Can't flip over

[angie77nj]

Hello all. I've had two african dwarf frogs for about a month. Gilbert has been acting funny and I'm worried about him and looking for advice. He's always been a very slow and quiet frog, but we came home this evening and found him stiff and on his back. We thought he was dead and when we went to remove him he started to twitch around a bit. We brought him to the surface for air, he breathed, went down to the bottom, and seems to have trouble moving. It's like he has joint stiffness. If he falls over backwards he can't flip.

About a week ago we found a white spot on his back. We went to quarantine him and when we went to move him the spot just came off so we thought maybe it was just a food particle or something on his back. Now I'm wondering if it was something more. Does anyone have any suggestions?

So far my husband has created a holding area for him near the top of the tank so he can get to the surface more readily with a clean zip log bag with small air holes cut into it. Any help would be appreciated.

[Kurt]

I am sorry about your frog and more sorry for what I am about to say. I do not think your frog will make it through the night. I can't tell you what's wrong either, but maybe Terry can help.

Could you please post your location and country in your profile, so next time you need our help, we help you that much better?

[angie77nj]

I'm sorry to hear that too, although that's what we suspect. We are giving him all the care and love and hopefully he will pull through. Oswald, our other little man, seems to be doing well. He is a bit on the hyper side, from what I hear. Thank you for your answer and kind words.

[tgampper]

Sorry to hear about your frog. There have been many cases recently about frogs flipping over - one, frogs will flip over to act "dead" (unken reflex) or two, a disease or parasite causing a neurological problem. Try to keep the frog quiet and stress free as possible. I hope your frog pulls through, but for some reason it doesn't, don't blame yourself. This condition is becoming more and more common.

[BrittanyLynn]

Ouch! 0.0

[Dejavudoo]

I recently had this problem with two of my African Clawed Frogs. I joined a yahoo group called Froggy Friends that is specifically for ACFs although they also help some with ADFs. They say that my frogs had strokes that were probably caused from some water quality issue. Perhaps this could be the case with your frog too. Mine also had problems swimming and had convulsions too. Some frogs are able to pull through although mine, unfortunately, did not.
Are you able to test your water? Are all your parameters ok? Make sure ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate below 40 ppm, and pH around 7.0. If not, you will want to take measures to get your parameters to these numbers to prevent your other froggie from becoming sick as well. Best of luck!