A very sad update but not on the tree frogs...

I really didn't want to write this because it's still hard to deal with but a very bad situation occurred in the latter half of the week. After a very big feast for the Toads of the Western PA Woods Vivarium all was normal and I had another quiet week until then.

Everything changed when late Wednesday night I saw Ace sitting on a fern and she had a prolapse. I was so frustrated seeing this and I placed her into a small bin and soaked her in hopes she could kick her organs back in herself but she could not.

The next morning I took her to the vet and the vet got her organs back inside her body. It all seemed like it would work out. Then the next morning again Ace had another prolapse. Again I took her to the vet unsure of what would happen. The vet assured me that this may keep happening unless we performed surgery to trim the organ and put it back inside her as step 1. Step 2 would be to figure out why the prolapse happened. Step 3 would be to take action. Before any further action could be planned the vet told me I would have to sign a consent form in case Ace did not wake up from being put under in the surgery. I assured her I would not blame her should Ace have passed because we did literally all that we could do with the surgery and immediate vet visits.

I waited all day until around 5 pm when the vet called me. She said that Ace had woken up and been active and normal. So she had survived the surgery which is step 1. Ace stayed the night at the vet and I'm going tomorrow to pick her up and we will plan what's next for step 2.

This is a very big deal that she had surgery. I am almost 100% that Ace can never breed now. As many of you know this was a major reason why I came back to the hobby in order to replenish the native frogs and toads. Today critically damaged that goal and was a very big let down in many ways. Ace had already had a seizure months ago from the toxins of a gray tree frog and now had a prolapse. Ace has overcome so much in her life. The will to live is truly a trait that Ace has. She is so strong and tough and I am no where near as tough as she is. She is very special to me and I love all my animals but even before this Ace was just very special. I truly and honestly wanted Ace to be the mother of this goal that a hobbyist can replenish the native species and not just toads. Because she is so special and how much I admire her and how strong she truly is I believed she would mate with her equally as impressive mate Pious and they would create some of the toughest and most impressive toads. I still 100% believe she would produce the most impressive offspring and I'm not sure another female toad can match her traits that she would pass down.

Sadly I do not believe she can mate with Pious now and she most likely cannot be the mother of this goal. It is devastating to me with how much effort I put into it and the hopes I had of making sure her beauty and legacy lived on forever.

I can't continue to update about this because it's still very new and I am not accepting of this just yet but I can say I'm thankful that I have her and I will make sure that I cherish her every moment when I get her back. I will not give Pious another female he is going to live out his days with Ace as long as those two live. I just cannot think to take away her best friend just so he can mate. Those two will permanently live as a couple regardless of what Ace can and can't do.

I believe constipation to be the problem. There can be a few reasons why this makes sense. The main reason I believe this is because while I have water bins for the toads and a fogger that that hydrates the toads, they must not be going to the bathroom in the water because they must not feel safe to or must not like a large bin to use. So I'll try and place a small water bin in the enclosure to see if the other two toads will use it. The other reason is being winter and toads also have a slow metabolism so this means they may use the restroom less then they normally would. So they may not be passing their waste because of the season and metabolism. The other reason may be if a toad eats too much or an item is too large. Well nothing has been too large because the biggest thing I use are large crickets. This leaves the other and much more probable Ace overate and could not pass a bowl movement and instead may have had a prolapse.

I believe the small water dish and season along with slow metabolism may be the cause. So I am also throwing around the idea of getting a laxative from the vet to give to the toads so they all go regularly. I am not sure just yet but we will get this problem solved. Ace is doing great and will remain a focus point of my work.

I will update you all of her condition and step 2 tomorrow.


I am making the next video tonight which will be coming out around New Year's Eve. The Gray Tree Frogs and Dumpy Family will be featured. Sorry for no update on the Gray Tree Frogs but they are connected to the PA Woods Vivariums family. I will have more updates on the Gray Tree Frogs and the Toads tomorrow.

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk