Help! Firebelly Toad has Cloudy Eye, not responding to treatment

[KayIS]

If you've looked at the other threads, it seems that cloudy eye is most commonly associated with bacterial infections, hence all the gentamicin. Maracyn acts on gram positive bacteria, gentamicin sulfate works on gram negative bacteria (and some gram positive), so there is a big difference here. The prescription for my frog is a 0.3% opthalmic solution USP gentamicin sulfate, one drop twice daily fo 7-10 days, although you can see I've been at it quite a bit longer. Maybe you can convince a local vet to get this prescription for you, or find it on the internet. Also, you could try dosing it into the water and having your frog sit in it, since they absorb water through their skin. I wouldn't know what the dose is, it depends on the frog's weight, and if you aren't careful you can kill your frog. Ever try contacting the biology department of your local university? If you're lucky, you'll find an amphibian specialist who can help you and point you in the right direction.

I wonder if you don't treat the eyes whether it will progress to that horrible opaque stuff. I would not have done all this vet stuff if the eye was simply cloudy and wasn't affecting his life. Being blind on one side is a serious thing. Fortunately, he'll never starve, since we hand feed him anyway.

I've also read that cloudiness may just be a sign of aging in certain kinds of frogs too, although i can't find any verification that this is correct.

Good luck.

[BeckyM]

If you've looked at the other threads, it seems that cloudy eye is most commonly associated with bacterial infections, hence all the gentamicin. Maracyn acts on gram positive bacteria, gentamicin sulfate works on gram negative bacteria (and some gram positive), so there is a big difference here. The prescription for my frog is a 0.3% opthalmic solution USP gentamicin sulfate, one drop twice daily fo 7-10 days, although you can see I've been at it quite a bit longer. Maybe you can convince a local vet to get this prescription for you, or find it on the internet. Also, you could try dosing it into the water and having your frog sit in it, since they absorb water through their skin. I wouldn't know what the dose is, it depends on the frog's weight, and if you aren't careful you can kill your frog. Ever try contacting the biology department of your local university? If you're lucky, you'll find an amphibian specialist who can help you and point you in the right direction.

I wonder if you don't treat the eyes whether it will progress to that horrible opaque stuff. I would not have done all this vet stuff if the eye was simply cloudy and wasn't affecting his life. Being blind on one side is a serious thing. Fortunately, he'll never starve, since we hand feed him anyway.

I've also read that cloudiness may just be a sign of aging in certain kinds of frogs too, although i can't find any verification that this is correct.

Good luck.

Sounds like I'd administer the gentamicin the same way I do the maracyn. I mix it with water and the frog soaks in it (Unless he hops out...>_>)
Aging...well, that could possibly be the case with my frog. He's at least 7.
Biology department? Now that is an excellent idea! Thank you.

[KayIS]

Do you know what the ratio of antibiotic to water for your frog? That was one thing I didn't get - because my frog weighs so little it didn't even register on the scale at the vet's. Maybe your frog weighs more. As for age, my frog is 5 years old, which is young because he can live anywhere from 15 to 30 years. I don't know what the lifespan of your frog is - 7 may well be old. I hope you find a herpetologist, but my experience has been that outside the university, most of them are more knowledgable about reptiles, not amphibians. Good luck.

[BeckyM]

He weighs about the same as a hermit crab with a shell...maybe a smidge heavier. He's LITTLE. And I've been doing about 1/3 packet of maracyn to 2 cups of water. I know it's a stronger concentration, much stronger, but he's not in the mix as long as fish is.

Gray treefrogs don't live much longer than 8 years.

[KayIS]

Gee - if he seems okay otherwise, I'd stop dosing him and just let him live out his life. I wouldn't have treated my frog if he was 25 and could still otherwise see and enjoy life. I only did it because he's young and he was really pretty blind. If it was just cosmetic, I'd leave him alone.

[BeckyM]

Gee - if he seems okay otherwise, I'd stop dosing him and just let him live out his life. I wouldn't have treated my frog if he was 25 and could still otherwise see and enjoy life. I only did it because he's young and he was really pretty blind. If it was just cosmetic, I'd leave him alone.

Yeah, other than his nasty eyes, he seems a-ok now. He can eat and will follow my fingers when I put them close to him. It's not affecting his vision at all, or doesn't seem to be.

[Ira]

I know more about rana/bufo species, and don't have much hands-on experience with tree frogs, but isn't he a bit on the skinny side? I know that in a rana species if a backbone sticks through the skin that much, the frog is very skinny...

Also, when I was fighting the red-leg desease in one of my frogs, the vet I went to to get an antibiotic suggested to put it directly on the frog's back in correct dosage, keeping the frog in slightly wet small container for a about 10 minutes. I'm still amazed that my frog made it. He was very apathetic for almost a year and ignored food, I had to force-feed him; now 3 years later he's fully recovered, attacks the bugs and makes a lot of noise. Just a suggestion, I know it probably makes more sense to put it in the eye in your case.

Do you have a UV source in the tank? Never researched if tree frogs need it, but might be worth looking into. For some frogs it's critical to have proper UV exposure. I know that for mine it is. I keep mine outside in summer, and usally let them hibernate in winter (mine hibernate under water) with a compressor in the tank to make sure they have oxygen and the surface does not completely freeze. Apparently I'm doing something right - they bred 2 years in a row. When talking to a very qualified vet at a university, I was also told that the UV-producing lights that pet stores sell (repti-light or smth.like that) are good, but should be replaced every year, because they quit producing UV rays after that, even though they keep producing light.

And if vision ever becomes an issue in the future, you can always put bugs on a stick and very lightly brush lower lip or top of front legs, it usually producess the reflex to grab the food.

Good luck! I know I was going nuts over my frog for months when he was sick.