Almost a tragedy

[Jenste]

My fiance came home tonight to find Cyclone, our piebald x. laevis on the hard wood in the living room.

Yesterday I had a fight with the fluval 405 filter, and when it was all said and done apparently I had not put all the coverings on as snug as they had been previously, and he found the opening sometime today while we were both at work.

Well, Steve found him on the hard wood tonight, nearly dried out and covered in fuzz (he had jumped out of the back left corner which is in the far corner of the bedroom, crossed the bedroom, made it down the hall and across the living room to the far end near the outside sliding glass door!

Steve picked up (gingerly with paper towel because while I love them, Steve's tolerance has grown to "like") and put it in one of the small kritter keepers I keep around at all times with a teeny bit of water - - then called me, conversation beginning with "Don't freak out, he's alive!"



I got home from shortly after (I was on my way home when he called) and spent about half an hour trying to pick as much of the fuzz off him. I held him in my left hand, dipped my right hand into some water, letting it trickle down his back while picking the stuff off him.


I have him set up now in a 10 gallon with less than a half inch of water. He is quite dehydrated and weak, so I made sure that he could rest on the floor of the tank and have his nostrils above the water while he recuperates.


Sigh...hopefully he will be alright...just gave his mama a scare!

I will keep the water very low for the next few days until he is actively moving about, and I will hold off on feeding until he seems back to his normal capabilities.



Oh, and I reattacked the tank and fixed all and any gaps!

[Dejavudoo]

Oh my goodness!!! And your piebald at that! I certainly hope he gets better for you. Best of luck!

[Jenste]

now I am posting two pictures - one with flash and one with out - -

these frogs normally have a very smooth skin....the wrinkly bumpy look is due to severe dehydration

a good way to describe it is he looks like a crumbled up brown paper bag instead of a nice and smooth like an inflated balloon











here is what he normally looks like

[Dejavudoo]

He's very beautiful. How are you able to handle your frogs like that without them immediately swimming away??

[tgampper]

Sorry to hear about Cyclone. It looks like he'll will be alright, just give it a lot of TLC. One thing I like about Xenopus is that they are tough! I have heard that they can live out of water for quite sometime without ill effects.

I hope that everything goes well.

[Jenste]

want to update - - unfortunately we must have found him too late. Cyclone passed away this afternoon

I am crying like a complete baby over a frog


Dejavudoo - - I get them used to my hands my often handfeeding them. it gets them used to my fingers and hands coming at them and once they get comfortable with that I start doing light strokes on their tummies and sides (they quite enjoy being petted once they get familiar with you)

after we come to that level of trust I start by supporting their weight with my palm briefly under the water, support them at the surface when they come up to breathe, and through repetition they become very comfortable with being handled - - useful for when something happens that requires prolonged handling - - such as when a frog gets his arm stuck in a snail (like my Louie who recovered nicely from his multiple breaks) or gets himself in trouble by coming on an adventure like my poor Cyclone

[AlbinoFroggy]

Im really sorry about your frog Rip

Im really interested about how you get them used to your hands though, i thinks its really cute! I feed mine by moving the food close to them and poking it towards them so its easier for them, how did they slowly get used to you? Did they not try to go for your finger? i like the idea of trying it for mine in case of an emergancy.

[Jenste]

What I do is, I hold a single worm in between my fingers, and rather than chase them with it, I keep my hand still so they have time to sniff out the worm, bump and poke at my hands and realize that nothing bad happens if they come near me... just good stuff happens - like finding food!

once they start coming to my hands right away to search for a worm (if they nibble at a finger it obviously doesn't hurt since they have no teeth)...if they for a moment rest on my fingers I will move my palm slowly under them so they get used to the feeling...with my other hand I gently rub their sides and belly so they get used to me touching them instead of just them touching me.

after a short while, I am able to support them in my hands for an extended period of time (always keeping my hands wet and the frog wet) with out them doing much more than shifting their weight to a more comfortable position.


this all started as an experiment with my first three, Phantom, Phoenix and Kirby. I used to breed guppies so I used to hand feed them my home raised feeders by holding the guppies tail and letting them hunt down the fish and take it from me.

[Jenste]

I actually may have a video or two of me training Phoenix when she was just a teeny frog...I will look for you. and post it.

(I do know there is one on the comp - - put your computer on mute so you don't have to hear my sister's creepy breathing as she records the video.)

[Jenste]

YouTube - Phoenix pt 1

[Jenste]

YouTube - Phoenix pt 2

[Dejavudoo]

I'm so sorry to hear about Cyclone. Having just been through a loss of my own, I know how difficult it is.

Thank you for posting how you get them to sit in your hand. That's really neat. Can this be done at any age or do you have to do it from froglets? I'd love to be able to bond even further with my froggies!

[Jenste]

I have been able to do this with young and adult frogs. Young ones are more inquisitive but with patience you can train adults too

[AlbinoFroggy]

Awwwhh! those videos are so cute! I think i might try it, I have one young frog and my other two are adults so i might try it with the youngest first (obviously he is in a seperate tank) then when i get the jist of how to do it i can be patient with my older ones.
It sounds sad but i kiss them through the glass of the tank and always though it would be awsome if i could sort of pet them without the glass in the way
Do you use live food for it to work? im currently using frozen bloodworm and tubifex.
Thankyou for the advise!

[Jenste]

It doesn't have to be live food and again I was raising guppies just for thisb- store bought feeders are full of diseases.

I find it works best w either guppies or cut up earthworms.

[AlbinoFroggy]

I need to stock up on more food so might try something live, thanks