Sammy might have a sore tongue =(

[Rae]

Last night when I went to feed crickets to my lil froggy hobbits I noticed a section of Sam's tongue looked bright red. I do feed them by tongs and try to go in sideways but she and Merry are ferocious eaters and lunge at the first sight of the tongs. I wonder if she pinched or poked her tong too hard during a feeding.

Can anything else cause this? Help Please....

What can I do in the mean time other than be extra careful during feeding and watch to see if it gets worse. I don't see blood, its more like blood under the tissue like a human blood vessel being popped along the side of her little tongue?

[KingCam]

Your frog could easily have an abrasion from biting something, or even the spines on the feeder insects legs could have caused the irritation. I would stick with soft bodied feeders until it gets better (worm, freshly molted roaches or crickets, moths, caterpillars). If you do use caterpillars make sure they come from a non-toxic plant that hasn't been treated with pesticides or fertilizers.

Keep a close eye on the situation and keep us updated. I wish you the best of luck, I'm sure your frog will be a-okay.

[Rae]

I only feed them crickets and the odd small moth I have managed to catch....

[KingCam]

If you look closely at a crickets hind legs they sometimes have small barbs on them. They also have claws the the ability to bite. They could have easily scraped the frog's tongue.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the diet you're feeding him, these things just happen. In the wild and in captivity both. Hell, that might not even be it. Just one possibility out of 10,000.

I'm just saying, until the sore on his tongue heals up you might consider feeding him softer items like worms, moths, or a cricket that has just shed skin (and therefor has no shell or hardened claws). You don't have to take my advice if you don't think it's good or whatever, just throwing my two cents in. Best of luck

[Rae]

No I love the advice, this is why I stay on this site I will try and catch some moths for her (not sure how) do small/young crickets have these barbs? I kinda get all wiggy and feel like gagging when I look at pics of meal worms.... I wonder if I can convince the hubby to deal with them.

What about regular earth worms that my daughter always digs up in the garden -shivers-?

[KingCam]

The younger the cricket the less damage it can inflict on an animal. I mean, if you kept feeding your frog normally I'm sure the tongue would heal up anyway. I was just thinking if you made extra sure to give him soft prey it would be easier on his sore tongue.

Stay away from meal worms, they're a waste of your money. All shell, no meat, great at causing constipation. Just pick up some night crawlers at a bait store or walmart and try offering cut sections of those. Do you tong feed, or what? If you tong feed your frogs offering worms should be a piece of cake. Otherwise it may not be a great solution.

Easiest way to catch moths is to leave your porch light on. They will come swarming to it at night & you can catch them on the wall with a glass and a piece of cardboard or something to slide under the cup after you trapped the moth.

[Rae]

Yes I tong feed that's what I thought Sam hurt herself on. Thanks for the moth tip I will so be trying that. What about the earth worms I mentioned? -googles night crawlers-

[Rae]

nvm just found out night crawlers are earth worms lol -facepalm-

[KingCam]

You're right, it could have also been the feeding tongs. Are yours just metal? I used metal ones for a long time, but then I saw these ones at petco that had rubber tips and I figured I owed it to my animals to buy them. I am glad I did, the frogs impale themselves on those tongs sometimes. Just yesterday I'm sure one of the frogs bit down hard enough on the tong it would have drawn blood if they hadn't been rubber tipped.

[Rae]

they are just metal. I haven't found any place that sells the rubber tipped ones near me. at least not on there websites. I will call Petsmart and Pj's pets tomorrow and my reptile guy. Maybe they can order them in even though I don't see them as a regular item.

[Beachfroggy]

Exoterra makes rubber tipped ones, I bought them the other day at Petsmart, monthly sale item for two more weeks.

[Rae]

thank-you I will call I have never seen them there

[Heatheranne]

Amazon sells them too. I agree, feeding cut earth worms or night crawlers would be a good idea bc they are soft and squooshy and shouldn't cause further damage. How does his tongue look now? I'm glad he is still eating for you.

[Rae]

So might be my imagination but I think the red is gone or at least a lot better, Sam tried to drink my misting water and opened her mouth twice and I could see red. Will try and look harder at feeding.