Frog causes drama at Dudley Zoo

A vet used to operating on animals like elephants and giraffes faced a different challenge when he treated a tiny frog with a broken leg.

Ember, a two-inch long White’s Tree Frog, needed treatment after falling awkwardly on the limb in her enclosure at Dudley Zoo.

The zoo’s vet Peter Stewart carried out the procedure to insert a small metal pin into the leg.

Painkillers were also administered to little Ember before the operation began which also proved a challenge for Mr Stewart due to the frog’s size.

Although similiar operations have been carried out on other animals, it is the first time surgery has been carried out at the zoo on a creature so small.

Mr Stewart faced a race against time to complete the painstaking procedure, as Ember could only be under anaesthetic for a short amount of time, again due to its size.

The operation took less than 30 minutes to complete and to the relief of keepers has proved to be a complete success.

Thumb-sized Ember has now been returned to her habitat in the zoo’s Discovery Centre.

Dudley Zoo chairman Peter Suddock reckoned it was very rare to carry out such a procedure on a creature so small.

Mr Suddock added: “Ember likes to stand at the very back of the habitat and took a tumble which caused the injury in the first place.

“An operation on a White’s Tree Frog was certainly a first for us here at the zoo and we are delighted it went so well.”

Ember arrived at the zoo last year after being transferred from the Birmingham Nature Centre.

White’s tree frogs have an average lifespan of 16 years.

Courtesy of Mary Ann Howell

"These folks at the Dudley Zoo must have unlimited resources, because they sure seem eager to waste it. "Little Ember" is a tubby who would probably break the other leg attempting to jump. LOL I note that she was transferred from the Birmingham Nature Centre. I don't know how the zoo world does it but when I was a kid we used to "transfer" frogs in our coat pocket."