Re-Contextualizing Froggie Went a
Courtin' Part 3
Some of you may have been following the
saga of Froggie my African Dwarf Frog (ADF) which I bought at Jay's
Jungle in Provo a year ago this month. He or she is tiny only about 2
inches in length and so small that you really can't read the
expression on its face. I am confused about the sex of this little
underwater frog because when I introduced a second younger frog from
Petco to the small tank the younger frog was more assertive and
within a few minutes was mounted on the elder frog's back. So I
thought we might have a breeding pair and I'd better find out about
how to raise ADF's. I have a book on order but in the meantime I
searched the internet and joined a couple of ADF aficionado Facebook
groups. Apparently what I thought would be an uncomplicated, no work
required, pet experience was going to be anything but. These people
are frog-freaks who spend a lot of time and money on their frog
babies and do not countenance what they consider
helpless-animal-neglect in keeping the water clean, ph balanced and
the perfect temperature. I decided to stay low profile on this group
I have to admit I was pretty fond of
Froggie until I began to suspect that she is a Black Widow who will
not tolerate interlopers in her now cushy10 gallon tank, a big
upgrade from the under one gallon bowl I kept her in for the better
part of a year until I began to feel guilty of neglect. I had
inherited most of the paraphernalia from my grandson who had a
goldfish that died. The bigger tank was my way of apologizing to
Froggie for not filtering or even changing her water very often being
afraid of getting Samonella. The nice sales associate at Petco talked
me into a filter adequate for my tank which did seem roomy enough for
a friend so I brought home Little Frank who apparently was an
annoyance to Grogina we now called her “Gina” for short. But
their relationship went south and before a week was out Frank laid
pale and lifeless at the bottom of the tank and Gina stood watch. I
interpreted it as grief but have later learned when I called Petco
and spoke with Kristin that sometimes the older Alfa Frog will harass
and stress out the newcomer. One feels like a detective sorting out
all the clues. On a subsequent trip up north I revisited Petco and
turned in Frank who had been chillin' in our fridge in a pill
container. Jaden was very understanding and gave me a replacement ADF
and made sure I bought some new filters for the tank.
Ka-ching ka-ching. In for a penny in
for a pound. But unfortunately "Newbie" died as well of
undetermined causes only a few days after he had been given a very
hostile treatment when I put him in the "Trump Tank". Froggie
was vicious and I had to separate them immediately. Newbie only
lasted a couple of days. I will not be bringing home any more frogs
for the Black Widow to badger to death.
