Puddles

Puddles was a southern leopard frog (a very common North American frog) i found during a camping trip. My family and i were going on a horse back trail ride when i noticed something hop in a little mud puddle on the forest floor. When i walked over closer to it i noticed a little frog head stick up out of the muddy water, but something wasn't right about him. He had only one eye. Once i saw i knew i had to catch him. Day after day i would walk back to that puddle with a cup and attempted to catch him. After the fourth day i finally caught him and got the closer look of his oddly shaped body. I was right that he did have one eye but all his legs were different sizes. All his limbs were either too long or too short and when he hopped he couldn't go in a straight line. Chances of a frog with this kind of disability wouldn't survive long, probably not even through his first year of hibernation. So i put him in a large Tupperware container with water and took him home.



Feeding Puddles was a challenge because he wasn't coordinated enough to head straight forward to his food crawling in front of him. Instead he would lunge off the right, away from his food. I ended up having to hand feed him. Other than his problems of eating he ended up being a beautiful adult Leopard frog with a strong vocal call. He lived to be five years old until he died of what i believe is a brain mental dis function from his disability's.



Since August, 1995, when the first deformed frogs was found in south-central Minnesota. Herpetologist have reported seeing frogs with missing limbs, extra legs, misshapen limbs, paralyzed legs that stuck out on odd places of the body, legs that were webbed together from extra skin, limbs fused to their body, and legs split into two halfway down. Some frogs have even been found with a missing eye (just like Puddles) with the other eye developing inside its throat.

Scientist have not yet found an answer to this unusual cause, without success. They say they dont believe it came from inherited mutations but from deformities caused by something at young age when developing from a tadpole.