Whites Tree Frog Lethargic

[JHansson514]

I have a Whites tree Frog, Delilah, and he (yes, he) has been very lethargic for about 2 weeks now and I am starting to get very worried. Delilah sits on either the bedding or very low decorations. He moves slowly and seems as though his rear legs are bothering him. He has not eaten in about 2 weeks as well. The only activity Delilah does is traveling to and from the water dish during the night. Visibly there is nothing wrong with him. Delilah has let me look him over closely, which is unusual in itself, because previously the whole neighborhood would have heard him fussing about it.

I have had Delilah for 2 1/2 years and prior to the past few weeks had a healthy appetite of crickets and meal worms, Was very active jumping and climbing continuously and would call on a regular basis. Delilah is housed in a 18x18x24 Exo Terra tank. 80-85*F during the day 70*F at night, 50-60% humidity, fresh clean water daily, tank is spot cleaned daily and thoroughly cleaned every other week, misted 1-2 times a day. Delilah has a Whites Tree Frog companion, Pickles, whom I got the same time as Delilah.

I would suspect parasites for Delilah, as I have seen them in Pickles' stool, however I have taken both frogs to the vet and had the stools tested. Delilah was negative and Pickles was negative for parasites, although they were visible the test showed the parasites were that of the food, not of the frog. I have since changed vendors for the crickets and am waiting to see if there is a difference. Both frog are now fed outside of the tank. Because of this both frogs are eating less (assumingly because the routine changed after 2 1/2 years).

My other thought for Delilah is that perhaps he got into mold. I had put a new plant decoration in the tank that has a wood base and I bleached the decoration first in a 3% bleach solution, rinsed well and air dried. However, after a few days of the decoration in the tank mold began to grow on the base. I took the plant out, but I do not know if Delilah got into it in the mean time (at this time it would have been unusual for Delilah to be on the bottom of the tank).

My only other guess would be calcium deficiency. I have dusted the crickets with calcium, probably not as often as I should have (maybe once a month), because of the new method of feeding them outside of the tank (not an excuse, I know). However the crickets are gut loaded with a calcium fortified diet. I have been giving Delilah 3 drops of liquid calcium orally for 4 days and have not seen any improvement. I have not yet called the vet regarding Delilah's lethargy, he is 1 1/2 hours away from my house. Please help. I need to make my little man better.

[DonLisk]

Hi JH, my only thought would have been parasites or worms. Hopefully someone has a suggestion but your vet is definitely going to be the best option.

[BlueisallIneed]

I would call the vet just to see if they can give you some advice over the phone. Since he hasn't eaten in two weeks you need to get food for him and force feed him. They sell that at a vet or you might be able to get it at a pet shop. Its in a liquid form that you have to syringe in his mouth. If its a calcium problem you have to dust the crickets every other feeding. Once a month is not even close to being enough. Crickets are pretty much all phosphorus, you also need to get a calcium powder that is phosphorus free. Phosphorus actually blocks absorption of calcium, so if you have powder with it in there you are doubling the chance of him not getting enough to begin with. I would continue with the drops but he needs to get food in him.

[JHansson514]

Since he hasn't eaten in two weeks you need to get food for him and force feed him... Crickets are pretty much all phosphorus, you also need to get a calcium powder that is phosphorus free. Phosphorus actually blocks absorption of calcium, so if you have powder with it in there you are doubling the chance of him not getting enough to begin with. I would continue with the drops but he needs to get food in him.

I force fed Delilah a cricket tonight. After him spitting it out twice, I believe it was finally swallowed. The calcium dust I have is phosphorous free and it also has D3, which from what I understand also helps in absorbing the calcium. The liquid calcium does not say it is phosphorous free, but it is not listed in the ingredients.

Thank you for the advice. I'll let you know what happens.

[JHansson514]

Is it possible for a white's Tree Frog to get a cold? Like an upper respiratory infection or something. I've noticed that when he breathes he makes a slight puckering sounds, like he's got a nose full of boogers. And for a while he was shedding almost every day, which seems much too frequent, especially since his eating pretty much stopped. I've read (at least with other frogs) that frequent shedding can be due to low humidity, but it says around 55-60%. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[JHansson514]

I just wanted to let you know that Delilah died tonight. I did more research on respiratory infections and I do believe that is what Delilah had. I planned on calling the vet tomorrow to set up an appointment, but apparently that was too late. If only I had realized what was wrong sooner. I'm absolutely heart broken. Thank you all for your advice.

[DonLisk]

We know you gave the best for Delilah and are so sorry for you loss.

[En333]

In so sorry for your loss. In sure you gave him the greatest