Help! Red eyed tree frog eye infection?

[TheFroggyDragon]

I have a 24 x 18 x 36 natural terrarium with a misting system. It houses 6.2 Red eyed tree frogs. I went to add more feeders to the tank tonight: hornworms, dubia, and crickets. One of my males came out and I noticed his eye is swollen and has some clear liquid coming out. (Photos attached) He can barely open his eye and uses his back leg to "force" it open. He then rubs it a few times like it itches and then he acts like he is fine. None of the others have any swelling. Do I need to separate this one or is it better to leave him in the tank he is used to?
What do I do?

[FrogLoving17]

Hi I do not keep Red Eyes but I do know a few things about sick tree frogs

Yes seprate him from the others in a hospital tank with paper towles and whatever else he has in his viv
i think he may have an iinfection I, if I were you I would take him to a vet
Lastly, I think it will help me and other member decide what your poop RETF has if you include the following info
- how long has he had it - what are you feeding him- what temp and humidity level
i hope your RETF gets better you and him are in my prayers

[TheFroggyDragon]

I will separate him. The closest frog knowledgable vet it over 3 hours away. I plan on calling them, but won't be able to drive him that far anytime soon.

He has had it for 1 to 2 days.
He eats dubia, hornworms, crickets, pill bugs, small earthworms, and possibly springtails. (These are all in the tank since it is an ecosystem that I add fresh foods to 3x a week.)
He ate two small hornworms tonight even with the swollen eye.
Daytime temp is 80-82 F with a nighttime drop of 3-6 degrees.
Humidity is usually around 75% (except right after misting when it rises to 100%... 20 second misting every 6 hours)

*Thank You*

[DonLisk]

This is definitely an infection and best course of action is always a to visit a vet ASAP since it will need medications/antibiotics before stress causes the issue to worsen.
Something like this can occur due to something getting under the eye lid or due to an internal infection and must be treated based on which has occurred.

Don

[TheFroggyDragon]

Thank you! I will try to get him to the vet soon and will update the thread as we go.

[TheFroggyDragon]

This morning the frogs eye was not as swollen. I called the vet to see what could have caused it and what to do if it happens again. I sent him photos of the little guy that were posted here and a few of him this morning along with photos of the enclosure.
**Turns out the small leaf fake plants should NEVER be in the cage with a frog.**
The vet believes he may have shoved one of the corners of the plant into his eye "Ouch!" and that caused the eye to become irritated and swollen. He said that the clear liquid coming out of the eye was normal with an injury and if it were yellow, brown, or another color that means infection. I am to leave him in quarantine until all the swelling and discharge is gone. I am to see if any other symptoms show up. As long as he goes back to normal he can be housed with his friends again. If more symptoms show up, the swelling does not continue to go down, or the discharge is anything but clear he will need to go into the vet clinic.
The fake plant has been removed and luckily he was the only injured of the group.

[Bolisnide]

This morning the frogs eye was not as swollen. I called the vet to see what could have caused it and what to do if it happens again. I sent him photos of the little guy that were posted here and a few of him this morning along with photos of the enclosure.
**Turns out the small leaf fake plants should NEVER be in the cage with a frog.**
The vet believes he may have shoved one of the corners of the plant into his eye "Ouch!" and that caused the eye to become irritated and swollen. He said that the clear liquid coming out of the eye was normal with an injury and if it were yellow, brown, or another color that means infection. I am to leave him in quarantine until all the swelling and discharge is gone. I am to see if any other symptoms show up. As long as he goes back to normal he can be housed with his friends again. If more symptoms show up, the swelling does not continue to go down, or the discharge is anything but clear he will need to go into the vet clinic.
The fake plant has been removed and luckily he was the only injured of the group.

Wow, I have some of those small leaf fake plants in my viv! I'll remove them right away....
I hope your frog gets better soon! Good luck!

[TheFroggyDragon]

Thank you. I had no clue about the fake plants, but when I took them out and felt of the corners I could see it being the cause. I mainly use the live plants but can't find any small real vine like plants.

[flybyferns]

Thank you. I had no clue about the fake plants, but when I took them out and felt of the corners I could see it being the cause. I mainly use the live plants but can't find any small real vine like plants.

Unfortunately, the fake plants not only have pointy leaf tips but are made with metal under the plastic stem covering.
If you inspect the fake branches, buds, stem etc you will often see raw metal poking through the plastic. Ouch is right !!

Naturally, as suggested a hospital tank is needed. Hopefully you can isolate what caused the problem? Even a real bromeliad with spines, or another potential sharp object such as a little point an a stick ; removing anything pointy even if you think it's not the problem , therefore preventing any other jabs!

I'm so surprised the vet did not prescribe some kind of antibiotic ointment or drops for the eye ??? Maybe get another opinion?
Lynn

[TheFroggyDragon]

The fake plants were removed. There are some bromeliads in the tank, but they have very flexible leaves. Ive inspected the tank and found nothing else with sharp edges. He is staying in the hospital tank until the swelling is completely gone and there is no discharge. I must say he has quite the appetite for an injured frog. I had to stop myself from over feeding him when he kept gobbling down hornworms.

The vet is over 3 hours drive from me so he didn't see the frog in person.. only through photos. He gave me all this information in a phone call. If he gets worse he told me to bring him in and he could give me drops for the eye and an ointment for the outside of the eye as well. There are almost no vets in this area that treat frogs

[InfinitysDaughter]

I understand the inability to take your baby to a vet. If your pulled him from his tank into the clean environment of a hospital tank as soon as you saw it then you probably avoided infection. Keep the tank temps and humidity as close to his normal one as possible and put a fake plant that you can wash daily in with him so he has the ability to climb on and sleep in like normal. Put fresh moist paper towels in the tank every day or two but clean the plant every day with hot water (let it cool before putting it back in with him, maybe even rinse it with dechlorinated or spring water) to make sure no fecal mater is on it because that will cause an infection in an instant.

I agree with the vet that its an injury, not infected. I had a frog with an infected eye and it looks more like a bubble over the eye of milky or murky (like dirty water) liquid rather then, well, like that. Keep an eye on it because it could easily become infected. The fact that he's eating so well makes me think its not infected. Infections usually cause lethargy (sleepiness) and a disinterest in food.

[LKmichael]

i got one like this but its clear maybe its because of the bromeliad should i remove it and whats should i replace with it and how to cure the eye without getting it infected there are no vets for frogs in indonesia what should i do?