Winning 15 Years with the Flip of a Coin
15 years ago I remember going to an aquatic store to buy a new frog, my first had only lasted for about 5 days after I took him home (unfortunately, frogs used to teach life cycles to fifth graders tend not to have healthy living conditions). Funnily enough, I had won him in a coin flip, the first of two times I can remember winning anything in a game of chance.
Instead of one frog, I walked out with two, looking back, I had no idea what I doing and what I was getting myself into - I didn't even know how long they live for! Admittedly, it didn't help that I didn't have ready access to the internet back then. The recommendations for African Clawed Frogs have changed significantly in the last decade and a half but even then, I can't help but cringe at how much trial and error (and so very much luck) was involved in keeping them.
But keep them I did and despite my bumbling, they kept living. They were always there with arms wide open waiting for food and attention. Eventually, they were happy to be hand-fed and sometime after that, even willing to rest in my hand while breathing at the water surface.
Time marched on, their patterns began to darken (both of the pictures here are of my little friend Thomas), I ended up with glasses and the realization that there always seemed to be a new gray hair no matter I plucked them (turns out that's actually a bad idea since it can damage the follicle, you're better off just cutting the hair). No matter what they were always there, I even brought home a few others over time to keep them company.
None were ever as clever as Thomas though, he was always the first to explore and exploit any little hiding spot or perch I put in the tank to make feeding and breathing easier. Him and his brother, Jesus (long story, I assure you), were always together.
Until two years ago, they were inseparable - then Jesus died due to an ammonia spike. Thomas stayed mostly to himself for the next few weeks but eventually began staying with the other frogs again. He was still as sharp as always, however, physically he was slowing down. I had to switch to feeding him worms since he was no longer able to swallow his pellets.
A few months ago, I moved the frogs to a new, bigger tank. As soon as he was in, Thomas just began swimming back and forth, up and down, I had never seen him so active, it was almost as if the extra space has given him a second wind and for a few months everything was better than it had ever been.
About a month ago, Thomas stopped eating. After fixing the water conditions to be in the proper range, he still wouldn't eat. Pellets? No. Worms? No. Fresh Salmon? Nope. He wasn't interested. He'd just float at the top of the tank. Any time I was near he's swim towards me and rest in my hand while he breathed. We'd both stare at each other, I - trying to figure out what next to do (even after consulting with a herpetologist), he - just serenely laying there, seemly accepting the inevitable (something I don't think I'll ever terribly good at).
About 3 hours ago, I decided to do my finally nightly check and noticed all three frogs bunched up in the corner - not unusual typically but Thomas has been in a rather solitary mode for the last month. After turning on the light and shooing away the the other two frogs who had been covering him, I found Thomas lying on his back. He had passed away sometime in the two hours since I last checked on him. He was 15 years old, even with his declining health, there was still a part of me that honestly believed we could make it another 15 - I never have been terribly good at accepting the inevitable.
To think, 15 wonderful years because of a silly little coin. Amazing the impact a coin flip can have on your life. Incredible the effect a friendly little frog and his brother can have on you.
Rest in peace my little friends.
Thomas (2003 - 2018) - The original face of Ribbiting Science prior to the logo