Froggie, the marble-eating Albino African Claw Frog, is home after recovering from innovative stomach surgery that allowed Dr. James Askew to remove three offending large glass beads - one clear, one turquoise, one blue.
Admittedly, that's not normal frog food, but she was hungry. Vela Taconi thought Froggie was getting fat, so she cut back on "his" food. "His" is a key word because everyone thought the white aquatic frog was male. Wrong.
Froggie got fat because her body was manufacturing eggs and she needed more nourishment. The diet was bad timing. Marbles looked edible.
When the panicked Taconi brought her grandson's beloved amphibian to the Saucier Veterinary Hospital, no one knew what was going on - except for the blue marble visible through Froggie's white skin.
Continued life wasn't promising for the frog, now 9 inches with legs outstretched but barely an inch when they bought her two years ago at Wal-Mart for about $3.
"I can't believe I've been so upset over a frog," Taconi admitted Thursday when the family came to retrieve Froggie. "But he, I mean she, has such a personality. He, I mean she, wraps her little claw hands around my finger. I guess I'll have to put a sign on her tank, 'Frogette.'
This vet is known for saving critters others ignore, like car-flattened snakes, and that's why Taconi drove from Long Beach. The surgery, a procedure that everted the stomach outside the frog's mouth, was iffy and grasping slippery marbles was no easy task.
Askew was uncertain Froggie would recover from stomach damage, so he didn't contact the family. Technically, the frog was now his because Taconi couldn't afford the vet bills. She knew Askew had a record of amphibian miracles, so she gave him the beloved pet in hopes he'd try to save the frog.
The surgery was last week and Askew breathed relief when Froggie finally started eating. Then on Monday, while in New Orleans for classes (on what else but amphibians?), Askew received a panicked call from staff.
Froggie's aquarium was full of white stuff. Had the surgery gone bad? Nope. Final diagnosis: Eggs.
The good-willed Askew decided Taconi and grandson Haedyn Sund should get Froggieback.
"Thank you," 5-year-old Haedyn said as he wrapped his little arms around Askew's leg and spurted out little boy questions.
"I just gave her some good drugs to make her feel better," Askew answered, "and if you want those eggs to become tadpoles, you'll have to put a little boy frog in with her."
Haedyn, his mom, sister and grandmother then headed out the door with Froggie and new instructions to exchange the aquarium's marbles for big pieces of flat shale.
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