If you’re on TikTok, chances are you’ve probably come across Dumpy, the giant green tree frog who is the size of a cat… or is he?
Dumpy went viral and won all our hearts after Lucas Peterson (@whatslucasup2) shared a clip of him in a video about his aquatic pets.
Dumpy accompanies Lucas as he talks viewers through how he maintains his paludarium (basically, a super cool terrarium) full of little creatures like snails, salamanders and shrimp.
Users all over TikTok were left shaken to their cores at what appeared to be an absolutely fuck-off huge frog. The video went viral and at the time of publishing has more than 5 million views.
As you can see below, Dumpy is fucking ginormous. Except, he isn’t.
@whatslucasup2 🐸 This is my care guide for my DIY Paludarium ecosystem. We go through everything between white tree frog care tips to tiger salamander feeding. I Break down my pet salamander set up in my aquarium and how you can have Paludarium fish, frogs, snails, shrimp in one terrarium set up. I show my aquarium water filter and how it runs my 3 terrarium waterfalls. We talk about the aquarium plants and how they play their role in the ecosystem. whether you are looking for terrariums for beginner or just trying to find A new fish tank aesthetic this video can help with your diy terrarium goals. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment I will be responding to all relevant questions. TTigersalamanderssalamanderGGiantsalamanderttreefrogwwhitetreefrogwwhitestreefrogggreentreefrogtterrariumTTerrariumsetuptterrariumplantsddiyterrariumtterrariummakingBBioactiveterrariumddiyaaquariumAAquariumplantsaaquariumfishEEcosystemSSnailterrariumTTerariumPPlantedaquariumwwildlifennatureppetsz@zoomedlabsJ@Josh’s Frogs
In a follow-up video — which has more than 20 million views — Lucas revealed the tree frog had been edited to look bigger and it was all just a joke. Well, in the caption anyway. Though his special effects were a lot easier to distinguish this time around.
This all might seem obvious to some, but honestly, I’ve seen toads get nearly that big. So you’d be forgiven if you thought Dumpy truly was a giant.
@whatslucasup2 Replying to @femca1is0 This is my giant dumpy frog (Australian whites tree frog) we talk about pet frogs for beginners while Dumpy eats. Dumpy is definitely a huge frog you have never seen before. It will make you question if it is real or fake. You would think a giant frog would eat giant bugs but he has A banana and an egg. (Disclaimer) This is not his real diet. This is just for fun and comedy. He typically eats 12 crickets a week in his terrarium. His real size is about 4-5 inches he’s enlarged with vfx perspective tricks. I did all my editing in adobe premiere. Dumpy and I have a lot of adventures to come if you want to follow us along on her journey hit the plus icon🙏🐸 #whitestreefrog #whitetreefrog #treefrog #GiantFrog #DumpyTreeFrog #greentreefrog #Amphibian #AmphibiansOfTikTok #Huge #Hugebug #Comedy #WaitWhat #RealOrFake #TrueOrFake #vfx #editor #NeverSeenBefore #WhatIsThat #petfrog #petfrogforbeginners #AdobePremiere #fyp
Despite the disclaimer, belief in Dumpy’s size persisted because Lucas’ videos were reposted and shared all over TikTok without his original caption.
The whole thing got so out of hand that Lucas ended up debunking Dumpy’s size via CNN.
“I didn’t expect people to go that wild over a giant frog,” he told the publication.
“His real size is about four to five inches. He’s enlarged with vfx perspective tricks. I did all my editing in Adobe Premiere.”
Honestly, I’ve read enough Guinness World Record books to believe almost any giant-sized creature is real, so don’t feel silly if you believed the hoax.
In fact, why not choose to let this little bit of magic remain real? Let me stare in child-like wonder!
