Some pics of the girls

[yoshimi]

I love your girls (Toads)

My "girls" aren't bad either... I'm sorry, little loopy. I call the cats my girls too, so I need to elaborate with warty gals or furry gals.

Banjo is my baby. I wouldn't say I love her more but I can't help being partial to the one I watched grow up. Ukulele is a sweet menace tho.

[yoshimi]

Had to get up early for an appt this morning and as usual, every critter needed feeding when I got home from work at 10.
Banjo decided to take a long time stalking and swallowing her Canadian worm. She's usually more contemplative than Uki, but she really took her sweet toady time last night. But she did the toe tappin thing and I wish I'd been filming cuz it was crazy cute. Worth the extra wait (I stick around to make sure they both eat and to remove plate). I equate it to a dog wagging it's tail, and that she's excited about the impending meal. But my real theory is that the movement/vibration may be intended to make prey move so she can more easily locate and get it. Their vision up close isn't so good I guess. Not sure if that's correct or if it works. Maybe works better out in the wild.
Regardless, the taptaptippitytap of both toes is just adorable.

[MatthewM1]

I've noticed my little toadlet toe tap while he's hunting as well. It's like he's just so excited to chase down crickets he can't hold still =p

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[yoshimi]

I've noticed my little toadlet toe tap while he's hunting as well. It's like he's just so excited to chase down crickets he can't hold still =p

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It's so cute, and on a toadlet, knock me over! Banjo (uki too) are already adorable when fixated on prey, but when she wiggles her toes, it's almost too much. "Gonna eat that gonna eat that gonna eat it eat it eat it" is what I imagine she's thinking and maybe tapping a beat.

I have pics I wanted to post of their new water bowl and hide cave, but apparently I can't upload. Maybe this will work....
https://www.facebook.com/crystal.fn....01646033085425

[Mmfh]

I love your toads!!!! Cant wait to see mine toe wiggle, sounds so cute! I found a little quarter size toad this spring. I'm feeding him on small crickets, giant springtails, bean beetles ( that he loves), and pill bugs. I currently have so many springtails I have no idea what to do with them all. They are very easy to keep, let me know if you need the details got mine from bugsincyberspace, cheap.

[kueluck]

Hey Crystal, how's the T. girls? Didn't know if maybe them have gone down for the winter or not.

[yoshimi]

Hey Crystal, how's the T. girls? Didn't know if maybe them have gone down for the winter or not.

They're both well, fat and active, but not as nutty aggressive as over the summer. I got moss for them as well as new hide and soaking bowl, and furniture was a hit but working so much it took some time to get moss in there. Uki was fine with it but Banjo refused to sit or burrow unless I cleared a space for her. So, perfectly good moss, tossed. That lil girl has the final silent say.

My father died last month. It's almost not right to say it was unexpected, but it really was. Dialysis related blood infection. He survived a massive stroke, kidney failure, and had an implanted defibrillator. Over the last 8yrs. He coded, they revived him, but unconscious, he went into cardiac arrest and they couldn't bring him back. I swear that if he hadn't been unconscious, he would still be alive. My dad was a fighter, a survivor. I got a lot more than the genetic disease from him. That's my takeaway.
So I had to go home for 3 days (home is NJ) and fed toads til they just sat swallowing, full, left fresh water, had Paul peek at them, and they were fine.

Right before all that, Walmart had NO worms, so I panicked that they weren't getting more so bought dubia and mealworms. Walmart did restock, (turns out my complaint that they were mostly moldy got things moving, yeah go me!) but the gals were roach happy up until yesterday when I ran out. I hid them, in box and container they arrived in, so sort of in plain sight... Felt bad, cuz he doesn't want roaches in his house, but at the time, I felt I didn't have a choice. Fatties gotta eat.

I really miss my breeding dubia. Someday, some way... Cuz with no bug faces to feed, my carrots go bad. Not breeding creepy crawlies is just wasteful.

Thanks for inquiring about them; I've meant to update, but I don't get email notifications anymore, so tonight I just wandered over here on a whim. Ought to do that more often.

[kueluck]

So sorry to hear about your Dad passing. It's hard losing a family member no matter what the circumstances are, weather it be better for the individual or not. But on a good note........B-flat, happy to hear the girls are doing good.

I wonder why you aren't getting e-mail notices on the threads you're subscribed to? Unless you accidentally clink on the unsubscribe link, I've done that before when in a rush. Guess you need to go back and do some input on some threads to see if that will reboot it.

[yoshimi]

Some time between last night and this afternoon, Ukulele passed away. I was hoping she was maybe hibernating, above ground but under log hide. Banjo was right next to her, but she is fine. Banjo was the last one to eat a worm and I should have known then.
I don't know how old she is/was, but old enough to have been gravid. Was a chubby little thing. Not that little really. The guy I adopted he from had had her for 4-5yrs, and found her in NH woods. Always ate like a champ.
When I held her, I thought, hey she's breathing, but it was just my hand shaking. Opened her mouth, nothing stuck in there, tho her tongue was white.
Changed Banjo's dirt, and Uki is in a box with dirt, hoping she'll wake up but her eyes are closed... Waiting for a thaw on Fri to bury her. Post-mortum pics coming, I apologize in advance...

[Mentat]

I'm very sorry for Ukulele's death Crystal !

[yoshimi]

Yeah, not a hibernation... I go her mouth open for pic (thoiught thery were always pink) and cleaned he up for burial...
r

[kueluck]

So sorry to read about this. I lost my Rosie in May of 2012 from being egg bound, she was huge like Uki was. Guess that's why I prefer boys.

[yoshimi]

Banjo is still OK, gonna get a fat worm before work, or on break or at some point today. She's sitting (I dunno about enjoying) new dirt but it's entirely her kingdom (queendom?) now.

