A Devastating Day for Pyxie Project: Warning Graphic Image

[Jeff Kennedy]

Thanks Ebony. Yes, that is what we are finding out through research. That it can be anything from indegestion to toxicity. It also mentions that sometimes it can prove fatal which obviously was the case here. I'm pretty sure you can rule out the toxic thing because they just don't come in to contact with anything else. The indigestion or upset stomach is a possibility as he didn't eat like he normally would have today. Plus there were other contents from yesterday regurgitated in his enclosure. It's like he was trying to empty his entire stomach and couldn't get it back in or have the know how. Either way we are tore up here and it helps to have the encouragement because at times like these you just want to throw your hands in the air and say "to hell with it".

[froggiez]

so sorry for your loss

[Jace]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, Jeff and Ella. Even with a project as big as yours, it can be hard to keep that distance when you come to know them. When you have big hearts on top of it, well, that can make it downright devastating. I hope this is the worst you have to experience. Hugs to you both.

[pixiefrogman]

So sorry for your loss. After taking such good care of the frogs, I can only imagine how you feel when one passes.

[Jeff Kennedy]

Thanks guys for all the condolences. We are starting the day today, trying to be optimistic, but I can't say that it feels much better. We are mad that we lost one of our prime specimens to some freak thing and we are on edge now, waiting for it to happen again. After rearing all of the froglets out of that fragile, froglet stage, we thought that we were in the clear with these guys now. I hope you are right Jo-Anna. I hope this is the worst that we will experience because this alone has been a severe blow to our morale. After all of the endless hours that we put in daily on the project alone, I'm not sure if we can withstand another blow such as this. Ugh.......sooooooooo frustrating.

[Jace]

Jeff, any project as big as this is going to have a few glitches and unfortunately, a few that just don't make it. In this case, I honestly think there is nothing you could have done and not knowing how to prevent it really bites. Now, if you were just doing this for the research, you could shrug it off and act like nothing happened. You guys care, and because of that, this hurts and you will feel it for a while. However, if you look at all those other little faces, you know you willl continue. Not because you have to but because you want to. You two are doing something really great. P17 and all the others is proof of that. One day soon you are going to succeed at your goal. Not at having a 10" legend (though that will be very cool and a definite bonus!), but being surrounded by healthy, happy, frogs. Wait-it's already happened...I've seen the pictures.

[Jeff Kennedy]

Thank you Jo-Anna. You comfort me like my own mother . That is if my own mother actually cared about frogs or understood the weight of this blow. It's getting a little better. This afternoon we replaced P17's enclosure with P31. We decided to retire P17's number for the study because too much data had already been compiled for him and too much work had went in to producing him. P31 is a very, very fiesty male. He was a part of our control group that was only being offered gut loaded crickets as food. We still had to change his water dish daily but there hasn't been a whole lot of hands on contact with him. Today when I went to re-house him, he filled up with air, hissed and jumped a good 10" straight up in the air trying to nip at me!!! At least he's going to make this interesting. It was a nice distraction to say the least.