Hobbyist Feature – Jennifer Miller

My third hobbyist feature will be Jennifer Miller also known as JJ, The Frog Girl. Her name may sound familiar as you may have seen her at many frog expos.

How and when did you get interested in keeping frogs?

I got interested in frogs about 15 years ago. At that time I only bought them to keep as a hobby. My first tree frog was a red-eyed tree frog. They are just so amazing. I fell in love at that point and tried to get tree frogs that were more uncommon.

What attracted you to tree frogs?

I think their appearance and behavior is what attracted me to tree frogs. There are so many different kinds. Their colors are just so vibrant, and I love the different calls at night echoing through my home.

What species do you all keep?

I currently have red-eyed tree frogs, purple red-eyed tree frogs, Mexican black-eyed tree frogs, cinnamon tree frogs, H. fleischmanni glass frogs, Borneo eared tree frogs, Boophis rhapiodes (Madagascar glass frog), Azureus (blue dart frogs), Trachycephalus coriaceus (golden milk frogs) and Trachycephalus recinifictrix (Amazon milk frogs). Those are the species that I am currently breeding. I have a budget’s frog and a Peruvian giant waxy monkey tree frog that are pets.

Which is your favorite?

I’m not sure that I have a favorite. I am very passionate about all of my frogs. I clean their enclosures daily and talk to them while I do. I absolutely love my frogs and take very personally their happiness. Maybe my Peruvian giant waxy monkey tree frog could be considered my favorite. His name is Ben and he will only eat from my hand. He’s pretty spoiled.

Which is the least common?

I would say that the Trachycephalus coriaceus (golden milk frog), the Boophis rhapiodes (Madagascar glass frog) and the Peruvian giant waxy monkey tree frogs are all the least common in the pet trade. The Madagascar glass frogs and the golden milk frogs have just recently been imported into the U.S., so those have certainly never been in the pet trade before now.

I don’t know much about tree frogs, but how loud are they? Which is your most vocal?

Every tree frog has a different and unique call. Some are certainly louder than others. My loudest are probably my white’s tree frogs a/k/a dumpy tree frogs. They have a very low pitched “wa-wa-wa-wa” call that you can hear all through the house. During breeding season, the red-eyes call a lot and can be loud. My H. fleischmanni glass frogs I call my “tweeters”. They have a cute high-pitched call that’s just a single “tweet”. These frogs are only about 1.25″ in size, but their call is very loud.

Do you keep any animals other than frogs?

I love exotic animals. I also have 2 king snakes, 2 tarantulas and an axolotyl.

What feeder food do you use?

I mainly feed crickets, although I also feed red-runner roaches to my tree frogs. The Azureus will eat fruit flies, as will the glass frogs. I find, however, that froglets grow faster when eating crickets. I have crickets that range in size from pinheads to adults, to cover all of the different frogs.

Which is your favorite expo? Why?

I think my favorite expo is probably the Central Kansas Expo, mainly because the hosts do what they can to make it all about the vendors. It’s a small venue compared to a lot of them, but it takes place in the hotel that we stay in, so usually I can literally walk out of my room and into the venue. It’s just extremely accommodating and convenient.

What is the one frog that you wish to one day add to your collection?

The fringed leaf frog, Cruziohyla craspedopus. That is just an amazing frog and certainly one of the most expensive.

Any piece of advice you would give to someone new to keeping frogs or the hobby in general?

Research, research, research! Any time I bring something new home, I immediately hop on-line and find out as much about them as I can. I hand out care sheets with my frogs to try to help with that. But there is nothing better than finding things out for yourself. You have to consider that you owe the animal the best home that you can possibly provide. No one knows everything, so don’t just take someone else’s advice on care, do your own research and be a good steward of the animal you’re bringing home.

Thank you so much to Jennifer for taking time to answer my questions and letting us learn a little bit about her.

Take a moment to like her facebook page. And if you see her at the next show you are at stop by and introduce yourself!