The Family Camping Blog

We took the family pet along with us on our last camping trip, due to the length of the trip and the fact that we did not want to impose on our neighbors who had just taken care of our frog during a recent Disneyland trip. Did I say frog? Yes, “Jumpers” the Oriental Fire-bellied Toad is our family pet, and what is family camping without the family pet?  Traveling with Jumpers was easy enough, as we kept his 10-gallon tank in the shower, which seemed like a safe place. Amphibians, like Jumpers, require a whole host of support equipment; a spray bottle for keeping the humidity up, moss for the bottom of the tank, crickets for munching on, food for the crickets, etc. Once at the campsite, Jumpers seemed absolutely giddy to be in the outdoors and was constantly hopping all over the inside of his tank. In the evening we would return Jumpers to his home-on-the-road inside the shower.

The kids had a ball with Jumpers and found that it was a great way to “break the ice” with other kids in the campground. Who wouldn’t want to come see a pet camping-frog? The best part about Jumpers (once you get past the crickets) is that he doesn’t bark and we don’t have to carry baggies around to clean up after him.