Whites Tree Frog in trouble..Please help!

[xXxHeavenxXx]

Hi everyone. My poor little guy needs some help! He started showing some weird signs about a week ago. We went to feed him as normal and he started doing this weird clicking noise and opening and shutting his mouth. I noticed he was shedding at this time and I read somewhere that the clicking could go hand in hand with the shedding and just decided to keep a close eye on him. He hasn't ate in probably a week or more. He just does not seem interested which really started to concern me. I started looking for local vets who look at frogs but held back since it seems a lot of them who said they were "herp vets" did not seem very knowledgeable. Today, we went to try and feed him again and noticed the "green spots of doom" when we picked him up. Hes very very very weak. We soaked him in some warm water and tried to force feed him but hes just too small. He did perk up a tiny bit due to the soaking and started climbing the side of the little hopsital tank. I know the green spots are a bad bad sign so I am going to the vet right at 8'oclock and giving them a shot because I realize I am running out of options.

Ive seen some posts about this issue and need some quick advice on dosages of the following:

pedialyte soaking or Reptaboost soaking

baytril soaking

and metronidizole soaking

Can you do all of these in a day? I dont want to make him worse trying to help him. If there is any way anyone could give me info on how to prepare these soaks it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much! I hope my little guy pulls through for me!

[kueluck]

Sorry to hear about your poor little WTF. What did the Vet say. Also curious as to how long you've had him and where you got him from.

[xXxHeavenxXx]

We have an appointment at 11:30.. that was their earliest time =(. We had him now for only about 2 months. He was from petco.

[kueluck]

I got 3 from Petco 1-31-13, all are sick and being treated for various stongeloids, giarda & mites. Other members have sick ones from Petco also. Never again from a pet store. Hope your little one makes it. Keep this updated.

[xXxHeavenxXx]

yeah I've seen that! I've gotten them from petco before when I lived in NJ. They lived a REAL long time. I had them most of my childhood and this is the FIRST time I have ever even remotely had to deal with this. I feel so bad. I did try a force feed, but hes still a little guy. I cant get him to open his mouth to even stick a worm or cricket in. Even while he is doing this clicking routine. I did run out to walmart and buy the pedialyte and soaked his little body. Still not much movement from him at all. I get excited even if he just lifts his head. poor guy =(

[KimW]

I just answered your message. Good luck and let me know how it goes or if you need any more info.
I forgot to say to do the pedialyte soak and give meds at different times. The Baytril gets absorbed through the frogs skin, so you wouldn't want to give him the Baytril, then put him in the soak. I did soaks in the am and meds pm.

[Heatheranne]

I'm sorry to hear your little baby is sick . Continue the treatments. Be sure the pedialyte is a 1:10 pedialyte to dechlorinated lukewarm water mixture for soaking. Do you think it would be too hard to syringe feed him a tiny dose of reptaboost? About how big is he?

I hope he pulls through for you! Blessings sent your way.

[kueluck]

Don't give up the battle, they are tough little lima beans just waiting for someone to fight for them, and that is you. Praying your little ones makes it over the hump and on the road to good health.

[xXxHeavenxXx]

He is about the length of a half dollar. he weighed 5 grams today at the vet. So far so good! He pulled through the night and I think he looks slightly better! Hes not sitting with his head down anymore. He is actually sitting up! I wish he would move a little more. He pretty much sat in the same spot all day since we got home from the vet. He did do a little turning..thats about it. I wanted to get your opinions on something..my vet said I could go up to 50/50 on the pedialyte and keep him in for 10 mins a day. does that seem okay? I was thinking about the reptaboost..I would just hate to hurt him trying to get his mouth open. Is it possible that trying with the syringe is easier than trying to force feed him? because we did try that..and even with him opening his mouth he was stubborn and closed it every time he saw that food. How is soaking him in the reptaboost I saw that was an option? is that better than the pedialyte or about the same? Thank you so much for all your support!! Its amazing how attached you get to these little guys!

[kueluck]

Happy to hear he made it through the night. Have you tried different feeders? Shadrack wouldn't eat the roaches, and not excited about the crickets either, but when I put some wax worms in there he went for that. Since then he's turned into a little eating machine again. If you can find butter worms down in FL I would go for that instead, less fat, higher in calcium.

[Bolisnide]

He is about the length of a half dollar. he weighed 5 grams today at the vet. So far so good! He pulled through the night and I think he looks slightly better! Hes not sitting with his head down anymore. He is actually sitting up! I wish he would move a little more. He pretty much sat in the same spot all day since we got home from the vet. He did do a little turning..thats about it. I wanted to get your opinions on something..my vet said I could go up to 50/50 on the pedialyte and keep him in for 10 mins a day. does that seem okay? I was thinking about the reptaboost..I would just hate to hurt him trying to get his mouth open. Is it possible that trying with the syringe is easier than trying to force feed him? because we did try that..and even with him opening his mouth he was stubborn and closed it every time he saw that food. How is soaking him in the reptaboost I saw that was an option? is that better than the pedialyte or about the same? Thank you so much for all your support!! Its amazing how attached you get to these little guys!

Sounds like the frog is doing better!
On the pedialyte baths, I would be very cautious about upping the ratio to 50/50. I've read of some accounts in which the frog died from having too much pedialyte in the bath...and after all, even in my own experience have had a vet give me (what could have been fatal) advice on an injured red-eye (whole other story). So needless to say, I only trust vets that have a great reputation and success rate in treating frogs, and that is why I deal with one across the country from where I live.
But... having said that, I believe the fact that you were able to seek a vet in a matter of only one day, is amazing. Sometimes we just need the vet in order to get the prescription for the meds, and analyze fecals- and any vet can do that.
I guess my point is, just be super cautious.

