Tongue Sticking Out

[dpcsquid]

I'm sorry to keep popping back in here. I have another update.

It's been over a month now since Picard went off his calcium regimen, and I was told to keep giving him the high protein carnivore diet twice a week until he starts eating on his own. He hasn't started. I put about 1/2 inch of soil into the bottom of the tank, but every few days he manages to flip himself onto his back a few times. I've watched him make his way across the tank before (it's only 5 gallons) and he tries to do it speedily, which I think may be contributing to him flipping over because he teeters back and forth (he has a bad front leg). I'm sure that force feeding him twice a week isn't helping.

So here are my questions.
--How long should I /not/ give him the liquid diet/try feeding him crickets before force-feeding him again? Maybe I'm not giving him enough of a chance to be hungry.
--Is it normal for them not to have solid waste while on a high protein diet? He hasn't had anything except for right when we started and he isn't impacted.
--I hate to say this, but if he's flipping himself over this much, I don't want to be cruel and put him through unnecessary stress. Is euthanasia considered a more humane option if the flipping continues? I just don't know if it's always stress or him trucking around the tank.

[GrifTheGreat]

I'm sorry to keep popping back in here. I have another update.

It's been over a month now since Picard went off his calcium regimen, and I was told to keep giving him the high protein carnivore diet twice a week until he starts eating on his own. He hasn't started. I put about 1/2 inch of soil into the bottom of the tank, but every few days he manages to flip himself onto his back a few times. I've watched him make his way across the tank before (it's only 5 gallons) and he tries to do it speedily, which I think may be contributing to him flipping over because he teeters back and forth (he has a bad front leg). I'm sure that force feeding him twice a week isn't helping.

So here are my questions.
--How long should I /not/ give him the liquid diet/try feeding him crickets before force-feeding him again? Maybe I'm not giving him enough of a chance to be hungry.
--Is it normal for them not to have solid waste while on a high protein diet? He hasn't had anything except for right when we started and he isn't impacted.
--I hate to say this, but if he's flipping himself over this much, I don't want to be cruel and put him through unnecessary stress. Is euthanasia considered a more humane option if the flipping continues? I just don't know if it's always stress or him trucking around the tank.

Most of these special medical supplements are designed to be absorbed directly into the body so that their is almost no waste.

You could force feed him some of the solid foods like a cricket or night crawler chuck with his supplement. It's possible that something else is wrong other than Hypocalcemia, but I'm not sure what.

This decision is entirely your choice. If he gets around and burrows, but has some mobility issues then he isn't necessarily in need to be put down. I'm not sure if he is suffering or not. They do get used to being force fed after a while and struggle less when they recognize the syringe or whatever else you use to administer the dose. Injections excluded. If it were me I would do everything I could to help him like you already are. Euthanazia should only be a last resort.

[Cwcuz2112]

I lost a frog Thursday night who had almost the same symptoms as yours without the tongue sticking out . He would not eat on his own flipped over constantly and never grew as fast as the other two I got at the same time and they all came from petsmart . You will defiantly want to go see the vet again to make sure but I think you will likely be feeding the frog the carnivore diet for the rest of its life. I think its great that you have taken the time and patience and done as much as possible to give him the best life and care you can . Deciding on euthanasia for the frog is a decision you and your family and vet should make .I personally wouldn't rush it and would give it time and another vet visit .

[DVirginiana]

If he doesn't appear to be in pain I'd say give him a chance... My frog has a neurological issue that causes her to have little seizures when she gets over-excited, like when she's hunting (even snapping at tong-fed prey). I basically have to assist-feed whenever I feed her by rubbing the food on her mouth until she gets annoyed. It's getting better, but it also affects her digestive tract. For about six months I've had to do weekly impaction treatments to keep her from getting to backed up.

Anyway, my point is she's big and overall pretty healthy. It took a long time, but she's even improving a little. They don't do a whole lot, so even if having to force-feed sounds bad, I wouldn't consider euthanizing unless the frog seems to be in constant distress. Cause they can still live pretty good lives even with issues.