If you were a dwarf frog...

...where would you hide???

If you remember, we got our son three fish and two frogs for his birthday in April. Read about it here. One more of the fish died this summer so we were left with one fish and two frogs. Until last week. Steve cleaned the tank, I added more water and the next morning the fish was floating belly up. My boy was bummed.

Three days later he comes downstairs and says one of the frogs died. It's upside down on the bottom of the tank. What is happening with these animals in this tank?!? So I asked him to get the net and scoop up the frog and I'd dispose of it. We were running a bit behind schedule to get out the door that morning. He scooped up the frog, put it in a cup and left it in the bathroom. I disposed of it. (blech. Can I just say here that I do not like this part of being an adult?)

Three hours later I was telling Brittney, my niece, and she went in my boy's room to see the tank. She asks me, "how big are the frogs?" Oh, about 1 1/2 inches, I respond. "I don't see the other frog," she says to me.

Wait, what????

I go look in the tank. The ten year old left the top of the tank open and the net sticking out of the water. There was NO frog in the tank. NO. FROG. IN. THE. TANK.

Are you kidding me? Where in the world is the frog? We start looking all over the floor for this creature. Of course, being my son's room, there are legos, clothes, and books all around. We searched that room for 45 minutes looking for a small, slimy, greenish-brown, four-legged, no sound making frog. Nothing. We had to leave for awhile but when we got back, we searched again. Nada. How far could this thing have hopped? And without water? What am I going to tell my son?? How will he take this news? He loves these animals and has been so faithful to care for them. Ugh. How do I tell him this?

When he gets home from school, I broke the news as gently as I could. He was surprised, a little bummed, but not like I thought he'd be. I sent him to look for the frog. But he really wants to watch TV first. (why was I worried??) He looked for 10 minutes but didn't find it. Watched TV and then I went and looked with him. Of course he reminds me, "you know, Mom, that frogs have sticky pads on their feet so they can climb things."

*shudder* Actually, no, I didn't remember that.

Final outcome: I still have NO idea where that frog is and it's been SIX days. Heaven help us.

Life Lessons

We gave our son the gift of animals for his birthday. Three glow fish and two dwarf frogs. They are community animals, according to the experts at the pet store, so they NEED to be together. We purchased a small tank and all the gear needed and that's what we wrapped up for the birthday gift. He then got to choose which exact fish and frogs he wanted.

We had to "establish the ecosystem" before introducing the animals to it. So we set up the tank and filled it with water, installed the filter and waited five days. Five, long days, to my son. Finally it was the day to go get the creatures. This time, the expert recommended only purchasing one at a time, either only the fish or only the frogs, and letting them become acclimated to the new ecosystem before getting the other creature. Who knew this would be so complicated? So we got the fish first. They are very tiny fish and they loved their new environment.

My son had the hardest time naming them, though. We had many discussions over the supper table about the subject. I don't think he even decided until after we got the frogs. The frogs were easy to name. This is my son's sense of humor. The smaller one is Tadman and the larger one is Ikroka. They were named after BSU football players, Marty Tadman and George Iloka (play on words, this one). The fish are named Electron (greenish/yellow one), Reflector (orange one) and Bob (red one).

So we brought home the fish and then one week later, brought home the frogs. It was fun to watch them moving around in the tank, which is in my boy's room, by the way. The next day I go to wake up my son and first thing he does is check the animals. There are two frogs and two fish. two. fish. Where is the orange fish? Not hiding in the fake plant, not stuck in the filter, not in the rocks. No evidence he ever existed. Well, I have one bewildered boy on my hands and I was stumped, as well. Steve came home that night and took one look at the tank and declared what a fat tummy Ikroka had. Shock and disbelief. This frog is maybe one and a half inches fully stretched out, probably closer to one inch.

The campaign for a replacement fish began. The parents didn't think they should pay for another fish. The boy didn't think he should pay for another fish. It wasn't his fault his birthday gift was eaten. In the end, though, we split the cost of another fish. It really wasn't anybody's fault. (The frogs have been getting an increase in their regular food supply after this whole incident.) So, Sunday, after lunch, we went and picked out another fish, named Reflector 2. All was right with the world again.

Until Monday morning. I woke up my son for another day and looked in the tank. Two frogs and ...two...fish. Are you kidding me?!? Two fish. The yellow one was gone. My boy was mad and disappointed and said, "I don't want that frog anymore." It never, not once, occurred to Steve or me that this would happen again. Obviously, we wouldn't have purchased another fish if we had thought that. What is up with that Ikroka frog? Steve re-named it "I-make-a-you-a-croak-a." Funny. Not really. But, yes, funny. But, not really.

Life is hard, and kinda funny.