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Thread: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

  1. #1

    Unhappy Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    Hi there,

    I've had a fire bellied toad (named Frügi) since I was in 4th grade. Considering I'm turning 30 next year, it's safe to say hat he's had a long life full of crickets, chirping, and floating around. He's always been healthy and active and had a good appetite, although from perusing these threads I am certain I've done a lot of things wrong as a result of assuming that the setup I started with at 10 years old was exactly as it should be. Poor guy.

    Anyway. Lately, even though he's got a great appetite and is very active, his limbs have gotten skinny. He seems to need more food than usual, and he hasn't shed in a long time. He's normally a brilliant green and gets a ruddy brownish green before he sheds - he's stayed dark for about a month and a half now, very unusual. His eyesight doesn't seem great, either - he sometimes misses a cricket that's right in front of him.

    Today I noticed some little white maggots or worms in his tank. I usually put a little bit of lettuce or broccoli in for the crickets, and it was near the broccoli, so it may have come from it. But maybe they were parasites? I'm not sure.

    Despite having had him for so long, he's never been ill before. I'm at a loss! Any recommendations on next steps or potential treatment would be a big help. I've been trying to find a vet in the area that treats frogs but I've had no luck. This might just be a sign he's reaching the end of his days, too - which would be terribly sad, but I get the idea that 20 is pretty old for this species, so maybe he's done well.

    I'm sorry in advance for my lack of knowledge.

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  3. #2
    100+ Post Member Frogman1031's Avatar
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    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    Hello and welcome to frog forum!

    wow! That toad has lived quite a long life! Congrats!

    20 years is definitely a long time for these guys, so as you can expect, they're going to begin to detioriorate with age, just like we do.

    How big was the worm in relation to the toad? An infestation of worms at this age could do the toad in so it's best to tackle the problem head on. Pics would be great

    many species of frog will darken as they age, this may be the case with your frog. To try and get him to shed more easily, increase the humidity for about a week and see if anything changes

    Litoria
    caerulea 1.1.0 (White's Tree Frog)
    Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis ​0.1.0 (Anerythristic Honduran Milk Snake) Tliltocatl albopilosus 0.0.2 (Curly Hair Tarantula)
    Aphonopelma hentzi 0.0.1 (Texas Brown Tarantula)
    Avicularia avicularia 0.0.2 (Pinktoe Tarantula)
    Brachypelma smithi ex. annitha 0.0.1 (Mexican Giant Red Knee Tarantula) Monocentropus balfouri 0.0.2 (Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula)
    Harpactira pulchripes
    0.0.1 (Golden Blue Leg Baboon Tarantula)

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  5. #3

    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    Hi! Thanks for the welcome.

    I didn't get a picture and cleaned the tank the moment I noticed the worms, but honestly, they were too tiny for any camera I have to focus on them. Maybe a quarter of the size of a grain of rice. I don't think the frog would even have been able to see them enough to eat them. Does that sound like a parasite?

    Thanks for the tip on shedding - it has been much drier than usual here this summer, so that may be wearing on him.

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    100+ Post Member Frogman1031's Avatar
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    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    A small worm like that could definitely be a parasite. I would reccomend having a vet that deals with reptiles and amphibians do a stool test on him to rule out an infestation. If you have trouble finding a stool sample you could place him in a separate container with damp paper towel as substrate and a water dish and a place to hide for a few days so that it will be readily visible on the paper towel when he goes to the bathroom

    Litoria
    caerulea 1.1.0 (White's Tree Frog)
    Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis ​0.1.0 (Anerythristic Honduran Milk Snake) Tliltocatl albopilosus 0.0.2 (Curly Hair Tarantula)
    Aphonopelma hentzi 0.0.1 (Texas Brown Tarantula)
    Avicularia avicularia 0.0.2 (Pinktoe Tarantula)
    Brachypelma smithi ex. annitha 0.0.1 (Mexican Giant Red Knee Tarantula) Monocentropus balfouri 0.0.2 (Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula)
    Harpactira pulchripes
    0.0.1 (Golden Blue Leg Baboon Tarantula)

  7. This member thanks Frogman1031 for this post:


  8. #5

    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    I've been struggling with finding one but I'll start calling around. Does anybody know of a vet in the Vancouver, Canada area who treats amphibians?

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    100+ Post Member Frogman1031's Avatar
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    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    http://www.herpvetconnection.com/bc.shtml

    this link should present you with all reptile vets in British Columbia. Most reptile vets will also treat amphibians, but call ahead just to make sure. You can also use Herp Vet Connection to find a vet in Washington state or Alberta, if nothing works in BC

    Litoria
    caerulea 1.1.0 (White's Tree Frog)
    Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis ​0.1.0 (Anerythristic Honduran Milk Snake) Tliltocatl albopilosus 0.0.2 (Curly Hair Tarantula)
    Aphonopelma hentzi 0.0.1 (Texas Brown Tarantula)
    Avicularia avicularia 0.0.2 (Pinktoe Tarantula)
    Brachypelma smithi ex. annitha 0.0.1 (Mexican Giant Red Knee Tarantula) Monocentropus balfouri 0.0.2 (Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula)
    Harpactira pulchripes
    0.0.1 (Golden Blue Leg Baboon Tarantula)

  11. #7

    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    Thank you so much for your help! I'll post with updates when I have them.

  12. #8
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    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    I recently treated my FBT tank for worms. I do not know whether or not they were parasites. But I spotted three sorts of worms. One species was very small, maybe as you describe. One species was much longer and like a filament. And one was a planaria.

    I added a dose of Fenbenzadole that I purchased from Amazon to the tank. All worms dead in five days. Did no harm to the shrimp, snails or toads nor other microscopic organisms, but it eradicated the worms in a very targeted manner.

    Search for "fish fenbenzadole" on amazon. Kills worms dead.

  13. This member thanks alane for this post:


  14. #9

    Default Re: Geriatric Fire Belly - sick, or just old?

    Some of my fire bellies are quite old as well; I bought them as adults when I was 9, I am 25 now so they must be at least 16 years old. I recognize some of the symptoms you mentioned but the funny thing is in my case the symptoms always seem to be temporary. They can get extremely clumsy; missing crickets right in front of their nose. However after some weeks or even months they can get back at it and are able to catch crickets before they even hit the ground. The same with their color, sometimes they are dark brownish for extended periods of time but they never lose the ability to turn bright green again, always a nice surprise to see the sudden change in color after months of being dark brown. Also their appetite divers greatly from being extremely hungry always to having zero interest in any food.

    My guess is that the increase in appetite of your toad is not a bad sign at all! I think a sick toad would eat less instead of more. If i were you i wouldn't worry too much, of course your toad is very old but these changes don't have to be bad signs.

    BTW; fire bellies are actually surprisingly social creatures. Maybe a tank mate would do him well. If you're lucky you'll even end up with offspring, how amazing would that be! You'll spend your whole life with the same toad family.

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