Euthanizing a frog?

[SkyeSpider]

I have a dart frog that hasn't eaten for over a week. He's extremely thin and won't move. I'm honestly shocked to see him alive every morning. I have no hope of recovery at this point.

Is there any way to humanely euthanize him? I can't stand to see him suffer anymore.

 

[ScorpDemon]

The freezer I would think would be just about as humane as anything else.

 

[SkyeSpider]

The freezer I would think would be just about as humane as anything else.

I know that works for inverts, I'd just never heard of it for a frog.

 

[GailC]

freezing is extremly cruel to a frog. Get a tube of orajel, the teeth numbing stuff. Put a big blob of it in a deli cup or other small container, put frog on top of blob. Frog will absorbe medicine and die fairly fast.

 

[Crotalus]

Put it in a bag and smack it on the floor

 

[Aztek]

Drop a brick on it.
Fast.
Might look nasty, but fast...

 

[craig84]

Get a tube of orajel, the teeth numbing stuff. Put a big blob of it in a deli cup or other small container, put frog on top of blob. Frog will absorbe medicine and die fairly fast.

Wouldn't that burn its sensative skin?

 

[SkyeSpider]

Wow. Some of you guys are really cruel. This was a pet that I loved dearly.

I called a local vet that works with exotics. He said the best way to do it is freezing.

I already miss my frog

 

[Nick12007]

My friend has kept dart frogs for ten years and he uses either orajel or alcohol, never freezing. But, its your choice, unless you've already done it.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I think dropping a brick on something would be less cruel than freezing. I know the reasoning behind freezing is the idea that the creature goes into a torpor and more or less dies in it's sleep, but until it goes into the torpor, it seems to me that it will experience at least a few minutes of discomfort. Freezing is not a particularly quick death.

On the other hand, a sudden traumatic impact done properly is instantaneous, the creature should not know what hit it.
Shoot, I'd think dropping a frog into boiling water might be a little more humane than freezing.

Having said all that, I understand and sympathize with your reluctance to use a more "hands on" approach on a pet you were attached to. Sorry that you had to make any kind of choice at all.

 

[craig84]

Very beautiful frog! Sorry to hear its struggle

 

[Nick12007]

Actually you're right, I forgot about that, my friend has always said that the sudden blunt trauma to the head method is of course the least painful, but most people are too attached to do that, so it's understandable that that's not a very popular method.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

I am shocked that a vet would give out that advice. The AVMA no longer approves freezing; it is very inhumane. CO2, Cervical Dislocation, and Destruction of the Brain via blunt force or pithing are the only acceptable "DIY" methods. Overdose of a veterinary anesthetic is preferred.

 

[pinktoe23]

hi! I'll admit I don't know much about dart frogs but is it that bad for a frog to stop eating for a week? :? I would assume in the wild there are times were food is very scarce and they still survive. or perhaps dart frogs have a hibernating period? I really have no clue, just trying to point out I'd definetely would want to wait a lot more than a week and would try other foods to see if any is more appealing to him.

not sure, but the best advice I'd give you is not to jump on that wagon yet until you've tried everything, especially if you're so fond of it. I've seen dart frogs before and yours doesn't appear that overly skinny to me. just a thought, I don't think there's any reason to kill any animal unless you do see it suffering and there's no way out for it.

again, I know very little about dart frogs but would do some research first to find out how long can they be without food and if this is something fairly normal. hope its nothing to be alarmed with and its not too late to save your frog from death. wishing you the best of luck

 

[dtknow]

I agree with Waldo. Oragel is probably the most humane way to do it. Just an overdose and it is used in labs.

Pinktoe: It is hard to say without seeing the frog. Really thin frogs can bounce back but the odds are really against them.

 

[Ted]

freezing works great.

 

[Vfox]

If you don't want it to suffer, don't want to smash it, or freeze it, then you will just have to place it in the fridge, which should put it into a sort of hibernation, then use one of the above methods, it will not know what's going on because its body will be so out of wack. Personally though, blunt trauma is always the most painless....at least for them. Either way, I wish you and it luck.

 

[Arachnotized]

I would wait a little longer..he might bounce back..:?

 

[thedude]

it would have sucked if he was just in some kind of hibernation and still went through with it, i feel sorry for him and his frog i went thrugh some thing like this with my bearded dragon except the vet put him down for me...

 

[bugmankeith]

How on earth would a tropical frog be able to hibernate? Too cold and I think it would just die from shock, even in the fridge.