No, the Giant TikTok Frog Isn’t Actually That Big (But It’s Still Pretty Large)
Is the giant TikTok frog real?
In early October, social media users were shocked and astonished by TikTok user @whatslucasup2's videos of his pet frog Dumpy — a seemingly larger-than-life frog that appears to be as big as its owner's head.
One TikTok video shows the frog sitting on a wooden table while its owner, Lucas Peterson, talks about the feeding habits of his "hundreds of pets." The video has been viewed 4.9 million times as of publishing.
Another, viewed 20.4 million times, shows Peterson feeding the frog a banana and patting it on its back.
Since the videos went viral, viewers have been speculating about whether or not the frog is really, truly that big or if its size was accomplished by editing or some sort of camera trickery.
In a comment posted under one of his viral TikToks, Peterson confirmed that he did indeed alter his videos of Dumpy to make the frog appear about 4 to 5 times its actual size.
“His real size is about 4-5 inches. He’s enlarged with vfx perspective tricks. I did all my editing in Adobe Premiere," Peterson wrote.
In 2021, Peterson uploaded a video featuring Dumpy in his normal, unedited state.
Dumpy is certainly bigger than the average frog you might find at your local pond, but the frog isn't exactly behemoth. In fact, it can sit perfectly in its owner's hand.
Behold the giant TikTok frog's real size, below:
Dumpy is an Australian White's tree frog. On average, the species typically ranges between 3 to 4.5 inches in length.
Their diet mostly consists of insects, not fruit like Dumpy was seen eating in one video.