He's a year old, but barely grown at all

[Pluke]

I'm pretty sure there has been a few reports of frogs being hindered by distilled water on these forums, I remember one being an american bullfrog. Now.. I know Josh frogs does use distilled/RO water but I've only heard them suggest using it for misting/fogging purposes. I've never talked to Josh, I'm just going by what I've read on his website. If you say he does use it for all other purposes, then I have no reason not to believe HerpGuy. I personally wouldn't risk using distilled water and wouldn't suggest it, just because it's practically suggested by everyone on these forums not too.

As for the subject at hand, I wish I could be more help. Maybe you just have a frog that has some kind of growth disorder, it's possible. Especially in Hybrids.

[Maharg]

Theres always good fun in a debate. Nothing personal. I respect people who stand for their opinions. And yes, as Pluke said some people have experienced issues with using distilled water. And this can very well be one of them. A frog who has clearly had stunted growth and been given nothing but distilled water. I doubt its a coincidence.

[GrifTheGreat]

That's enough the both of you. YES!! Distilled water is detrimental to the frog's overall health if the frog is only given distilled as a water source. It does not gain any mineral content by coming into contact with air or a clean water dish. They must have a water source that contains minerals and salt in order to properly hydrate themselves. The use of distilled water will eventually kill the frog.

Just because you dont believe everything you read on the net or its not in writing in front of you does not make it any less fact believe me. They become very lethargic and body functions begin to shut down. Frogs do not seek out pure water and are not exposed to it in the wild. R/O water as well as Distilled must have an additive used with them that adds minerals and salts before it can be used for the frogs. Also any water that is to be used for breeding such as the water for the eggs and tadpoles must also have mineral content although low as rogs usually seek out soft water rather than hard nontheless it must be present or the frog's health will begin to deteriorate and it will waste away. Eggs will die and so will tadpols.

You guys are better than this and this site is for information sharing and i would assume that most people seek the site because they seek information. If everytime info that you don't know is presented and you either refuse to believe it or dny its truth then how do you ever expand your knowledge at all.

Now this arguement needs to stop NOW! It is off topic and in no way is it assisting the OP nor does it have any informative benefits

[Maharg]

Well, your basically saying what I said. Im not arguing, but presenting truth. Just as you are.

Distilled water bad. No. Dont do it.

Over

Edit: And I am helping the OP. If someone makes a false claim that op believes in, it could cause the death of a frog. My "arguing" is correcting false potentially hazardous informatiom.

[GrifTheGreat]

I will add that in the wild the closest thing to R/O and distilled water that they're exposed to is rain, but it does contain minerals once it comes into contact with the ground and plants. Basically condensation is R/O water.

[DVirginiana]

Just adding this in... I work in a lab, and we have to use distilled water for quite a few procedures. It is processed in a sterile bottle, and you open it only when you need something. Even after months of a bottle of distilled water being opened like this for procedures, and coming into contact with the air, it still has mineral content right at zero. The contamination due to air is primarily about encysted bacteria that might be in it. The no-bacteria benefit of distilled goes away within a couple days of exposing it to air; probably less when exposed to solid sources of contamination (like a frog!). I've run experiments on exactly this; when exposed to air, distilled water only takes about 24 hours longer than untreated tap water to begin growing bacteria, and is almost exactly equal to bottled spring water.

In regards to the frog; I really don't see the water being the cause of such a profound growth problem. I may be wrong (really I'm just curious about what's going on here) but I think you would see problems other than just stunted growth if this was conditions-related. Like bone deformity or profound weakness, because the frog's body would still be trying to grow. This frog's body doesn't seem like it's making the attempt to grow.
I'd say make an extra effort with keeping this one eating regularly though. Normally I'd say not to worry about a yearling going under for days at a time, but I imagine this guy's feeding schedule is more like a baby frog?

[GrifTheGreat]

Well, your basically saying what I said. Im not arguing, but presenting truth. Just as you are.

Distilled water bad. No. Dont do it.

Over

Edit: And I am helping the OP. If someone makes a false claim that op believes in, it could cause the death of a frog. My "arguing" is correcting false potentially hazardous informatiom.

Im not picking sides. Sometimes it is best to not argue. Otherwise it can cause a lot of confusion for the OP and argueing no matter who is right doesn't get a clear response. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we prefer that people not get in heated discussions that can escilate into someone being reported and possibly banned.

Keep it civil and clean.

[lumpbump]

I kinda lost track of any interest in this thread when people started debating distilled water and frog deaths and what certain breeders use ect... anyways I dunno why your frog is so small. I do know that my albino cranwelli has grown 4x size since i got him about 3 or 4 months ago. I made sure he ate every day (night) and gave him calcium and vitamin appropriately. He has had 3 pink to fuzzy rats total. As he got big enough to eat them I would only feed him one at the begining of each month. I feed him dubia as a staple. He started with smalls and now is able to eat adults... The burying himself should be normal enough. Mine stays burried 70 percent of the time. The only time I see him is when he comes out usually 1 to 2 hours after dark. This is when I feed him also. When he pops out I usually rinse him off with treated tap water then tong feed him as much as he will eat in about 20 minutes. Sometimes he pounds em right away while other times not so much. Hope you find what your looking for. GL and btw tucker is uber cute! ::

[BuckeyeHerp]

" Distilled water is basically water with nothing else in it. That means that there are no dissolved salts and minerals. This is a type of water that a wild animal would never be exposed to. All water found in nature has some salt and minerals dissolved in it, and this is important for something called osmotic regulation. Suffice it to say that this term means how water passes in and out of cells and is regulated, in part,by the dissolved solids in the water. Water routinely passes in and out of cells, which is how the body regulates almost all bodily functions. So dissolved minerals and salts are very important for normal physiological functions. Distilled water, with no dissolved salts and minerals, cannot support those normal bodily functions.That is why your frogblew up from absorbing water because there was nothing in that water to prevent absorption" Dr. Margaret A. Wissman, DVM, DABVP I will add a Dart frog terrarium has a layer of hydroballs(clay) that mixed with distilled water creates mineral water.