Pacific Chorus frog Update

[Gnag the nameless]

Well, after several weeks, Thermidor is still around and kicking. He's not really increased in weight or decreased, rather kept a moderately skinny-ish weight overall. He's also been producing firm feces and appears to have been hunting on his own. However, Levi is showing one of Thermidor's previous symptoms -- once he grabs and swallows food, he opens his mouth a little repeatedly and swallows repeatedly. I am unsure if Thermidor is still having this trouble. Nonetheless, Levi is as fat as ever and catches his food easily.

I'm wondering, is it safe to move Thermidor back with Levi? I hate keeping the pair separated, they've lived together for so long and it makes me feel terrible to keep them apart when they've always had each other around to comfort the other and give them a sense of security.

Also, it may be simply because I am new to this section of the FF, but does it seem like a lot of Tree frogs are showing signs of a Vitamin A deficiency/trouble eating and/or skinnyness right now?

[irThumper]

...However, Levi is showing one of Thermidor's previous symptoms -- once he grabs and swallows food, he opens his mouth a little repeatedly and swallows repeatedly. I am unsure if Thermidor is still having this trouble. Nonetheless, Levi is as fat as ever and catches his food easily....

Are you feeding crickets? How big are they? How often do you feed?

Are your frogs adults? Sizes?

Our PCTFs did this "gulping" routine regularly if they were tackling crickets that were too much on the bigger side or if they gobbled the crickets too closely together. I fed every other day, occasionally every third day, and they would eat between 2 to 4+ crickets each, depending on cricket size. The froggles were a nice weight compared to some of their outside cousins. I took lots of vid of the PTCFs, will look through the footage to see if I can find the behavior you've mentioned so you can see if it's the same. Hope it helps!

[Gnag the nameless]

I feed all my frogs every other day, but Thermidor's Short Tongue Syndrome isn't going away, despite the constant multi vitamin dusted feedings, so I'm not sure. He's still capable of eating crickets, luckily, but often just seems uneager to eat, or rather, lethargic.

As for Levi, he's as fat as ever (fatter than the larger of the two frogs in the leftmost image) and has no trouble catching his food but still does the swallowing... Maybe my Vitamin Dusting has gone off. I'll refresh it ASAP just in case it's so. In the past, neither frog has had any of these troubles and had always been very healthy.

Also, found a runny poop in Thermidor's tank the other day :/ so I guess I gotta keep him in quarantine some more.

[irThumper]

I feed all my frogs every other day, but Thermidor's Short Tongue Syndrome isn't going away, despite the constant multi vitamin dusted feedings, so I'm not sure. He's still capable of eating crickets, luckily, but often just seems uneager to eat, or rather, lethargic.

As for Levi, he's as fat as ever (fatter than the larger of the two frogs in the leftmost image) and has no trouble catching his food but still does the swallowing... Maybe my Vitamin Dusting has gone off. I'll refresh it ASAP just in case it's so. In the past, neither frog has had any of these troubles and had always been very healthy.

Also, found a runny poop in Thermidor's tank the other day :/ so I guess I gotta keep him in quarantine some more.

Anymore updates on how your PCFs are doing? I've been having problems with my own frogs lately, so know how stressful it can be

[Gnag the nameless]

Well, Levi's back to eating normally. Still as fat as ever too fed him an earthworm the other day and he gobbled it right up in a split second. So, it may have been a size issue. Who knows.

Edit: By size issue I mean the size of the crickets, not Levi

Thermidor, on the other hand, now refuses to eat from my hand but isn't showing a significant decrease of weight. And crickets in his tank are disappearing. So maybe he is getting them on his own. His condition doesn't seem to be worsening either, so I'm not sure what's going on at this point.

Rest of the frogs seem okay. Bumpy has a spot on his nose, but he often acquires weird spots that appear and disappear, or has in the past. Previous ones were all due to abnormal shedding (Consulted my Vet on it) so I'm going to assume that this one is too.

Just got another Firebelly toad I'll make a post about that in a little. Sasha, Aleksis, and Dimitri all appear fine. Aleksis has been eating a little less over the past two or three feedings but the temperature is really cooling down around here + Aleksis is a plump and very big Firebelly toad (He's grown from much smaller than Sasha to nearly the same size in only three or so months) so I'm not really concerned, but I'm still keeping a close eye on him. And the Sals are good.

And, trust me, I know how insanely stressing and hard that can be I hope everything works out with your frogs.

[Gnag the nameless]

Update:

Good news. I caught Thermidor shedding yesterday and managed to sneak three crickets into his mouth (One undusted, two dusted with freshly bought Vitamin Mix). Nearly got a small earthworm in too, but that'll have to wait I'm afraid. I might start staying up more constantly and checking on him more often so I can catch him shedding again. Does anyone know how often they shed?

