Help WTF sick unsure what is the cause

[RedHed]

recently adopted 3 white's tree frogs from petco ( i know, i know, bad idea). The smallest seems sick lately and today i noticed a swollen jaw. I decided to give him a honey bath to perk him up a bit and noticed stringy slimey stuff coming out of his mouth. I pulled it out and the swell in his jaw seemed smaller but he was still opening and closing his mouth alot. I also hear a strange clicking noise when he was doing this. What does it sound like he has ? can it be treated? i have no money to take him to the vet .
{ I WILL POST PICTURES IN A COMMENT TO THIS MESSAGE}
his tank ( he shares with 2 other bigger WTFs untill i get the 35 gal hex tank finished in a few days)
- eco earth substrate
-clean water daily with dechlorinator
-day heat - 80
-night heat- 60-65
-humidity 70%
- no uvb bulb but i am going to order one online
- the crickets used to be dusted with calcium but i have been remiss in this duty lately ( definately will fix it)
the other two frogs seem fine but like i said they are much bigger... the only thing i have noticed is lately the only petshop in town only carries crickets that are sorta large for his size. He has eaten a couple but could this cause problems? i am breeding my own crickets to fix this problem once and for all but it will be several weeks before i have small crickets.

PLEASE DONT JUST VIEW AND NOT REPLY ANY IDEAS OR WEBSITE REFERENCES WOULD HELP ....
Thanks
Amy

[RedHed]

[DonLisk]

It sounds like it is shedding. They will open and close their mouth and pull the shed into their mouth to eat. It looks nasty sometimes with the stomach sucking in and almost like the frog is going to heave.

[S13]

Not sure what problems he may be experiencing but one thing I could suggest is putting him in a hospital tank. Also, it isn't the best idea to house a smaller frog with ones that are "much bigger" like you are stating in this post.

[RedHed]

The problem is that he won't tong feed. All the frogs started out the same size but the other two have since filled out. I tried to put him in a separate tank and feed him that way but he just stresses out. He isn't small enough to fit in their mouths though.


What does a hospital tank consist of?

[S13]

Sterile tank with fake plants, wood, paper towel substrate, and water dish. Just to be separated from the others.

[DonLisk]

The crickets should be no longer than the distance between the frogs eyes.

If he is just shedding, then leave him be, have clean declorinated water available for him to soak in and he'll get rid of his shed on his own.
You mentioned you thong feed. why not try using a cricket bowl. A cricket bowl is basically a glass or similar (not plastic) bowl with a round bottom and you just put the crickets in it for the frogs to feed from. Since the bowl is slippery the crickets get stuck in it.

Do you have plenty of climbing accents in the tank? Live plants, limbs, branches, and such so the frogs can stay and hide off the ground?
Tree Frogs are not usually found on the ground so you should have enough for them to travel to things like the water dish and branches up high without having to get on the bottom. Not to say they won't spend some time on the bottom but they usually don't.

As for a hospital tank, you have a sterile enclosure with moist paper towel, a water dish, some leaves or similar (also clean) and that is it.
This allows for monitoring the frog and ensures he is not passing illness to or catching illness from the other frogs.

[RedHed]

I worried it's not just shedding though because he always seems hunkered down in the dirt. And a dark brown color. His activity at night has also suffered

[DonLisk]

Staying down in the soil could be plenty of things, you can separate him into a hospital tank and monitor him. Feed him with the cricket bowl method, change the wet paper towels out daily and give him enough fake leaves/vines to feel secure.

Many reasons cause them to go to the soil instead of staying up in the branches, leaves, and such. One is low humidity. Make sure your monitoring humidity at the level the frogs are (usually mid tank or higher) and don't have the hydrometer near a water dish or next to a heat pad.

Check your hydrometer against another if possible since they are not the most accurate things.

Your frog can also be feeling intimidated from the two larger frogs or is looking for a meal on its own and will not eat from your thongs.

He also could have same to you with an illness and it is finally starting to show. Only way to know is to have a vet examine the frog and do a fecal exam on fresh droppings.

[RedHed]

About how much does a fecal exam usually run you?

[RedHed]

Thank you both for the input !! You are both so knowledgable. I thought I was well read up on the subject of frogs and had done my home work and now I'm not so sure..... So thank you

[DonLisk]

Hi Amy,
It is very hard to diagnose an illness and cause without a ton of historical information.
So many things come into making a decision on how someone should proceed and good detailed photos of both the frog and enclosure always help. Here is a link http://www.frogforum.net/tree-frogs/...enclosure.html that some members put together to help determine what is going on and make a better decision as to what you should do. Please note that when your concerned about your forgs health it is always best to see the local vet since hands on is always better than any photo or description. If you "Copy and Paste" the questions from the linked thread to here, then answer the questions it may help others give a better answer to help.

I would believe just a fecal exam should run around 20 bucks if the vet is not seeing the frog and its just a fecal exam.