as easy as just picking it up.
Natural oils on our skin can be toxic to frogs, so it is highly recommended that you always use gloves when handling any frog.
If you have a tree frog in your house that scaled the walls and is too high up to reach yourself, a close-knit net would be your best option.
You want a softer net to catch the frog so that it will not get hurt if it falls.
Final thoughts
Frogs are masters of disguise. Although a hidden frog may cause some concerns in a first-time frog owner, these concerns have easy fixes that will have your frog happy in no time.
Shyness, loneliness, and factors within the frog’s environment are all things that contribute to your frog hiding. But luring your frog out is just as easy.
Since frogs are nocturnal, it’s easy to get on their schedule, and it’s even better to start their feeding routine when the sun goes down.
Using a frog’s natural instincts is the best way to have your pet frog be more active or to find a wayward frog wandering in your home so that it can be captured and released safely.