Dead toad

[clownonfire]

Hi all,

I'm sharing with you the death of our Melanophryniscus stelzneri.

First, simply because we did love her and enjoyed her small little self. But also, to insist on the fact that even with proper husbandry, death will happen.

We got her last December from a pet shop. We didn't like the way she was housed. Before getting Gretel, we researched Melanophryniscus stelzneri, and this is how we stumbled upon this forum. Whatever search I was doing on Bumblebee Walking Toads, it was Seth Doty's article that kept on appearing. So we read. And read. And set up her first tank according to his article.

After a month or so, she didn't seem to be doing better. So I posted here. And Eric Walker helped a great deal. We redid her tank, and since then, she was more active, fed better, and was more visible.

She was in a 15-gallon tank (which some would say is too large for such a tiny creature, as they are not great food hunter). But we had pieces of fruits in the tank where D. melanogaster would stay around, and made it easy for her. And she made it in her water bowl often.

We saw her out Tuesday, and this morning, in my usual tour, I found it a bit unnerving to not have seen her since then. So I took apart her tank and found her dead, dried up, which means she probably died a few days ago.

After talking to my most wonderful girlfriend Sara, we thought it was important to share this with you, simply to show that again, even with proper husbandry, death will happen to your frog...

Here's a pic of her little dried self.



Eric

[LilyPad]

I'm sorry for your loss Eric

[clownonfire]

I'm sorry for your loss Eric

Thank you Amy. I tried to be objective in the previous post, but most know on this board that I am quite emotional (just find the thread of my P. terribilis being mauled by one of our cats...) and can't say I'm indifferent to this death.

Thank you for the thoughts.

Eric

[LilyPad]

I don't blame you, those of us who care to give our pets an appropriate home and treat them as part of the family, well, we take the deaths of our pets hard, no matter what the circumstances.

[Fae]

Sorry for your loss.

[Eric Walker]

so sorry to hear Eric. I know how much you love all your animals.

[clownonfire]

so sorry to hear Eric. I know how much you love all your animals.

Thank you, Eric. And thank you for all your help in the past. You've helped a great deal.

Eric

[artes]

I'm so sorry to hear that. I love those little frogs, and hope to own some one day myself. Death does sometimes happen, and there's nothing that can be done. What matters is you gave her a wonderful home, and she got to enjoy her life.

[killerecho]

Ouch, that picture is difficult to look at. Sorry for your loss.
I know how it feels. I still have the mummified remains of a red eye from 15 years ago.

Do you know why it died?

Hi all,

I'm sharing with you the death of our Melanophryniscus stelzneri.

First, simply because we did love her and enjoyed her small little self. But also, to insist on the fact that even with proper husbandry, death will happen.

We got her last December from a pet shop. We didn't like the way she was housed. Before getting Gretel, we researched Melanophryniscus stelzneri, and this is how we stumbled upon this forum. Whatever search I was doing on Bumblebee Walking Toads, it was Seth Doty's article that kept on appearing. So we read. And read. And set up her first tank according to his article.

After a month or so, she didn't seem to be doing better. So I posted here. And Eric Walker helped a great deal. We redid her tank, and since then, she was more active, fed better, and was more visible.

She was in a 15-gallon tank (which some would say is too large for such a tiny creature, as they are not great food hunter). But we had pieces of fruits in the tank where D. melanogaster would stay around, and made it easy for her. And she made it in her water bowl often.

We saw her out Tuesday, and this morning, in my usual tour, I found it a bit unnerving to not have seen her since then. So I took apart her tank and found her dead, dried up, which means she probably died a few days ago.

After talking to my most wonderful girlfriend Sara, we thought it was important to share this with you, simply to show that again, even with proper husbandry, death will happen to your frog...

Here's a pic of her little dried self.



Eric

[clownonfire]

Ouch, that picture is difficult to look at. Sorry for your loss.
I know how it feels. I still have the mummified remains of a red eye from 15 years ago.

Do you know why it died?

Hi Brian, indeed, not an easy picture. It's hard to say, really. That toad has never felt right. It ate, moved a bit, but once in awhile hid for a long period of time. There was no weight loss, no loss of appetite, no lesions, no redness. So I can't give you a proper answer...

[ViperJr]

I am very sorry for your loss Eric. I can't imagine what it feels like to find a beloved pet like that. Only knowing you a brief time, one of the things I am completely sure of is that you made sure she lived a good life in an excellent home.

[lnaminneci]

Eric,

Sooo, soo Sorry! We all know how meticulous you are about the care of your animals. Most likely she was sick when you got her....you did all you could. I know how difficult it is for you having a frog die, and I'm sure extremely hard to post a picture. It is hard to look at.
I am truely sorry you had that happen, and I hope you still had a wonderful Father's Day with your family and beautiful children.

Hang in there and take care.

~Lesley

[Whistly]

Sorry for your loss Eric. I know what it's like my first frog that morphed died about 2 days after it lost it's tail. What are you going to do with her tank?

[bshmerlie]

So sorry for your loss Eric. I know you are very passionate about your frogs...sorry it was on fathers days.

[clownonfire]

Thank you everyone. My son wanted to bury the frog so we did in a Montreal park...

Even with all the care in the world, some frogs will die, and sharing this with our members is important to me.

Eric

[artes]

That's a pretty resting spot.

[Mushrooms]

Sorry that you have lost Gretel, it seems to be that she was just a little Toad who was not destined to be in the world for a long time. I'm sure she was apreciative of having a safe home to spend out her days.

[larry b]

I am sorry for your loss,and your right sometimes with the best husbandry things dont go to plan .