Help!!

[mh530]

I have to grays tree frogs and one of them is acting really funny. I don't know if he is dieing,sick, or ate something the did't settle right. but he isn't doing well. I found him hanging on a branch and thought he would move so I just left him. About 10 minutes later I looked at him and he was still like that. so I touched him to try to make him move back up on the branch better and he was limp.He ended up falling off into the water and went belly up. I got him out and put him in and small container and quarantined him. Then I put some twigs and fake leaves. and sprayed down the cantainer with clean water. that happened last night. He hasn't moved much since. he is still breathing though. Should I try feeding him? I haven't fed him since the day before last. He is looking kind of bloated too. Thanks for your help!

[Badger]

I have a couple questions for ya.

How big is your tank?
Temps/humidity/how do you measure it?
Substrate?

[Shanny]

How long have you had this frog? He may be sick due to old age if you got him as an adult..
If not though, you may want to try and find a vet in your area that deals with exotics.
I had to do this recently with my RETF because he had a prolapse.

[Badger]

Any oh yes, vet visit is in order. If you don't have a vet, here's an awesome website to find one. http://herpvetconnection.com/

[DonLisk]

sorry to hear your frog is not doing well. Always, the best bet is for you to have a vet examine your frog. There are some posts here on the forum about using honey or pedialite (sp?) to help add some energy and appetite to your frog. I can't do much in searching since I have lost my computer and answering this from my phone.

The bloating of the stomach area is what worries me and definitely a vet visit would be your best course of action. Good luck.

[mh530]

Okay.....

Size of tank: 10 gallon.
Temp: Mid 70s
Food: Small Crickets.
Vet: Don't have one
Size of frog: 1 1/2"
Number of frogs in tank: 3
Substrate: forest bark(small pieces)

I was wondering if it could have eaten the bark, but Every time they start to get one in their mouth they pull it out. I don't really want to have to go to the vet just for a frog. every time I have gone to one it seems the money in your pocket disappears! Also this frog is WC, if that has anything to do with it. I got him on may 30th of this year. Like I said I was afraid he would get the others sick so I put him In a diff container. Also just to say, I would have a bigger tank for them but I don't have enough room. He is even more bloated now. I feel so bad for him! OH! Also he has pooped red....Is he bleeding inside? I feel so bad if its my fault....

[mh530]

I hope he gets better!!

[ViperJr]

I was wondering if it could have eaten the bark, but Every time they start to get one in their mouth they pull it out.

This seriously should have been an enormous warning bell for you. Bark pieces as a substrate for frogs are potentionally dangerous (since it can cause impaction). Now, if you even observered them almost swallowing it, you really should have changed it already.

I don't really want to have to go to the vet just for a frog.

Seriously? "Just for a frog"? You have a pet, which is your resonsibility just a much as a dog or a cat would be. With that attitude, I strongly suggest that you do not keep amphibians as pets.

Lastly, I hope the frogs survives. And like DonLisk, Dalton and Shanny said, it's really time to go to a vet.

[ViperJr]

I hope he gets better!!

What are you doing? A few minutes ago, you wrote "Nevermind, I just found dead. I flushed him". Now, you have apperently change the text to "I hope he gets better!!". What's going on?

[mh530]

sorry.....I wrote I flushed him....but I had't yet and I just walking in there to do so. so just went ahead and wrote that. Well guess what!!! I went to flush him and he was back up and acting just fine again. And when I found him belly up I swear he wasn't breathing. talk about weird. Anyway I am keeping him in a separate container just to make sure though.

[Badger]

...Vet time, as previously said.

[artes]

Remove the bark now. I would keep the sick one on newspaper/paper towels, and switch the others to dirt. If his stomach is bloated, soak him in a combination of pedialyte (unflavored) and honey in warm water a couple of times a day. It is likely impaction, but if its some form of bacterial infection the honey will help that. If its parasites, there's not much you can do unless you go to a vet and get it some medication, but the honey and pedialyte will help most problems, unless its too far gone (and unless its parasites, like I said earlier).

Do not keep a pet if you do not plan on getting it vet care, and dear lord don't flush a pet. At least bury it if you just let it die without getting it care. Would you want to be flushed by your Mom if you died?

[Rae]

Wow you keep 3 Greys in a 10 gallon? Rule of thumb... 10 gallons per frog atleast. You should really upgrade to a 30gallon verticle... 24inches high is recommended or higher. They need height and space to move or they can get very stressed.

And get rid of that subtrate... Coco Fiber I believe is what I use and is recommended.

