bullfrog dead??

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bullfrog dead??

Postby _THEO_ » Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:02 pm

I got the bullfrog from a friend of mine about 5 months ago and its been doing very well with me. At the end of may it started eating much less than usual and was under ground more than usual so I asumed it is starting to hibernate. I replaced the large water bowl with a smaller one and added a bowl to keep superworms in for if he decides to be hungry again.. The frog grew quite a thick layer of skin and for the last month he wouldn't move more than from one corner to the other in the cold side of the tank but today when I got home he had covered him self with leaves on the warm side of the tank and was dead.?

On my part I did everything to the book. He always had food and in the 5 months he ate 2 mice and I cleaned his water bowl every day. The frog was about 8 cm long and the tank is 60cm by 40cm. The tank is filled about 10 cm with peat, has light during the day and has a small heating pad agains side of the tank on the warm side. The warm side has a bit of leaves just to prevent the peat from drying out too much.

Can anyone help me with why the frog could've died?

And just for the record I did apply for a permit and if I knew where the frog came from I would've released it.
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby Sico » Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:24 pm

Everything dies eventually Theo, there isn't always a cause. I doubt they have very long lifespans. Sounds like it was going into hibernation and preparing itself a "cocoon" for this. Was it P. adspersus or P. edulis?
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby _THEO_ » Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:36 pm

I doubt it just died. It was a P. Adspersus so it was pretty small still.I had the same feeling about the cocoon that's why wasn't worried about it.
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby Iggy » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:17 am

Hi there Theo,
at 8cm, a mouse sounds like a very large meal for it - ours were still on pinks/fuzzies at that point. Perhaps it had difficulty digesting its large meal as it was preparing to hibernate?
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby _THEO_ » Sat Jul 23, 2011 2:37 pm

That was just a guess. I measured the waterbowl and it measures 20 cm across so the frog was between 10 and 12cm then. Sorry.
It ate a lot of crickets and superworms after it ate the mice and before going into hibernation. I fed it the last mouse more than 2 months ago.
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby Westley Price » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:37 am

Theo, please don't think I am questioning your knowledge, I just want to ask a very stupid question; are you sure the frog was dead?

I have seen some Bullfrogs in their cocoons and they look dead and feel dead. Very dry and stiff. If I hadnt been told, I would think they were dead.
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby _THEO_ » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:34 am

Haha 90 percent of the people I've told asked me the same question. The frogs nostrils were shut and I did almost everything to make sure he is dead because I felt the same way.I just wish I could know how he died.

It was the frogs first winter in captivity so I don't know if that made a difference. Perhaps ,like Sico said, he just died or maybe he was a weaker member in the gene pool but I doubt it.

Since the day I got the frog I kept reminding my self what Donald, from khamai reptile, told me about 2 years ago: " bullfrogs are seasonal and don't belong in captivity ." So I tried to simulate the frogs natural habits and environment as much as possible.

I know there are quite a bit of people with bull frogs. Are they captive bred and how are they kept?
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby Smeegle » Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:06 am

I have to go with Westley on this one :)

Unless the frog smells real bad and has maggots eating its belly out, I wouldn't give up hope. They can appear to be very dead when in a dormant state.

And the reason I know this is because I also though mine had died during the first winter I had it. Although it sometimes moved a bit, it acted very lifeless for about 5 months, eventually waking up and eating like a machine when spring arrived.
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Re: bullfrog dead??

Postby _THEO_ » Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:32 am

I'm 100 percent sure its dead guys. Haha
It was rock hard but not dry
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