Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Gray Treefrog

Your outdoor plants may be full of surprises!

It’s that time of year where many people bring potted plants indoors for the winter, but that means it’s also the time of year when people realize they may have brought in more than just their plants!

Photos / Blue Ridge Wildlife Center

This Gray Treefrog experienced just that, as the plant he was hiding on was brought into a warm room for the winter.

Because of the warmer temperatures, this frog stopped preparing for winter and became much more active, finally being discovered by the homeowner.

Because the frog had become acclimated to warmer temperatures, and the lows have been below freezing, it was decided it would not be safe for the frog to be placed back outside. Instead, the frog was brought to us for us to overwinter until next spring.

Check your plants before bringing them inside! If you find an amphibious stowaway, give us or your local rehabilitator a call before taking further action, so we can best assess the health of the animal and give you the best advice, keeping weather and natural behavior in mind.

If you want to avoid potentially disturbing wildlife, bring in your plants early before temperatures drop too low. That way, if you find any stowaways, you can simply place them back outside with plenty of time for them to find a new winter home.

This Gray Treefrog is our 3,171 patient in 2021!

We are fortunate to be able to provide a safe environment for amphibians to overwinter – but it comes at a price.

Our patients can’t pay for their care, and we don’t receive state or Federal funding for what we do. We rely on your donations to help wild animals and return them to their wild homes.

Giving Tuesday is in one week! In addition to a match provided by Facebook, our generous board of directors will match Giving Tuesday donations up to $15,000!

Please, donate to BRWC on Tuesday, November 30th, to make a big impact for wildlife!