Cousin, a white tree frog, arrived at the Be Wild Reptile Rescue back in 2019. His problem? He couldn’t lose weight.

As the rescue explained to GeoBeats Animals, white tree frogs typically weigh between 40-50 grams on the larger end, but Cousin weighed in at a whopping 144 grams.

White tree frog
Photo: flickr/Greg Schechter

In fact, he was so big that one of his owners had to get rid of him because he was too large to be near their other frogs! Poor Cousin bounced around from house to house until he finally found a forever home at the wildlife rescue in North Carolina.

The rescuers immediately began working with Cousin to help him lost weight and they were pleased to report on Instagram that the friendly reptile had a lot 20 grams in their care:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLfGql_Mgei/

Despite their best efforts, Cousin’s weight loss journey has been slow and uneventful. 20 grams is a significant amount to lose, but he’s still around 70 grams overweight. It seems he struggles to lose weight compared to other frogs because of a poor diet he had earlier in life.

They believe Cousin was taken from the wild in Indonesia and sold into the pet trade in the U.S. At some point between then and now, his diet lacked the calcium he needed, resulting in his limbs curving in.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAJEJSyhuHn/

Because of his misshaped legs, he doesn’t hop around and climb as much as a typical white tree frog would. His lack of activity is likely a large contributing factor to his weight, but they believe there may be something more to it too.

Cousin will likely remain at the wildlife rescue center for the rest of his life since he’d be unable to survive in the wild. The rescuers are determined to give him the best life possible, despite his challenges with weight.

Watch Cousin’s story in the video below:

You can keep up with Cousin and the rest of the rescue’s reptiles on Instagram, @bewildnc.