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Thread: Is this bloat?

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

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    My frog Smaegol seems really bloated to me (in comparison with his three tank mates) and he is staying at the top of the tank. I haven't seen him on the bottom at all since I came home 4 hrs ago. His claws are clamped shut a lot of the time. Is this hard bloat? I wonder if it to do with those white worm things in the tank, as no amount of water and filter changes/cleans are getting rid of those! They just appear again even though I am very careful about feeding too much. All my other frogs seem fine. I have set up a hospital tank and will put him in there in the morning when the water warms up (no time to let it cycle though). Any advice would be gratefully appreciated x

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    100+ Post Member mpmistr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    Are you sure that he is not a she? Doesn't look bloated if it's a female with eggs. Does your frog swim/eat normally? ACF rest at the top of the water often, if you touch him on the head does he retreat to the bottom of the tank (or bite you like mine would lol)? When you say his claws are clamped shut do you mean he cannot use his back legs? That may be signs of a stroke.. what is your water temperature and what do you feed your frogs?

    The little white worms are probably harmless planaria, I think most tanks get them.. I have little water fleas and planaria in my tank I notice now and then but it's not a huge deal.

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    I checked on him just before I went to bed and he was on the bottom again, naughty thing. Yeah I'm pretty sure he is a boy, he was the first to get dark arms, although I will check again today I case I got that wrong. When I say his claws are clamped, I mean a lot of the time his toes are clamped together, rather than spread out nice and wide. I've just woken up, so I'll be checking on him very shortly and will post again then. Thank you xx

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    Right, watched him for ages today, he is swimming fine, can get to the bottom and stay there. He still looks a bit located to me, but nothing like the pictures that come up when I do searches. I've had a good look at his feet, he can spread the toes but clamps them shut again after a minute, and it looks like the ends of the inside toes are hooked over, as though they are bent at a knuckle. Looks like he hasnt shed properly there either, can see bits of skin hanging off. I've taken pictures, they aren't amazing but my iPhone is being rubbish

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    His toes also have patches where it looks like he has bled, and a red patch has appeared on his wrist. I've tested the water and ammonia has jumped to 0.25mg, so could this be burns?

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    100+ Post Member mpmistr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    Any ammonia present in your water is toxic and can damage your frog.

    You may want to do some water changes and try to get your water parameters under control. If your frog is swimming normally that is a good sign though.

    Few questions..
    Size of tank?
    Temperature?
    How many frogs?
    Do you do weekly water changes?
    What do you feed your frogs?

    This is a guess but the clamped foot could be the sign of a stroke.. stroke can come from feeding your frog a fatty diet (beefheart, ect..) or from prolonged exposure to water temperatures that are too high for X. Laevis (over 78F, give or take).

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    Any ammonia present in your water is toxic and can damage your frog.

    You may want to do some water changes and try to get your water parameters under control. If your frog is swimming normally that is a good sign though.

    Few questions..
    Size of tank?
    Temperature?
    How many frogs?
    Do you do weekly water changes?
    What do you feed your frogs?

    It's a 30 us gallon long, temp is 78.8 F, there are four frogs (three male one female, all around 11 months old), I do weekly wc's, although this one has been a fortnight because I've been very ill (I really didn't think the extra week would do any harm), and I feed them Xenopus frog pellets from pollywog.

    Oh I hope it's not a stroke! Lost my frog kermit to a suspected stroke around may this year :-( those feet do look ragged. He has started trying to swim through the side of the tank too :-/

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    100+ Post Member mpmistr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    The size of the tank sounds OK for 3 ACF but 79F is pretty high for X. Laevis, it could be the problem. They do better at ~70F.. if you have a heater you should turn it down or remove it entirely as long as the water stays 68-72F.

    Higher water temps means their hearts beat faster, I don't believe X. Laevis does well at 80F+ they are not tropical animals, it puts strain on their hearts which could lead to a stroke.

    Run a water test for nitrite and nitrate.. you should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and under 20ppm of nitrate if your tank is cycled correctly.

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    Ok, I've turned it down to 70, and I tested everything when I did the ammonia test, everything else was fine, just the ammonia was higher. All the other frogs seem in good health, I'm really hoping this is fixable, Smaegol is my favourite male :-(

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    Hmmm, turned the heater down last night before bed, yet this morning the temp is the same, so I'm assuming the heater is knackered. I've unplugged it altogether to get the temp down.

