Possible Chytrid?

[IXSessy]

I've had my Dumpy since October first, and have had really no problems at all with him, other than keeping him warm while we got new windows.
But a few days ago, my sister heard him making weird noises, and that's when I noticed something was definitely wrong. I picked him up because I had no clue what he could have and.. he didn't resist or anything.. but he was still breathing. That was Friday I believe. But in searching some frog ailments, I found the Chytrid and my frog has the symptoms.
I'm wondering if taking him to the vet would even help, I read that there are antibiotics that could help, but other places make it sound like no matter what you do, they will die from it.
I also read they get it mostly from infected water, and if that's the case.. how? I've been using tap water that I've let sit out and supposedly evaporate the bad chemicals out, but I went out and bought some spring water today.
I'm also wondering if there's anything I can do, maybe to make him feel better or help it go away... or anything.
Any help would be very much appreciated.

[John]

From the vague description of the frog's illness, it could be any frog illness: a bacterial septicaemia (most likely), ranavirus (quite possible) or possibly chytrid (probably the least likely). You need to take the frog to an amphibian-savvy vet - if the frog is not eating for you then you need to deal with this right now - it won't get better on its own and it's highly unlikely you could medicate it successfully, since after all, really you have no idea what's wrong.

[Kurt]

Chytridiomycosis is too often blamed as the cause of death in captive frogs. Like John said, septicemia & ranavirus are more likely the culprits than chytrid is. I am always a bit sceptical when someone makes the statement that their frog has chytridiomycosis or has died from it.
As far as fungi go, chytrid is a rather weak organism. It is easily killed by chlorine found in tap water or by raising the temperature to the mid-nineties (F) for a period of three days. It can also be destroyed by desiccation. Frogs infected with the disease can be treated with itraconazole, but they will need to see the vet for this.
Most frog keepers often misdiagnose this disease. If you could tell me the exact symptoms, I should be able to tell you whether or not it is chytridiomycosis.

[IXSessy]

I will be taking him to the vet later today.
He has been eating, but it seems like he's taking longer than usual to catch his food. He wasn't eating for a few days[there were a few crickets crawling around in his cage], but then.. when I fed him last, which was Sunday, he caught one cricket, that I saw.

@Kurt: It does seem a little too out of the ordinary a fungus for him to really get.
That's most probably what he doesn't have then. As I have been using tap water..
Well, the ones that made me think it was Chytrid was, he has been dragging his legs a little, he has been spending almost all of his time in his water dish, he doesn't climb anymore, is not eating as much and when he does get out, he's a bit lethargic. He hasn't climbed up to hide during the day for a few weeks now. The last time I actually remember seeing him up there was the 10th of this month. Oh, and he has been shedding a bit too.

Thanks for being patient with me, I'm still new to this..

[Kurt]

Sounds like he may have neurological problem. Your vet should be able to properly diagnose the situation.

[spawn]

If it's a WC frog, or a CB that was contaminated with WC frogs, it very well could have had Chytrid since you got him in October. It can take time, or stress, to prompt the symptoms of Chytrid to show. There's really no reason not to treat him for Chytrid just in case, especially if you don't want to spend more money than he's worth at the vet.

If you want to know a non-invasive way of treating Chytrid, PM me.

[John]

I can think of two big reasons not to treat for chytrid without evidence. The first is that man-handling the frog is stressful. The second reason is more serious - the fungicidal treatments people use have not been investigated properly for amphibians. While they don't appear to have negative effects, from a treatment point of view this is a brand new disease and people are using chemicals, designed for different applications, to treat animals that are the most sensitive vertebrates to any chemicals that come in contact with their skin. I would not put my pet at risk unless I had determined chytrid was involved (which can be properly tested for, for relatively little money).