[wesleybrouwer]

If his stomach is bloated, soak him in a combination of pedialyte (unflavored) and honey in warm water a couple of times a day. It is likely impaction, but if its some form of bacterial infection the honey will help that. If its parasites, there's not much you can do unless you go to a vet and get it some medication, but the honey and pedialyte will help most problems, unless its too far gone (and unless its parasites, like I said earlier).

Do not keep a pet if you do not plan on getting it vet care, and dear lord don't flush a pet. At least bury it if you just let it die without getting it care. Would you want to be flushed by your Mom if you died?

Pedialyte is just a commercial thing, easy to make it you're own.
It's just a mixture of Natriumchloride (salt) and glucose (sugar) in the right dose.

This saline/glucose solution should be 0,9%.
You can make this by getting 1 L of warm water and put in 9 grams of Natriumchloride (just table salt is fine, as long as it doesn't contain iodine)
and 9 grams of glucose (or sugar if glucose isn't readily available).
Mix it in good, and let it settle to reach room temperature.
Put in you're frog for about 10-15 minutes.

It will do the same thing, only at a fraction of the costs.



For the flushing part, not only is it cruel to the animal,
it is a contamination risk as well.
Chytrid for example is disastrous and could be potentially transfered to you're surroundings this way.

[Shanny]

If you don't have honey, u can always sprinkle a little sugar into his water dish. I did this for my retf when he had a prolapse and it really helped him thru the night until I could take him into the vet the next day.
I didn't have a vet set up either, I just did a quick search online for vets that dealt with exotics and luckily I found one that was a 5 minute drive down the road I know what u mean, I felt funny bringing my frog in to the vet, but was very happy that I did. I was broke at the time also, but I only ended up paying $54.00 for them to fix his prolapse and put a stitch in his butt haha.. Which he ended up pulling out before the week was up. But now he is as good as ever!!

And like everyone else has said, u really should find a bigger tank for your friends. I've been doing searches on craigslist.org and I find really nice and cheap tanks or fish aquariums that people are selling all the time. I have two semi-adult red eye tree frogs in a 29 gal tank right now and it works out well, it used to be a fish tank before I converted it. But I have been wanting to get one with doors on front, its just more convenient.
Since you have three tho, u should have at least a 30 gal.

And u should definitely get rid of that substrate! I use moss and haven't had any problems with it.
When I keep a sick frog or my babies, I just got a week ago, separate from my adults, I use moist paper towel on the bottom... This way u can monitor pretty much whatever goes on and make sure they are safe from whatever might have caused the problem when they were living in the tank.

Well I really hope he gets better, but I do think it would be very smart to go see a vet before its too late.

[Whistly]

What water are you using if you are using tap water then that could be your problem as it contains heavy metals which can kill frogs.

[Shanny]

Yes the water could be an issue. Are you changing it everyday? Spring water is usually best.
Also, if your frogs are wild caught, this can cause a lot of problems as well. I always make sure I get captive bread frogs.
Wild caught animals could already have issues that don't appear until later, so u would never suspect anything was wrong when u get them.

[ViperJr]

Yes the water could be an issue. Are you changing it everyday? Spring water is usually best.
Also, if your frogs are wild caught, this can cause a lot of problems as well. I always make sure I get captive bread frogs.
Wild caught animals could already have issues that don't appear until later, so u would never suspect anything was wrong when u get them.

Actually, according to some studies/experiments by tgampper , spring bottled isn't always the best. According to him, treated tap water is usually better. However, I can't find the thread right now, since I'm at a lesson right now, so don't quote me on that one... But I'm pretty sure that's what he said. Anyway, I'll try to find the thread later on.
However, I do agree that untreated tap water is potentiality dangerous and should always be avoided.

[Shanny]

That great to know ViperJr... Although I use both treated tap water and Sping water at times. I mostly use the treated tap in my vivarium, because obviously it's a never ending supply. I do have spring water in my baby RETF's soaking dish tho.

[mh530]

I don't use non treated tap. I treat my tap water. I change the water when I notice it getting dirty. And As far as flushing a frog, Don't compare people to frogs..okay. Frogs are just animals not people. poeple are above frog. It is an insult to intelligence to compare a person to a dumb frog. and no I wouldn't really want to be flushed..but when I'm died I wouldn't really know the defference. sorry I didn't reply sooner....I have been busy lately. anyway...today my frog prolapsed. he throw up something. and now he is fine. I have taken the bark out and I am working on modifying the tank. I will post pictures when I'm done.