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  1. #1
    crhoads18
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    Default Faking His Death

    I was raising tadpoles and this guy came out of the water with my other Hyla versicolors. I was grouping them into cups and I noticed that three of the froglets lacked color in their eyes. That's right, their eyes are solid black! Well, two of the three died in the first few weeks, however, this guy has made it. Here is a picture of him with what was his cage mate.
    This is the close up of Respawn (the solid eyed froglet)


    And the background shot of his tank mate for comparison on eyes:



    One day, I was changing out their moss to be cleaned and Respawn fell from the cup to the moss, stretched out and became lifeless. I thought he died, but I put him in a separate cup with clean, very moist paper towels. As much as he looked dead, he is one of my favorite frogs, so I did not want to admit he died.

    I came around to admitting it and went to take him out of the cup and bury him later and when I touched him, he jumped. I have kept him in a separate container, but when I clean his container, he now has a ritual.
    1. He shakes for about 1-2 seconds.
    2. He falls to the ground- or my finger, whichever is closest.
    3. He stretches out his legs.
    4. He sucks in.
    5. He plays dead.

    This lasts from 2-6 minutes and then he flips back over and hops away. The last time I cleaned his cage, I took some pictures of this act. (Keep in mind, I try not to touch him while cleaning; this is not something that I want him to do nor is it something that I try to encourage or provoke him until he does it.) The pictures seem harsh, but keep in mind, he IS alive and he does flip back over and return to normal.




    He simply lays lifeless.

    Then, he snaps out of it and rolls over:


    And hops away:


    I searched the site for frogs playing dead or fainting and found nothing. I would also like to know why his eyes are solid black. Anyone have any ideas? Also, has anyone had this experience?

    Thanks for any input you have.

  2. This member thanks crhoads18 for this post:


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