Obese Tree Frog Finds Permanent Home at North Carolina Reptile Rescue Where He Is Losing Weight

GeoBeats Animals traveled to Durham, North Carolina to visit BeWild Rescue in order to learn more about an obese rescued white tree frog named Cousin who is on his way to losing weight.

Rescue director Nicole D’Avignon explained that Cousin came to them in 2019 by people who rescued him from a life of captivity. Even though Cousin has been rehomed several times, he’s found a permanent place with BeWild.

Cousin is unusual because he is so big. His owners who donated him, they rescued him from someone. He was actually too big to live with their own frogs. …We are at least his fourth home. He’s been transferred from home to home a lot.

Since his arrival, Cousin has lost a bit of weight and continues to do so, although life in captivity has hindered his ability to move very much. Due to these restrictions, he can never be released back into the wild.

Right now he is down to about 120 grams. Talking to our veterinarians he probably can’t lose weight very well for a few reasons. One of his limbs have been curved because he doesn’t have enough calcium or he didn’t in the past, so he can’t really climb and hop like a regular frog can He’s really not as active as most frogs are. He also has a chronic condition.

Instead, Cousin lives comfortably as an Ambassador for BeWild Rescue.