RIP Little one...Hyla versicolor...

Sadly, I woke this morning to find my little juvenile Hyla versicolor deceased inside it's habitat. It had been vigorously eating two days ago, looking plump and colorful. Diet had not been changed, habitat was not disturbed. I found it pressed against the plastic of the habitat. It was pale and skinny, quite a dramatic change from only two days ago. I will be cleaning it's habitat thoroughly before storing it.

It's hard to say what happened, especially since this was a wild-caught juvenile. Mortality rates in juveniles are pretty high in the wild. It could have had a pre-existing parasite or disease, which concerns me greatly since it was in the habitat with 4 other frogs (1 Spring Peeper, 3 Boreal Chorus Frogs). I will be doing a necropsy (best I can with such a small body) to look for any obvious signs of problems. I'll be keeping a close watch on these living frogs.

I do hope I gave it a good, comfortable life before it died, and did everything I could to keep it content. No matter how simple their nervous systems, all of my captive animals get the best care I can provide.

Here's an image of the deceased little frog. The change over two days is dramatic. He was at least a millimeter to two millimeters plumper on either side and on top, and had rich dark greens, browns and grays on his back. Now he's a pale, "pea" green and so much thinner.

I don't think I'm going to do a necropsy, since I don't have the proper equipment to do so. Any feedback on possible causes would be lovely.

Could he have decreased in size due to released waste and bodily fluids and any as he may have had? Was he fed on wild caught insects or were they purchased? Was anything new introduced to the habitat? I'm sorry for your loss. I lost a spring peeper recently who was fine one day. The next, he was lying sprawled out and dead.

They eat captive-bred Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila hydei (fruit flies) purchased from Ed's Fly Meat. I did move him to a new habitat of his own, where he appeared to thrive without being competed with.

Hmmm... Were the tank decorations sterile?