Connor got Jabba (his toad) from the Columbia River in a spot we call Frog Hollow. It's a nice little quiet inlet off the Columbia with a nice beach area and every summer the entire beach is covered in itty bitty toads. Well, he brought one of those toads home 4 years ago. She (or so we think it's a she) still had her tail but had just sprouted some legs. He raised her and cared for her for 4 years. She lived in a 60 gallon tank on his dresser. For years he would hand feed her worms. For the last several years we raised red runner roaches for her to eat and Connor would put a few in her tank and let her hunt them down. She swam in the bath tub, loved to hide in her moss hut/cave, loved to look out of her tank at Connor and Piper and would occasionally make a little squeak noise. Toads are not real interactive and don't care to be handled, but she did seem to like Connor. In the wild they are lucky if they live to be 1. In captivity they can live to be 4-5 years old. On August 3rd she turned 4 years old. After talking and thinking it over for a while we decided it would be best for Jabba if we returned her to the beach she was born on and set her free. Connor spent 2 years getting her to hunt down food on her own and trying to prepare her for life on her own. Knowing there is a chance of her dying by setting her free (as there is for all animals in the wild) we decided if any of us were in her shoes WE would want a chance to feel freedom! To walk on the beach and feel the sand and to swim in a HUGE body of water. After a lot of consideration Connor decided he would rather she died in the wild than in a cage. Hopefully he prepared her enough so she gets to enjoy lots of freedom before she dies. Mason went with us and we took her back to Frog Hollow. She instantly went to the water and swam. This is the first year that we've actually seen quiet a bit of sea weed at Frog Hollow, which I think will actually help Jabba to hide and stay safe. She seemed to love it. She swam and floated and stuck near the sea weed for cover. We played on the beach and kept a eye on her for hours and then finally had to say good bye and leave her.
No comments:
Post a Comment