Uki was always a chubba, I'd assumed she'd had eggs at some point, certainly old enough. I thought maybe bloat but touching her sides always just felt soft. And she looks especially massive in that post mortum pic, not holding herself up. I'd like to know what happened, but unless someone has an idea before she goes into ground tomorrow (thaw, we're putting her under a new tree in backyard that will be her tree as it grows), I have to assume old age or she ate moss or mealworm that just didn't pass. The moss has been gone for a while but I'm sure there were remnants. I felt nothing abnormally hard touching her sides and tummy.

She was always the best eater, but last feeding, I had to put her worm back in cup. That was a first, and I blamed it on winter.
I can't even tell the guy I adopted her from, cuz his email was a craigslist email and invalid now. He thought it was his personal email addy but i never bother to inform him otherwise. Maybe better he doesn't know. About uki, I mean.

[kueluck]

I would have to know what would cause this. Have you thought of cutting her open to look? That's how I found out Rosie was egg bound.

[yoshimi]

I would have to know what would cause this. Have you thought of cutting her open to look? That's how I found out Rosie was egg bound.

I feel like I need to know too, that's why I washed her to look for wounds. I don't think I could do it tho, fear of blades, no scalpel. And more desecration when she's pretty much frozen (in dirt in a box with a lid with holes (have none without holes) with a phone book on top inside another plastic tote in our breeze way with big ice packs. Her poor little mouth is hanging open.
If I opened her up, I might find eggs but its the wrong season right, and might not be the cause. I'd have to look into her intestines for something like moss jamming it up. And even that may not be the cause.
There WAS something small on her lower belly near leg but I wasn't sure if it was rot or a cut or a bite or heaven forbid, mealworm chewing through her. I got pics. It didn't look infected and camera died before I could get better shots. Looked like a little missing skin. She always collected dirt on lower belly and chin, since I adopted her, It'd be gone after a shed but come right back. Can't see the cause of that.
Maybe the 4 or 5 yrs as a pet without supplements had an effect on her. Maybe she was older than we thought.
She died Wednesday, its now Fri morning, pouring hot water over burial spot cuz thaw is not happening fast enough, still below freezing.
Banjo just had a shed, refused her worm (concerned, should buy more roaches) but otherwise seems fine, hopping around and if i didnt know better id say she wws looking for her roommate.
I want to bury Uki as respectfully and timely as possible. It weirded me out that my dad was dead a week before we buried him. I touched his hand and it was so very cold, (first wake/funeral) then i realized he'd been in a freezer locker most of that time.
Now it occurs to me that an empty equal box would make a perfect little coffin to fit in freezer. In a bag. That way i can wait for tomorrow's rain to get rid of snow. The pallbearers nearly dropped my dad getting him to grave through the snow. I mean I won't be dropping her or nearly dropping her, but freezing will hold off decay.
Unless I was donating her organs to a toad in need of a transplant, I couldn't cut her. I do have rubber gloves tho. But the sharpest thing I have is a box cutter which seems barbaric and I'm more likely to cut myself open.
Gonna rinse her again, close her mouth and freeze her til tomorrow. That way Paul can be there for the burial. He was there for baby Fiendly's and dug hole for me. I didn't cry til he was in the ground and we were back in the car. Haven't cried over Uki yet.
With my father's death, I noticed that preparations are a blessing. Yes, pets and people are different, but they can both be huge losses when they go, and there's always guilt and wondering "what if.."
Its a part of life that I escaped (for family and friends) for 31 years. Always wondered how I'd handle it. Realized that you do not stop loving someone (pet OR person) when they die. I didn't know that for sure. I do now. And I'm glad.

[kueluck]

If you’re not up to checking her out then by all means don’t do it. I had to; it wasn’t an option for me. I used a new single edge razor blade when I did this; one clean cut was all I needed. But enough on that topic. And you can’t hold on to the “what if’s”, it’ll drive you crazy. Just remember the fun you had with her and the sad moments will pass in time.

[MatthewM1]

So sorry to hear about your loss, at least she got to live out the last of her days in a great home

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[yoshimi]

I buried her behind house where ground was not frozen solid and before heavy snow. Did not open box to look at her, just dug hole till I hit rocks, pretty deep, and just wide enough 'for equal box.. wasn't able to dig by baby tree, too frozen, even using very hot water. So frustrated, nearly cried that she'd be stuck in my freezer like a hot pocket for who knew how long. It's snowing right now, feels like it hasn't stopped.
But I grabbed the shovel and made damn sure she's be at rest. My gallbladder needs to come out soon so it hurt but the next morning we had 6 to 8in of snow I think. So I'm glad she is at peace, in a way. Used dirt I'd saved from a tank cleaning, plus what I dug up. The grass will grow back more beautiful than ever. And she's right under the plug for heat wire with some stones that reminded me of her coloring. So I'll never forget.
Banjo seems fine, eating but not a lot, burrowing a lot, but soaking and pooping.

[kueluck]

I don't think you'll be able to forget about her even if you tried. Love never dies, but it's intensity does change. I'm sure Banjo is gonna be just fine.

[yoshimi]

Banjo is doing fine, so whatever happened to Uki, didn't get to Banjo. I would like tothink, old age, but I just don't know.
She's eating, but ignoring the big Canadian worms they both used to love. The only other thing I have for her are mealworms and that suuuuuucks.
Going to have to order more roaches and/or waxworms. She's also pooping, and soaking, and burrowing but also sitting on or hiding in the hides. Normal toad stuff. She's got her kingdom back, tho it was never just hers; I bought the super big one when I knew I'd be adopting another. I'm still sad, but my little baby girl seems to have gotten over the mourning that she never actually did.