Dying frog question (no medical advice needed)
No pictures are included, but please be forewarned this post is asking a question about a dead or dying animal.
(TL;DR: how can I know for sure that my frog is dead?)
I have a 6+ year old American Green Tree Frog who has been slowing down over the last few weeks. He is not in distress or visibly ill so I’ve just been letting him live out his final days comfortably.
I found him today (within the last hour) unresponsive but upright on the leaf litter in his enclosure (bioactive). He is not responding at all to motion, gentle poking, or misting. However, he does not seem to be in rigor mortis yet, and is not discoloured or sitting weirdly. He has a few springtails crawling on him, but they aren’t swarming him yet. His pupils are not reactive to changes in light. There is no visible breathing, I’ve watched for quite a while.
How can I know for sure that he is dead? I don’t want to flip him or otherwise poke and prod at him just in case he is still alive. However, I also worry that if he is still actively dying, he might be uncomfortable with the springtails running around on him and, I’m assuming, biting.
Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.