slightly warped jaw - possible causes?

[hisk]

My cornuta has started showing a very slightly warped lower jaw, and I want to try and correct the issue before it becomes more than a cosmetic concern. Other than not providing lighting - which as far as I can tell works fine for other keepers - I'm stumped as to what could be the culprit. All my other reptiles seem to be doing well enough with similar setups, so if anyone has input I would be glad to hear it!

---


1. Size of enclosure

13 quarts - 15.0 x 11.5 x 6.0 Inches

2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
One Ceratophrys Cornuta

3. Humidity

N/A (It's high enough that condensation forms on the sides of the enclosure, though.)

4. Temperature

Roughly 80F-85F

5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish

Treated tap water, it's pretty hard water. Snails love it.

6. Materials used for substrate

Aquarium filter foam

7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.

Pothos "planted" in the foam, couple of holes cut in the foam for hides, and half a plastic flower pot.

8. Main food source

Canadian nightcrawlers, occasionally roaches, and small pieces of f/t shrimp or fish. Pheonix worms, waxworms, pinkie mice rarely.

9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)

Repashy Calcium Plus and Herptivite Multivitamin. I feed about three times a week depending on bowel movements, and I use both almost every time. (It does tend to rub off of the worms, and this frog has always been difficult about taking food from the tongs.)

10. Lighting

None

11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure

Sunroom stays warm naturally during the summer months (frogs are kept out of direct sun) and they're warmed with a combo of space heater and heating pad during the winter months. Temp gun shows appropriate temps in enclosures in either case.

12. When is the last time he/she ate

Tuesday (two days ago)

13. Have you found poop lately

Yes, a few days ago.

14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)

15. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.

Slight warping of the lower jaw, causing an underbite.

16. How old is the frog

About a year.

17. How long have you owned him/her

Roughly six - seven months

18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred

Captive bred

19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats

Canadian nightcrawlers, occasionally small pieces of f/t shrimp or fish. Pheonix worms, roaches, waxworms, pinkie mice rarely.

20. How often the frog is handled

Once a week or so to clean enclosure, but they're never handled directly - I shoo it into a cup and lift it out.

21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
Low traffic

22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)
A minimum of once a week I remove the frog from the enclosure, rinse the foam and tub well with tap water, then rinse with treated water and reassemble enclosure. This may include soaking with white wine vinegar and water, if I detect an odor or if the frog has had a messy bowel movement.

[hisk]

So recently my first shipment of pacman food arrived (zoomed brand) and I decided to test it out on all the frogs since their feeding day was coming up. The frog in this thread showed an eager feeding response, more than even with earth worms and crickets. So I have a theory!

I made the little dough balls much smaller than the sections of canadian earth worm I have been feeding this frog up until this point. (My ornate seems to prefer much larger pieces rather than many small ones, which is the cause of the mistake.) I suspect he's been intimidated by the size of the worm pieces, and the issue has been malnutrition all along. I'll continue feeding the pacman food in addition to smaller worm sections. We'll see if his condition improves.