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    100+ Post Member mpmistr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    So long as the water stays above 68F a heater really isn't necessary.

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    100+ Post Member rodsboys's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    I had a heater do that a while back. The built in thermostat is fried. I actually observed mine getting slowly higher over a couple hour period even when it was cranked all the way down.
    By the way I don't think that frog looks bloated. He looks well fed. They have the ability to store lots of fat on thier bodies. Mine only get fed 2 times a week because the like the food too much. One of my males is just as guilty as the females too.

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    100+ Post Member mpmistr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    Quote Originally Posted by rodsboys View Post
    I had a heater do that a while back. The built in thermostat is fried. I actually observed mine getting slowly higher over a couple hour period even when it was cranked all the way down.
    By the way I don't think that frog looks bloated. He looks well fed. They have the ability to store lots of fat on thier bodies. Mine only get fed 2 times a week because the like the food too much. One of my males is just as guilty as the females too.
    The clamped-shut feet are a concern to me. Any idea what that could be?

    I think it's hard to tell from the pictures but if the frog is able to swim, he can more than likely move his feet just fine so I don't really understand and it's hard to tell from just pictures.

    I didn't think the frog was bloated either, most X. Laevis are fat. I've had to reduce feeding mine too since they're starting to chunk up.

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    Sorry for taking so long to reply, family issues prevented me getting on here. After 24 hours of the heater being unplugged (because turning it down did nothing) the temp was still the same, which was odd, so I took it out, and as I lifted it up the bottom half of the glass came away! So, I am presuming that smaegol's feet were clamped because they had touched the heater and been burned. It's the only theory I can come up with because since the heater has been out his feet are staying open. They still look injured, a missing claw and bent toes, which again makes me think he got burnt. He seems much happier now, back on the bottom most of the time and feet nice and open, I'm just going to give him time to fully heal now, and keep up extra vigilance with the water quality. The temp is staying between 71-73 F with out a heater in the tank. This is him now:


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    100+ Post Member mpmistr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    Quote Originally Posted by Maddymoo View Post
    Sorry for taking so long to reply, family issues prevented me getting on here. After 24 hours of the heater being unplugged (because turning it down did nothing) the temp was still the same, which was odd, so I took it out, and as I lifted it up the bottom half of the glass came away! So, I am presuming that smaegol's feet were clamped because they had touched the heater and been burned. It's the only theory I can come up with because since the heater has been out his feet are staying open. They still look injured, a missing claw and bent toes, which again makes me think he got burnt. He seems much happier now, back on the bottom most of the time and feet nice and open, I'm just going to give him time to fully heal now, and keep up extra vigilance with the water quality. The temp is staying between 71-73 F with out a heater in the tank. This is him now:

    Heaters can most certainly cause burns if you don't shield them so the frogs can't come in contact with them.. and heaters can go bad. So yes get rid of it!

    He doesn't look bad nor does he look bloated, again keep that heater out. 71-73F is a perectly acceptable temperature range for your frogs so he should recover.

    Xenopus heal quickly so give him a week or so and see. One of my frogs managed to tear some of the webbing between his toes very recently so I know how you feel.

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    Ironically, I do have a shield for the heater, but was reluctant to use it because the one in the tropical fish tank got melted to buggery when I forgot to turn off the heater during a water change, and I panicked over the damage it would do to the fish. I am a dopey thing and didn't want to make the same mistake again. So I made a different mistake! Sticking with no heater now definitely :-) thank you so much for all your help, I really do appreciate it x

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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    Your heater must have been giving off a current in the water. That would cause him to show distress and hold the foot closed. I'm glad things are good now and you don't even require a heater. My tank is in my basement and it is the coolest place in the house so I use one. Temps range down there from 64-68ish.

  19. #18
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    Default Re: Is this bloat?

    Quote Originally Posted by mpmistr View Post
    So long as the water stays above 68F a heater really isn't necessary.
    Agreed. My tank doesn't have one and stays at 70 for the most part.

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    100+ Post Member Maddymoo's Avatar
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    Default Is this bloat?

    I'm so relieved, and I realise how lucky I am that only him was affected and reversibly too. It never occurred to me it would break like that! Yes I'm happy to do without now, as long as temps don't drop, it's a lesson learned!

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