Also, Aleksis seems disinterested in food but doesn't appear to be losing weight. It is getting darker and colder around here too. However, none of the other amphibians (so far as I can tell) appear to be exhibiting the same behaviour, though Gargan also refused food the other day and I didn't hear Bumpy going after any crickets the other night (though he may have and I just didn't hear it.) My concern is Aleksis contracted Thermidor's condition somehow, but it's much more likely it's to do with the rapidly shifting weather considering he's probably the fittest frog around (he's the dominant male, the size of Sasha if not bigger now, very plump, and has a very muscular build for a frog.) Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[irThumper]

I'm wondering if the PCFs are trying to go into hibernation mode....?

[Gnag the nameless]

Possibly. That'd explain Thermidor's sudden refusal to eat. And I'm not entirely sure if Levi ate last night, either. However, in past years they have eaten during winter so I'm not sure if this is the case.

Anyhow, I wonder, does anyone know if Firebelly Toads enter a hibernation state, as in they become lethargic and inactive? I might make a thread about it...

[Jessalyn]

Is it pretty cold where you are? My fatties are still gobbling everything up, and I've seen wild ones cruising around outside, but I live in WA so it's around 50-60F but warmer in the apartment, of course. I'm glad they seem to be doing better!

[Gnag the nameless]

Sorry for lack of responses, been sick and lots of homework too.

Quick Update:

Thermidor's condition seems to get better and worse in alternation. Some days he's a brown color, motionless with his eyes shut, or one of his eyes blinks a lot. Others, he's a regular color and attempts to eat food. So, who knows. Just going to try and feed him as much as I can.

Levi's good. The Firebelly toads are all together now, including the new female Rosa. They were acting very skittish a while back, still are but Aleksis has calmed down as has Sasha and Rosa. Bumpy and the Sals are good.

I'll add more onto this later.

[Gnag the nameless]

Gonna add on in that Thermidor did try and lunge at a cricket a day or two back, but couldn't pull it into his mouth. His tongue just kinda sat there, so I don't know what's going on with that. At least he's going for food now. Gonna try and feed him an Earthworm tomorrow though. Monitoring him closely.

Levi is good, eating regularly, very fat and healthy. Bumpy still has that spot on his nose but he's normal too, quite plump now as well.

As for Aleksis and the other toads, had to move the newest one, Rosa, into the main tank since she escaped from the old one, no clue how. Found her shortly after, glad I did or else my cat would have got her. Also, had to put all the toads in a separate tank to find Aleksis (he'd hidden himself under the filter a while back) so that scared them all a little but they're calming down now, including Aleksis himself. Feedings have been chaotic but once they're all calm again, it should all go back to normal.

[Gnag the nameless]

Well, Thermidor hasn't eaten at all this week. He seems to slowly move around his tank every so often and then just sleep. However, he is a good size right now, which is a positive. But I definitely think he's on his last legs, unfortunately :/ still trying to feed him, to no avail.

Other frogs are good. Aleksis is calming down and eating regularly, and feedings with all the toads have become less chaotic. Everyone's eating fine, I always find firm, fully formed stools in their tank which is another good sign. Aleksis has lost a little bit of weight due to his time spent hiding/being somewhat skittish, but he's regaining it. It may also be because he seems to be growing, a lot. He's nearly the size of Sasha now.

Talking about Sasha, I'm almost worried that she's pregnant. She's easily the fattest and largest of all four of the toads, and eats like a monster. But, it could be due to the fact that she eats the most (and biggest crickets) out of everyone now. As for the other two, Dimitri is eating and acting normally. He's getting quite plump now, but unlike Aleksis it is accumulating around his lower torso, instead of giving him of a muscular build with a larger and more muscular upper torso like Aleksis has. Rosa, the new little female, has fit in quick and is a very efficient hunter of crickets. She'll often dart to the feeding rock, snatch a cricket meant for another toad, and dart off. She's putting on a little weight now, and like Sasha it's a very all-round kind of thing.

As for the other amphibians, Bumpy is also eating and acting fine, and the Sals have been too. Levi is getting quite fat, so I'm going to cut his diet down a little to 4-6 crickets per feeding, maybe feed him a couple of earthworms sometime too if I can get some out of my compost. But otherwise, all is good.

[Gnag the nameless]

Came home from school and found Thermidor has passed on. Rest in Peace.

I think this was simply a case of old age. I have no idea of what his age was, and the slow way he deteriorated just suggests that he was passing from old age. I'm going to miss him, but we had two good, long years together.

[irThumper]

Poor Therm he had a good life while he was with you and you did what you could for him. Sorry to hear he passed.

[Strider18]

Sorry about your loss I lost my first pet when I was 8 and I cried a lot so I know how depressing it can be

0.1.0 Psuedacris regilla