Help with my Red Eyed Tree Frog, he looks bloated.

[Gambit26]

Hello,

I was wondering if anybody could help me. I have a red eyed tree frog that I bought at a Petsmart about two years ago. I've never had a
problem with his health, but just last week I noticed that he fell asleep in his one empty rock dish instead of on the wall of the tank like he usually does. Other than that he behaved normally, he eats, hops, and goes to the bathroom ok, and his eyes, nose, mouth, and skin look clear.I was out of town for the week, and just today when I got back I noticed that he was sort of puffy looking. I'm really upset, I keep him in a ten gallon tank and keep fresh water always in the tank, as well as spot clean the tank weekly and throughly disinfect the tank monthly. I read somewhere that this is a sign or kidney failure due to a vitamin problem or that it's due to a bacterial edema. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[GrifTheGreat]

I'm no expert and don't own one of these frogs, but when most frogs are well hydrated they appear bloated. Does he seem lethargic or listless? Is he still eating fine? Do you de-chlorinate your frogs water? How often do you dust his food with vitamins/calcium?

[Gambit26]

Thank You for answering . I use de-clorinated spring water to spray the tank and fill his bowls. I don't dust his food with vitamins/calcium, but I buy gut-loaded crickets only a few hours before I feed him. He seems fine when he wakes up, but he has always been really sensitive to the light so unless the room is pitch black he doesn't normally wake up. I do spray the tank alot and the humidity rarely drops below 60% so he should be well hydrated, which is what i'm hoping the problem is.

[GrifTheGreat]

Thank You for answering . I use de-clorinated spring water to spray the tank and fill his bowls. I don't dust his food with vitamins/calcium, but I buy gut-loaded crickets only a few hours before I feed him. He seems fine when he wakes up, but he has always been really sensitive to the light so unless the room is pitch black he doesn't normally wake up. I do spray the tank alot and the humidity rarely drops below 60% so he should be well hydrated, which is what i'm hoping the problem is.

Is he ok with you handling him or do you never do so? One sure way to test to see if its water (which will be around the frogs belly) is to soak the frog in luke warm de-chlorinated water. If your frog urinates in the bath and the bloat is gone then it just that he is well hydrated and was just full of water. If he is a nocturnal species of frog then that explains the sensitivity to light. A lot of nocturnal frogs won't eat or get up if their is bright light during their time when they should be active. Dim lighting should be utilized during feeding. You should occationally dust your frogs food with vitamins and calcium. Once a week with a multivitamin and no less than twice a week with calcium. Gut loaded crickets aren't always as effective as we want so sometimes supplementation is needed on top of that. Not too much though as it can be just as harmful.

Do the luke warm soak and see if he deflates. Be careful. Don't want him to get away or get injured. Keep everyone posted.

[Gambit26]

I don't handle him very much since he really doesn't like it. What would be the best way to get him up without hurting him? He's sleeping on the glass right now. Should I wait until he gets off the glass and then put him in the bath? What is the best container to soak him in? I have a small critter keeper, should I put some luke-warm water in there so he can't jump out and hurt himself?

[GrifTheGreat]

I don't handle him very much since he really doesn't like it. What would be the best way to get him up without hurting him? He's sleeping on the glass right now. Should I wait until he gets off the glass and then put him in the bath? What is the best container to soak him in? I have a small critter keeper, should I put some luke-warm water in there so he can't jump out and hurt himself?

You may have trouble since tree frogs are usually very jumpy. You could use the keeper. Don't make the water any deeper than up to his chin. Wait for him to get up on his own. Be firm so he doesn't escape your hands and get hurt but be gentle so he doesn't get too stressed and feel threatened. Be sure before you handle him you was your hands thoroughly with a very mild cleanser. Nothing with a strong odor or harsh chemicals like a lot of bar soaps have. Dawn dish liquid is good. Rinse them really well also. Then you'll rerinse with de-chlorinated water and leave your hands wet with it so his skin isn't harmed. Let him soak for about 5 minutes. Keep the lights low so he isn't as stressed either. Keep us posted.

Have the warm soak prepared before you wash your hands. Wait for him to awaken before preparing the soak so it stays luke warm.

[Heatheranne]

Grif has given you great advice. Give it a try. I would definitely also dust with calcium/vita D3 powder every other feeding and herp multivitamin once a week.

Good luck!

[Gambit26]

Thank you all for the advice! I'm watching him closely and I'm going to dust all of his food with supplements now. is there a particular brand of supplement that's better than others? how much should I put in, should I just put in whatever the bottle says?

[DonLisk]

I use the powdered calcium supplement and just put a small amount in a jar then drop some crickets in and swirl it around. The let the crickets walk of into the cricket bowl. There is also a new liquid spray version from Zoo med I believe that can just be sprayed on the crickets prior to feeding.

[En333]

I use repti cal or repti vit or something like that.... Idk how much to use tho :/

Although I did recently get some calcium spray which is pretty awesome lol.

Good luck with your frog!

[En333]

I got some Zilla calcium spray for Christmas lol

[GrifTheGreat]

I got some Zilla calcium spray for Christmas lol

Make sure it says for amphibians and reptiles. Most spray vitamines are only for reptiles. If not then you probably can't use it.

[En333]

Oh ya it's for amphibians and reptiles....

[Gambit26]

Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it He was up and about last night and ate all his crickets with no problems and he's sleeping high on the glass, so I'm going to start giving him the calcium supplement by dusting the crickets and see if that helps any. I'll keep you posted.