How did the frog get in the drainpipe?

We had a drainpipe, that takes water from the sump and downspouts (of our neighbor’s house, as it turns out, but that’s another story) cleaned out yesterday.

The tech said that a frog came out of the pipe when they were doing this; I didn’t see the frog as it immediately took refuge in another pipe 3 inches away.

So the GQ is: How did a frog come to be in that drainpipe? We are nowhere near any body of water - there might be a tiny trickle of a creek a block or so away. The water from the drainpipe comes solely from the neighbor’s sump and downspouts.

Do frogs migrate that far? (over grass, asphalt and concrete). Do frog eggs get transferred by birds?

Or are modern scientists wrong when they pooh-pooh spontaneous generation???

What part of the world? How big was the beast? And can your plumber tell a frog from a toad? Living in a pipe seems rather toadish.

Some species (like tree frogs) only need standing water for reproduction. They travel around at night and can go surprisingly far. But I think just about any frog could make it a block from the creek, should he be compelled to go a serious hop-about.

You angered the gods, clearly.

yeah some need little water. tree frogs can get by with shade and a little water.

You sure it was a frog? Some people think frogs and toads are the same thing, or just don’t bother to distinguish between the two.

Frogs can very easily travel a block from water, and much, much further. As has already been said, tree frogs and some other species don’t need to be in or near water most of the time.

What kind of frog? Large Ranid frogs pretty much stay on wet ground, in or near water, but tree-frogs live high in trees, often pretty far from water. Tree frogs are pretty small, most of them an inch or so in length.

And birds catch small frogs and then drop them.

I’ve had frogs get into our toilets. They’d get on the roof (possibly by climbing an overhanging tree and dropping down.) Then they’d seek shelter from the Sun by climbing into an air vent. From there down into the drain system and apparently drawn to the light in the toilet bowl.

Got tired of that so I covered the vents with a mesh and now no more frogs.

We’re in the mid-Atlantic, and tree frogs are not (as far as I know) common or even found at ALL around here. I have no clue whether it was a frog or a toad - I guess the latter is more likely around here?

Toads are amphibians too, right? What kind of water do they need for procreation? a little standing water? If so, that drain pipe would probably work well enough though if mama toad had a batch hatching, they probably did not survive the blast.

If you’re in the mid Atlantic, you’re in the range of the Gray Tree Frog, which ranges into southern Canada. They are fairly inconspicuous except when breeding, so you may not have noticed them. I’ve heard them calling from the trees in my sister’s backyard in upstate New York.

The name “toad” is applied to various species of amphibians that are relatively terrestrial and have comparatively dry warty skin. There are several species of toads in the mid Atlantic region. They tend to breed in small natural ponds. However, I would be rather surprised if one attempted to breed in a drainpipe. Since they don’t climb much, it would be very unlikely that one would be in a downspout.

Well, does the spout reach down to the ground? Some do.

If a toad was looking for a dark place to hide during the day, the bottom of a waterspout might look like just the place. It might look like a cave.

If he crawled in there for a nap, he might get washed out during a big rain.

since anything bigger than it would eat it and the sun would overheat and desicate it then during the day they go for shelter and shade.

to find them under, between and inside of things is normal. they don’t have to live there as much as hang out for the day. when it gets light out they head for cover.

We live in Florida about 5’ from a pond and have all manner of frogs, toads and lizards. When the rains began a few weeks ago, we had a big birthing of what I assume are toads. Every day, there are 10 or so that make a pilgrimage across the 12’X12’ yard we have. There seems to be no rhyme or reason, but several times a day, all of them go from the fence to the porch and back.

More to the point, I watch the bigger ones go directly under the downspout and oftentimes into the downspout. I am waiting for my dog to get his head stuck trying to dig them out of the pipe. If it happens, I will get photos. :slight_smile:

So was the water level knee-deep? Knee-deep! Knee-deep! Knee-deep!

:smiley: