Other ACF sick

[Dejavudoo]

I recently lost one of my african clawed frogs. Well now I think my other one is sick too. I noticed that for at least one month (maybe even two), they had been shedding their skin more than once a week. I'm going to assumed that this is a symptom of whatever is wrong. I also noticed that Freckles had some redness around his eye. So I put him in an isolation tank and treated him with Tetracycline until it went away (about 8 days). He is eating well, but continues to shed his skin on almost a daily basis!!! I also just noticed that while resting on the bottom of the tank, he blew some bubbles and then (while still resting his bum on the bottom), raised his body vertically and then fell back over. Could it be chytrid?? I read that it can cause skin sloughing and extreme buoyancy. If its chytrid, what do I do? I don't want to lose another frog!

[tgampper]

Hopefully, it isn't chytrid. ACFs are carriers of the deadly disease and usually do not succumb to it. Rough, patchy skin indicates a possible parasite infection and of course, reddish skin around the limbs indicates red-leg, a bacterial infection. Without knowing the cause, it would be difficult to find an adequate treatment. If it is chytrid, itraconazole (Sporanox) may work. The most common illness is bacterial in nature. I suggest using Lynmozyme, a probiotic medication for frogs and tropical fish.

[Geoff]

I noticed that for at least one month (maybe even two), they had been shedding their skin more than once a week. I'm going to assumed that this is a symptom of whatever is wrong. He is eating well, but continues to shed his skin on almost a daily basis!!!

Is the skin peeling off in pieces instead of being shed by the frog in the normal manner? Also, does the frog's skin feel very rough when you touch it? If the answer is yes to both of these questions the nearest thing you'll find to a description of these symptoms (on the Internet) is Nematodes (parasites). The recommended treatments are Ivermectin and Fenbendazole. However, the former will treat the symptoms but the likelihood of the problem returning is great. The latter is a pesticide. The administering of both treatments will subject the frogs to trauma so, personally, I would not use either.

In my experience it's possible to bring the problem under control within a day or two but I never figured out a way to eradicate it completely. I moved my frogs into a bucket with nothing in it but fresh (dechlorinated) water of the same temperature as the tank they were moved from. I changed 100% of the water in the bucket every 24 hours for however long was necessary and removed all traces of "dead" skin. This always worked for me if the problem was caught in time.

If your answer was "no" to two questions above I'm afraid I have no idea what the problem might be.

[Dejavudoo]

He is shedding the skin in the normal manner, so its not patchy. He's just shedding it way too often. I also have not noticed any redness. His activity seems to be fairly normal. I have been feeding him every other day. I do notice that he seems to be a lot less active on the day after I feed him though.

[Jenste]

just curious - but what are you feeding your acf? it could possibly be a diet issue

[Dejavudoo]

just curious - but what are you feeding your acf? it could possibly be a diet issue

Well I use to feed him bloodworms, mealworms, and beefheart. Basically everything I shouldn't have been feeding him. But that was food that all the websites I had read said were okay for them. Now I've been feeding him Reptomin, Tubifex, and earthworms.

[Jenste]

ok the new diet he is on is a good one.

some more questions (sorry for an redundancy)

1. size of tank
2. type of filter in tank
3. how do u do your water changes - gravel siphon? percentage of water replaced? frequency? chemicals used?
4. have you changed your filter cartridges or replaced your filter recently? a new filter or a filter that has all the media changed at once means your tank would be uncycled and unable to handled the ammonia produced by the frog.
5. tank decor - plastic or silk plants? sand, rocks, or gravel?
6. tank temp?

[Dejavudoo]

ok the new diet he is on is a good one.

some more questions (sorry for an redundancy)

1. size of tank
2. type of filter in tank
3. how do u do your water changes - gravel siphon? percentage of water replaced? frequency? chemicals used?
4. have you changed your filter cartridges or replaced your filter recently? a new filter or a filter that has all the media changed at once means your tank would be uncycled and unable to handled the ammonia produced by the frog.
5. tank decor - plastic or silk plants? sand, rocks, or gravel?
6. tank temp?

The tank he is usually in is a 40 gallon long. It has an internal Fluval U4 that I use to unplug at night because I figured that would give the frogs a break from any vibrations that it caused. But then you told me not to do that so I stopped. I use a gravel siphon to change the water. Usually just 25% every week or two. Sometimes I just get bogged down by school and don't get a chance to do it every week. I have two pieces of driftwood and two live plants, a fake plastic tree, and a fake log for hiding. I also use gravel (large enough not to be eaten). I have my heater set to 72, but I'm sure it gets warmer than that sometimes since I don't have a chiller.
The isolation tank he is in is a 10 gallon standard. I don't have a filter for it so I've been doing daily 25% water changes. That tank gets up to 80 degrees but I just don't know what to do about it. Even when I try to bring it down it just crawls back up to 78-80. I don't have any substrate in there but I did take a smaller piece of driftwood and put it in there so he would have a hiding spot.

[Geoff]

He is shedding the skin in the normal manner, so its not patchy. He's just shedding it way too often. I also have not noticed any redness. His activity seems to be fairly normal. I have been feeding him every other day. I do notice that he seems to be a lot less active on the day after I feed him though.

If there's a significant health problem with the frog I don't know what it is. The fact that the frog's still feeding is uncharacteristic of a sick animal. Being inactive after feeding is normal. Subjecting it to a temperature of 80°F and daily water changes is unlikely to have a beneficial effect on its wellbeing. The redness near the eye might have been a simple abrasion that would have healed naturally anyway. X. laevis doesn't need a heater if the ambient room temperature doesn't fall below the 60s°F. If you're going to keep the frog in the small tank I suggest that you try positioning the tank as close to floor level as you can where the air temperature will be cooler.

Almost everyone with a sick frog wants to do all they can to administer medication in order to cure it, which is understandable. I strongly suspect that very few people truly understand what exactly they're dealing with or what possible side effects any medication used may have. It's nearly always a gamble that carries a high risk of doing more harm than good and my attitude towards using medication is entirely negative. Using antibiotics like Tetracycline if it's not known that the source of the problem is bacterial is potentially storing up problems for the future.

I kept Xenopus continuously for over 26 years. One of the reasons I stayed with them for so long was that they are incredibly resilient and undemanding frogs to maintain. In your position I'd simply ensure that the tank's water quality is good and that its temperature is correct and stable. Then I'd wait and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Geoff.

[Dejavudoo]

He seems to be hanging at the surface quite a bit lately. But he'll also try to push himself further out of the water. I can only describe it as trying to swim out of the water. I think his skin looks a little lighter as well. When I tried to feed him tonight his appetite was seemed to be nearly nothing. What he did eat, he seemed to have problems getting down. Does this help narrow it down as to what could be making him sick??