Gray tree frog likely dead from dehydration?

[WinterFrog]

Okay I transferred the little guy from the paper towel to a dish with shallow water. I'm not holding my breath as he/she appears for all the world like a frog shaped pebble. But it's worth a shot.

Is well water okay? I know chlorinated is bad, which well water wouldn't be, but I thought I'd ask. At this point if he's to have a chance I figure any water is better than none, but I want to make sure well water works if he makes it.

[elly]

well water is...well it depends on the well and the ph and whether there are heavy metals. I'm guessing for a single soak it shouldn't matter.

[WinterFrog]

Okay I just checked the little guy. Legs are pliable rather than stiff. I gently felt his/her underside to see if I could feel breathing or heartbeat and I didn't, but I don't know if these guys can be so slowed down that you can't tell. Zero response to stimuli. He's been soaking approximately five hours now. I'm not optimistic, but he's still soaking.

[Dace]

You said it looks like a pebble, is it curled up into a ball or all stretched out? I've never seen a dead frog that wasn't stretched out.

[WinterFrog]

I don't know if I'd say like a ball but legs were underneath and not stretched (though I have moved the legs around to see if I could elicit a response).

[WinterFrog]

Okay, he/she has been soaking about 24 hours now and still nothing. Can't detect breathing or anything when I feel the underside which I'm guessing I should be able to by now if he was coming around? Absolutely no response when I manipulate his/her legs.

Not that I was ever thinking he had much chance, but I was hoping he'd revive. After 24 hours though, I'm guessing it's safe to say he's pretty much toast? At what point do we officially "pronounce" death? I don't want to dispose of him if we haven't waited long enough, but considering there's zero change when does waiting around become silly? I don't have much sense of smell, but when my mom gets off work maybe I'll ask if she can smell decomposition...he's not visually getting gross or anything, but I don't know how long that would take. I don't even know how long before a dead frog would start to stink. Obviously though signs of decomposition would be pretty definitive.

Do we wait for that or figure we'd see signs of life by now if there were any?

[jasonm96]

So sorry to hear, I doubt there will be any life now unfortunately, but another day of waiting wouldn't hurt if it eased your conscious