Kozmic Dreams Photos of Couch's Spadefoots

My Couch's Spadefoots

Scaphiopus couchii

I purchased my first Couch's spadefoot at a local pet store in the summer of 2001. His name was Frank. He has since passed on, but he will never be forgotten.

Click here to read about Frank the Spadefoot and see photographs of him or click on his picture above.

When Frank died, I couldn't stand being without a spadefoot, so I looked all over the internet and finally found some. I had to spend a fortune on the overnight shipping. I only asked for two: a male and female. However, four were sent and they were all males. I was disappointed, but what could I do but fall in love with them---they were all cute in their own way. I named them after members of Frank Zappa's band---Terry Bozzio, Don Preston, Napoleon Murphy Brock and Ike Willis. A few days later, I noticed they had signs of the fungus that Frank had. I strongly believe it was the medication that killed Frank and that he would still be here today if I had just left him alone. So this time, I let the fungus alone. For many months, the fungus disappeared with skin-shedding, then re-appeared soon afterward. It doesn't seem to want to go away, although it doesn't seem to harm the spadefoots. All four are pictured together below on November 7, 2007: top left-Don, top right-Terry, bottom left-Ike, bottom right-Napoleon. Terry has since passed on. Napi and Ike are now ill with the same thing Terry had.

Click on each thumbnail to see a larger view!

Terry (May 2007 - April 24, 2008)

Terry had a rough life from the get-go. He was severely dehydrated when he arrived and was blue in color due to lack of water. He wouldn't eat on his own for 3-4 weeks and had to be force-fed until he finally regained his appetite. He was doing well until about mid-April 2008, when he developed what appeared to be a tumor on his foreleg---it looked like his whole foot had swollen up. I didn't know what to do, so I was just keeping an eye on it. Not even a week later, I found him dead. He was my favorite because he looked the most like Frank. He is pictured below on November 8, 2007.

Napoleon

Napi was doing great until several days after Terry died. Here he is pictured on December 2, 2007.

Unfortunately, he is now battling the disease that Terry had. Here is a photo of what happened to his right hind leg. This is about a week after it started swelling up. As of July 3rd, he still has a huge open wound that has looked worse than this picture, but seems to be improving. It weeps fluid all day long, but every day, I soak him in a tetracycline bath (made from fish medications) and put neosporin on the wound. He has been surviving two months with the condition. He had to be force-fed for a month or so, but the last few weeks, he has been eating on his own again and seems to have his appetite back. After researching on the internet, I now believe he may have ranavirus (also called Frog Virus 3 or Tadpole Edema Virus) because he seems to have the same symptoms. If not, it is certainly some form of horrible virus. It says that ranavirus is 90% lethal. One of the main problems is the secondary infections that can occur at the sites of the lesions. It is important to keep the lesions free of bacteria, which is what I've been doing. Terry never even had the chance to develop the lesions---the virus must have ruined his internal organs too quickly. I still retain hope for Napi and will continue to care for him every day.

leg on 5-7-08

leg on 6-25-08. Trust me, this is much better than it looked in between these stages. I really think he is recovering.

Ike

Ike was doing great until July 1, 2008. Ike's front right foot and leg swelled up like Terry and Napi. Here he is pictured on November 8, 2007.

In the following photos, you can see how his right foreleg is all swollen up. I have always loved the way Ike "sits" for me for minutes at a time. Most toads don't do this. So I bought him a little couch to do a photo shoot. This isn't the exact setting I had wanted, but I thought that I better take some photos or he could be dead in a few days like Terry. I just hope he is strong enough to battle this out like Napi has been doing. Notice how different his coloration is now---his head is turning lime green (that was nothing to do with the virus---he's been this way for several months). His dark gray markings hardly even show anymore.

Terry and Ike

Don

Ike and Don

On June 25, 2008, I took these photos of Ike and Don soaking in their water dish. About a week later, Ike came down with that awful virus that made his leg swell up, but here he looks healthy and happy (and bloated up like a balloon!).

All Four

These were taken on December 2, 2007, one of the few times since their arrival when they all were fungus-free at the same time.

Here are the last photos of all four of them together, taken on April 20, 2008. Four days later, Terry had died (you can't see his bad foreleg---it is in the dirt). Napoleon is in the water. Terry is in the back. Ike is in the middle, and Don is in front.

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