Cute ‘Stowaway’ Frog Found in a Lettuce Container Becomes a Pet!
Organic produce is praised for promoting biodiversity and being a healthier and more natural option. But just how organic is too organic? How natural is too natural? In other words, what would you do, if you found a live creature inside your produce? Would you keep it or would you let it go?
I found the cutest little frog in the bottom of my romaine lettuce tonight- it’s too cold to set him outside (27 degrees), but he’s been living in the lettuce in the fridge for several days now- does anyone know what I should do so that he doesn’t die? pic.twitter.com/usaCIEWaLv
— Simon Curtis (@simoncurtis) December 21, 2021
If you are a consumer of organic food, this is something to think about. According to LiveScience, finding animals in bagged salad mix is more common than you would think. A study found up to 40 instances of salad stowaways between 2003 and 2019.
Simon and Tony: an unlikely friendship
Most of the people who opened their salad bags to find a reptile between the romaine and kale were shocked to say the least. But, as The Independent reports, Simon Curtis, a Twitter verified recording artist, singer, author and actor, saw the salad snafu as an opportunity to make a new friend.
News18 has more details on little Tony’s (as Curtis called his new friend) rags to riches — or rather romaine to terrarium story.
It wasn’t love at first sight for Curtis, when he spotted the little hopper curled up on a lettuce leaf. Curtis tweeted asking if it was his “starter Pokemon,” but also didn’t plan to keep the frog.
In fact there were “red flags”’ early on in their relationship. Curtis tucked his new buddy in for the night with some distilled water and mealworms. The next morning Tony was gone! After searching the house, Curtis finally found Tony perched on a high door frame and rescued him.
Buzzfeed reports that as Curtis deliberated his future steps regarding his new friend, he remembered something significant. As a child, he’d survived leukemia, And who kept him company throughout his arduous medical journey, if not a stuffed green tree frog?
After consulting with Dr. Jonathan Kolby, @MyFrogCroaked, and learning about the best, most environmentally ethical practices in a scenario like mine, I have decided to keep Tony.
Merry Christmas, everyone. May you all have a little miracle come your way soon as well ???? pic.twitter.com/f9IoecCBZM— Simon Curtis (@simoncurtis) December 24, 2021
That clinched it! Curtis decided to keep Tony. Tony is now snuggled up inside his warm and comfortable new terrarium, dreaming of salad containers.
The lizard in the lettuce box
But Curtis wasn’t the only one to see a live creature in his lettuce bowl and think “friend.” Philly Mag shares the story of Green Fruit Loop, a little green lizard adopted by a science teacher at Riverside Elementary School a few years back.
When Mark Eastburn’s kindergarten student found a Carolina Anole lizard perched among tatsoi leaves she knew just what to do — bring it to school to show her teacher.
Luckily, Eastman’s Master’s degree in Biology helped him nurse the anole, who was in a cold coma from the warehouse refrigeration, back to health.
Now Green Fruit Loop has a new job as the mascot of the school’s science lab!
Invasive species taking the ‘lettuce express’
If you are the type to buy organic produce, but not the type to adopt a new reptilian friend, donating it to a school is a great option.
Animal Scientist Daniel Hughes, who participated in a study of animals in food packages, cautions against releasing these critters into the wild.
As cited by WebMD, Hughes explains, “Releasing wild animals is how invasive species start, and could introduce disease into local frog populations. Just don’t do it.”
What would you do if you found a lizard in your lunchbox?
