Say hello to her ‘little friend.’ Florida woman finds mysterious creature in the sink
What in the world?
Anyone who has lived in Florida for any length of time knows there are critters at every turn, both inside and outside your home.
Most creatures you can identify — lizards, iguanas, peacocks, raccoons.
One woman, however, was mystified by a “little friend” that showed up in the sink in her outdoor bathroom, and didn’t seem to want to leave.
In a TikTok video earlier this week, Naples resident @chemicalkim (real name: Kim Hilton) asked her 1.1 million followers if they could identify the little thing.
Only the animal’s eyes can be seen peering up at her from the drain.
Along with the video is the hashtag #strangerthings, referencing the hit sci-fi show on Netflix, along with #onlyinflorida, #bemyguest and #everglades.
“Who could that be?” she asks. “What do you think? Lizard, frog, snake?”
Some off color jokes were seen in the comments section (e.g., “That’s for sure my ex-husband. I always wonder where he ended up”) but a few people actually ventured education guesses.
The general consensus (thanks to the big bug-like eyes) seemed to be that the sink dweller was a Cuban tree frog.
The invasive species — native to Cuba, as well as the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands — was accidentally brought to the Sunshine State in the 1920s, probably on cargo containers, according to the University of Florida’s Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation.
And anyone who guessed that was correct, Hilton says in a follow up video on Wednesday.
The teacher said that her bathroom buddy likely took up residence in the pipes as it was looking for a place to cool down, and literally chill.
This frog is no pet.
“They’ll eat anything that fits in their mouth,” Hilton says, adding these amphibians grow rapidly, up to five or so inches, and secrete a toxic mucus that can burn your eyes and cause allergic reactions.
If you find one in your sink (or anywhere else in your house, for that matter), it’s best to humanely dispose of it. Hilton suggests rubbing Orajel (which has numbing chemical benzocaine), on its skin and waiting about 15 minutes for it to be paralyzed or die.
As for Hilton’s “friend,” she told the Miami Herald that it disappeared before she got a chance to remedy the situation.
“The frog left my drain through the night — or went deeper in,” said the homeowner. “I do teach with a few experts who assured me they’d be happy to help remove him from the population if he comes back.”
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