The potty question...

[Amphibifan]

Hey folks. Don't know if any of you saw my Pixie Sebastian as a give away in the for sale section of this site. Anyway, long story short I'm going on an LDS mission and won't be able to care for him for at least two years, and I needed a new home for him. Eventually my brother said he'd care for him, so I had to close that particular thread as a result. My brother is more of an aquarium guy, thus the time he needed to "think it over." He came to his senses and fully realized how awesome the reptiphibian hobby is, and is excited to be a pixie owner in particular. I'm going to give him all my "wisdom" in the time that I have before I leave, but my "wisdom" ain't much as this is my first pixie. I've done a TON of research (mostly this site!) and have also studied him very closely for the short half a year that I have owned him. But there is one thing which still bothers me, and I'd really like to figure it out by the time I hand him over to my brother.

First, what exactly are their deposits, their droppings, their dungs, etc. supposed to LOOK like? Sebastian's are massive, dark, and coated in some kind of casing. They're very long, anywhere from an inch to a few that were over two. What really disturbs me is that when he goes in the water sometimes in the process of removing them they completely fall apart and occasionally there will be a dark red color to it. Is this normal? Also, how often do they go? I've fed him many things, but he never seems to pass any of them through his system very fast. It can be a couple of weeks in between number twos. I've given him primarily nightcrawlers, with locusts in the summer, and crickets and super worms when neither of those are to be had. The temp is usually low-mid 80's, and he spends most of his time in the water which is quite warm to the touch. Is that a good situation for digestion, or not? Could it be I'm feeding him too much, or too little?

I'm completely in the dark when it comes to this. Maybe nothing is really wrong, but I'd like to know for sure either way. Thanks for the tips!

[GrifTheGreat]

Frogs can take anywhere from 3 days to over a week between pooping. Long and dark brown or baige are normal and the casing is normal as well. The red I'm not sure of if it is not blood. Blood in the stool is not normal andand a sample of his fecies needs to be tested by a vet to make sure he doesn't have parasites or something else causing the problem. Could just be what you feed him that gives it a different color. Heat is how frogs digest and metabolize their food. So warm is good. I am no expert and do not own pyxies, but the information I have stated can be said for pretty much all frogs. Perhaps some of the pyxie owners will chime in soon to further what I've said.

[Mikey]

How big is the frog? It should not take a week or 2 for him to take a **** if he is younger. mid 80's is perfect ambient temps. if the only place that is in the 80's is the hot end and he avoids the hot end that would be an issue and explain the length between feces. The feces u described are perfectly normal and unless there is clearly blood in the stools I would avoid a visit to the vet, there really is no reason and thats not realistic at all.

[Amphibifan]

Forgot to mention he is growing very well and seems healthy in every way. Also, as to the red coloration, this was only during summer when I was feeding him wild grasshoppers.
Can it be that the claws on their legs and or their mandibles are causing him grief during the process of eating and digestion? He might've been too young then to feed adult hoppers, but they did fit in his mouth, so I thought he'd be fine. I made sure to collect prey in chemical free areas. If that helps anybody to understand the situation!

[Mikey]

I would never feed anything wild. Chemical free area or not it is not worth the grief, you run a huge risk doing that

[GrifTheGreat]

How big is the frog? It should not take a week or 2 for him to take a **** if he is younger. mid 80's is perfect ambient temps. if the only place that is in the 80's is the hot end and he avoids the hot end that would be an issue and explain the length between feces. The feces u described are perfectly normal and unless there is clearly blood in the stools I would avoid a visit to the vet, there really is no reason and thats not realistic at all.

To clearify about the Vet suggestion I meant that if there was actually blood in the stool then he needed to send a sample to a vet for analysis not to just take him there with no signs of infection or blood in the stool. That being said it would be perfectly logical to see a vet under such sercumstances. I would assume the red in the fecies appearing during the summer while he was fed wild caught food items was more than likely the issue. Thank you for responding.

[Mentat]

... I've given him primarily nightcrawlers, with locusts in the summer, and crickets and super worms when neither of those are to be had. ...

Would either not use or feed super worms very sparingly due to their high fat content. Night crawlers on the contrary are the perfect staple food.

Forgot to mention he is growing very well and seems healthy in every way. Also, as to the red coloration, this was only during summer when I was feeding him wild grasshoppers.
Can it be that the claws on their legs and or their mandibles are causing him grief during the process of eating and digestion? He might've been too young then to feed adult hoppers, but they did fit in his mouth, so I thought he'd be fine. I made sure to collect prey in chemical free areas. If that helps anybody to understand the situation!

If grasshopper heads are as indigestible as crickets would not use any bigger than the distance between the eyes. ABFs can fit a lot of food in their mouth! That does not mean it will pass easily through their digestive system and could even cause impaction.

IRT wild caught insects; you are taking a risk because of possible pesticide exposure. I live in a city that uses truck foggers to try and control mosquitoes so it's a big no-no. Guess if you live in a rural area with no neighbors that spray insecticides and the insects you catch are local; your risk is reduced. Even if in traces; your frog's liver could be storing insecticide poisons it can't process. That would happen until the levels get high enough to damage liver and then your frog basic life functions would be affected. Good luck!

[GrifTheGreat]

Besides chemical exposure risks with wild caught insects you also risk introducing your frog to parasites. One of the worst and hardest to detect are tape worms which can seriously harm your frog. Once they reach a large size they may have to be sergicaly removed. Sergery is highly risky for frogs because anestesia does not work well on them and they will wake up during sergery. I do not want to even have that picture in my head. Many types of worms infect insects and mammals. Tape worms are very common in Grass hoppers(Locusts). There really is no safe feeding of wild caught insects to your pets.

[Amphibifan]

Yeah, after the summer time period of wild caught meals I sort of decided the same thing that it really wasn't worth it. I'm not going to do it again, nor is my brother. I've also avoided super worms for quite a while now as well. I believe the problem lies in the fact that he almost NEVER basks, and almost NEVER gets out of the water. I'm beginning to see his filtered, gently bubbling, well-planted, lovely little oasis as addictive! What video games are to his master, the pool is to him! The water is warm to the touch as I have the lamp right over it, so it's not like its cold. I'm already planning on changing the set-up into a better laid out thermal gradient with less water, and this time in a removable bowl which I'll change every day. This way he'll sort of be FORCED to hop out of it and use his other resources.

That said, the digestion problem was significantly on the downslide when I began this post. The red is gone (No wild in his diet), He is going more (No super worms), I still think that he's a little slower than the average pixie but I attribute this mostly to his owner who's a pixie noob. In fact, even at his size of 4.6 in. he is by far the largest frog I've had and has an appetite like nothing I've seen before. In short, I've experienced a bit of a learning curve with this fellow, but now half a year later I think we're both in a good place (about time!). Hopefully by changing his set-up and replacing the basking bulb with one that provides a better ambient temp I'll improve his bodily processes. I'll let you know!

Any other suggestions from you pros would be greatly appreciated. One more question: How much would a veterinary check-up cost? You know, ball park range? ’Cause if it’s expensive then I’d like to know as I’ll have to prioritize things until its at the top of the list. Thanks.

[GrifTheGreat]

Since they are considered an exotic pet a lot of vets charge $45.00 just for the frog to be seen. Some will actually deside the cost themselves. It usually depends on where you take them.