Frog escape story

Philsuma · #1 (**permalink**) 07-31-2007, 11:09 PM

A 1 1/2 year old Auratus got out by squeezing out a small gap. I found him on the kitchen floor covered in fuzz and dust bunnies about 15 feet and two rooms away. As best I can tell he was out for @ six hours with room temp being about 78 degrees!

He appeared dessicated and looked small with his front legs bent to his side. I put some tap water on him ,cleaned off the fuzz and he actually jumped a little. He is now in some shallow water in the viv and has swollen up and hydrated quite a bit and has even put his head up. I misted him gently but what really worries me is that it seems like his eyes are closed and I hope he didn't sustain perminant damage and drying to his eyes. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Had him since he was a froglet and for over a year...no gaps in the tank.....really sucks.....

JBR · #2 (**permalink**) 07-31-2007, 11:42 PM

I don't know how the frog will fare but good luck with him. I recently had my first frog escape so I know how you feel (man do they fit into small gaps) I was lucky enough to be in the room at the time though.

John

Baltimore Bryan · #3 (**permalink**) 08-01-2007, 12:01 AM

oh thats sad news...

. i know how you feel, my male auratus fit out a gap about .25 by .25 inches with an electrical cord running out of the tank for the waterfall. i found him a week later and his story wasn't as happy. :cry: i don't know what could have happened to yours, like damages to eyes or anything, so i can't help you out much there, but all i can say is good luck.

Philsuma · #4 (**permalink**) 08-01-2007, 12:09 AM

UPDATE: The closed eyes were due to a thin film of fuzz. After pulling that off and making sure he had shallow aged viv water as well as a loose amount of plants, he seems to be doing well. His eyes are now open and he flattens out when I go near him due to stress no doubt, but that means he can see!
Amazing testiment to the resilancy of at least the Auratus species.....6 hours in a hot dry house!!! Wow

salvoz · #5 (**permalink**) 08-01-2007, 12:18 AM

good to hear. i once had a pumilio that escaped and dried to the point her eyes began to grow opaque. I found her and put her in some shallow water; she quickly swelled and sat in it for 24 hrs, then just went back to normal! its amazing how much water loss they can withstand.

JBR · #6 (**permalink**) 08-01-2007, 01:15 AM

Oh, I'm really glad to hear about the frog. Hopefully congrats

John

Raymond · #7 (**permalink**) 08-01-2007, 04:56 AM

I'm glad you found the frog, it really sucks when stuff like this happens.

Just yesterday, I wanted to redo the imitator viv, so I stripped it bare, checking everything for the frogs. In the end, there was nothing but a branch and the background, and I was panicking. The male then shot out of the tank, and after a good several minute chase across the floor, I caught him. However, I then found that the female had crawled through a hole to end up behind the background. So, an hour later, after completely tearing down the background, she hops out.

I was both pissed off, and extremely relieved. Sorry, I just had to rant.

Glad everything turned out well. From my own experiences and what I've seen/heard, these frogs are a lot hardier then some give them credit.

Philsuma · #8 (**permalink**) 08-02-2007, 03:05 AM

Moral of the story: This frog was without question, mintues away from assuming the rigidity of a cracker. I could have easily threw it away but instead hydrated it immediately. I am amazed that this animal bounced back and took flies a day later!!! I just wish I had the presence of mind to snap pics which would have been unbelievable. Hopefully someone else reads this thread and decides not to throw out the semi-crunchy frog.They can be saved.