As far as the reptiboost, you may have already said this, but how long has it been since the frog ate? Because it is a juvenile, it's important he eat at least every other day. If you can catch him shedding, that is an ideal time to drop a dusted cricket in his mouth when he 'yawns,' or drop a bit of the reptiboost. My frogs all shed about 1/2 hour after lights out. I've only had to do this once, for two days for one of my frogs. Just be sure to be as quiet as possible when trying to feed this way, and use as little light as possible, you do want to be sneaky otherwise it will disturb their shedding. If you can't catch him in a shed, then force feeding may be necessary. I personally don't have any experience in that area, but Heather does. She can offer great advice on how to do that in a way that is least stressful on the frog.

The reptiboost and pedialyte soak is a great way to get nutrients in him, therefore providing him with energy to eventually eat on his own again.
Mix 10 parts warm treated water to one part pedialyte (I do 5 oz water, 0.5 oz pedialyte), then mix a scoop of the rptiboost. You can soak him in this for about 10 mins or until the water just begins to chill. While he's soaking, prepare a plain warm water bath. Put him in the clean water for a few mins to rise.
If you have any spare tupperware like containers with lids, these work great for soaking bathtubs. Poke holes in the lid, file down the sharp points. Place soaking solution in dish no deeper than the frog's chin, then the frog (gently), then the lid. Place in a warm and quiet place.

Goodluck, they are super cute and amazing little creatures One does get very attached, especially when nursing one back to good health

[Heatheranne]

Hi again. Just got home a bit ago from work.

You have been given great information by Bolisnide, as above.

Do not use a 50/50 pedialyte ratio. That is too concentrated and is no more helpful than the 1/10. Their electrolyte needs are necessary, but are tiny in comparison to a human baby's. the 1/10 or 1:10 is ideal. Too high of a concentration can cause an electrolyte and fluid balance shift. We just want to gently rehydrate and replace any electrolyte losses.

The goal is to get him strong enough to eat on his own again. We want to minimize as much stress as possible. Force feeding may become necessary but can be extremely stressful for them. Stress can increase their risk for further illnesses. Their skin is very sensitive so we actually want to minimize handling them. Force feeding can cause skin injuries, so we have to be super careful. Remember, the goal is to get them healed, stronger and independent again. Once they are weak and feel sick, they lose their appetites, just like we do.

How many days has it been since he hasn't eaten now?

Continue the soaks. Reptaboost is good stuff. Be sure to do a nice follow-up soak to remove any reptaboost residue. You can try the sneaky feeding while shedding. It actually works pretty well. I've used this trick several times. It works easiest if you remove the cricket legs. I also squish the cricket's head before pulling off the legs. It keeps the cricket from biting the frog, and I feel less mean about pulling its legs off.

I can, and will, teach you to force if necessary. I'm hoping you will not need to.

Please keep us posted. I'll check in again tomorrow.

[xXxHeavenxXx]

Hi all! Thanks for your feedback. I only gave 1 treatment to him with the 50/50 of pedialyte and water, so I will tone it down next time to 1:10 again. I do have a question. His belly looks extremely bloated ssince i started treatment! I don't know if that is a side effect of the baytril/pedialyte? or the infection itself? I hope I didn't give him too much pedialyte following the vet's instruction. Should I be concerned? Other then that he is still doing okay. He is sitting up and sleeping most of the day and night. So glad to see him resting.

If he is bloated should I skip his pedialyte bath tonight? or does that have nothing to do with it?

It has definitely been about 10 days he has not eaten for sure. It may be one or two days more.

Thanks!

[KimW]

Heather or Bolisnide,
When I was having to force feed my frog, I bought canned crickets because I hated having to squish heads/pull legs off. I ended up just giving reptaboost orally with a syringe and not using the canned crickets, but would that be an acceptable option? Just curious.

[Heatheranne]

Skip the pedialyte for tonight. You can do a regular lukewarm dechlorinated water soak. Add a drop of plain honey into the water, then after 10 minutes have another just lukewarm water bath ready to soak for just a few minutes to rinse off the honey residue. Just do about 10 minutes. Have you seen him shed at all?

Canned crickets are fine, but they are dry/dehydrated to keep them fresh. It would work, but I prefer fresh.

Does he try to go towards the crickets at all?

[xXxHeavenxXx]

Ok will do! We are going to buy some fresh crickets tomorrow to see if he will make an attempt for us before we try the force feed. We did not place any in his hospital tank. The last time we tried to get him to eat, right before we started treatment, he was kicking them away. I think I bought the most annoying crickets in the world because they kept torturing him, crawling on him, and stressing him out. He kept trying to climb the sides of the tank to avoid them and he would just fall. Therefore, we decided to give him a day without the crickets since he made no attempt. At this point, they all ate each other so we need new ones lol.

He was having incomplete sheds before we started treatment. We got all that off in the soaks. Haven't seen him shedding since. I'd be willing to bet he's shedding but we haven't caught him doing so. We keep in him a warm room with not a lot of traffic in it so he doesn't get stressed.

[xXxHeavenxXx]

Right after I posted this I went to check on him..and I see some skin by his mouth so yes he is shedding. =)!!

[Heatheranne]

Try pulling off the two large legs of a cricket and place it a few inches away from him. How long would you guess he is snout (nose) to vent (anus)?

[xXxHeavenxXx]

between an 1.5 and 2 inches

[xXxHeavenxXx]

Hi everyone! My little guy is still doing well! He just took his 5th baytril treatment! Getting some crickets to see if hell attempt to eat for us! crossing fingers!