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

[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.

[Mattyman67]

I know this is an old thread but if you havent figured it out yet..the opaque cloudy eye comes from lipid deposits in the eye. This is called Corneal lipidosis. It comes from too much cholesterol in the diet. Crickets are high in cholesterol but it doesen't sound like you're overfeeding. You didnt mention the size of the crickets you were feeding if youre feeding adults you may want to switch to smaller crickets. I had been having the same problem with grey tree frogs but it is hard to find an easily available substitute feeder. If you catch it in the early stages it can be reversible but not always..If you find a good solution let me know
good luck,
Matt

[KayIS]

I know this is an old thread but if you havent figured it out yet..the opaque cloudy eye comes from lipid deposits in the eye. This is called Corneal lipidosis. It comes from too much cholesterol in the diet. Crickets are high in cholesterol but it doesen't sound like you're overfeeding. You didnt mention the size of the crickets you were feeding if youre feeding adults you may want to switch to smaller crickets. I had been having the same problem with grey tree frogs but it is hard to find an easily available substitute feeder. If you catch it in the early stages it can be reversible but not always..If you find a good solution let me know
good luck,
Matt

Thanks - and I am still dealing with this. I just took my toad to a specialist who said the same thing, although Baytril did help surprisingly. He might have had an infection on top of the cholesterol problem. The opaque area is much smaller now and the toad seems rather energetic again. This toad is tiny - 5g -so he is eating small crickets. We've switched to wild food now, as per the vet's instructions. I have also been using those small mealworms, as well as now some freeze dried mealworms along with crickets. It is hard to find another food substitute. The vet had mentioned maggots and beetles were good to feed, so I might just start my own colony and raise a variety of bugs to use as food. I won't miss going to the pet store for crickets.

You wouldn't happen to know the cause of spinning, would you? The vet is thinking it's a parasite, although he can't confirm because I didn't have a stool sample for him. I have some treatments here that I will be starting but I am very much open to any advice you might have. I've know for some time this is neurological, it is finding the reason for it that has eluded me.