My first RETF rescue...

[tinkgirl77]

So this week has been quite eventful. First off, Tuesday, my RETF - Wall-E, had a rectal prolapse. As of right now he is recovering very well thanks to 2 awesome ladies on this forum helping me out! Lynn & Heather! Couldnt have done it without them!

So to make this week more interesting... I went to my locally owned pet store to pick up an item i was looking for. This place is supposed to be the go to for frogs and reptiles here haha. they had a Red-Eyed Leaf Frog living in a cage with HERMIT CRABS ahhh. No heat, no temp/hygrometer and on a substrate of SAND. I was freaking already. Then the guy took him out and put him on my arm AHHH. I RARELY handle mine and if i have to I do with gloves and damp paper towels . then the poor frog panicked when the employee tried to grab him and he leaped and landed on the floor. Then the rude owner had the audacity to watch me crawl around on the floor to catch him. OMG I think I was just as traumatized as the poor frog. The people said the customer who ordered them never picked him up because they usually don't keep retfs. So naturally, I held myself together, sent my very passive husband to go and negotiate with this ***hole to rescue the lil guy.
So I got the guy home, set up his new comfy home (more like a palace from where he came from). He's eating, pooping and seems very active. I think he has a few scars on his legs, but otherwise seems ok. He is right under 2". Take a look at his legs in the photos below and let me know what yall think. Thanks for listening to my very short rant.

[Gnag the nameless]

Lynn and Heather are always there to help same with Grif and Kurt, you can always rely on them.

I'm proud of you for saving that lil' frog. You did the right thing.

He may have hurt himself on that fall, or have an illness. More pictures of his legs would be handy. Try not to stress out the frog too much, though. Also, keep a close eye on him. I'm sure a treefrog expert will chime in soon and help you out.

Once again, you should be proud for saving the little guy.

[flybyferns]

Hi Lisa,
You have three now - congratulations! I am going to answer you here so all members are able to participate .
You take really good care of your frogs, he is in good hands.

He is thin- so I'm glad to hear ( via PM) that he is eating well-- thank goodness as this , you know, is a good sign.
It is very difficult to tell what these marks are. Typically if a red eyed tree frog has a fungal infection you would see symmetrical dis-colored marks on the torso as well. These could be (?) ( could be ) healing marks from scrapes having been so poorly cared for.

If this were my frog I would weigh him and contact Dr Frye using these photos in the email to him. If he were mine I would put
Silversulfadiazene on every one of these spots daily just in case. Since I know you are a nurse, you think of this as used for burns in humans; but for frogs it is used as a topical antibiotic / anti-fungal.

Those of us you have frogs should have these medicines on hand:
I just refilled my--- my order was replaced to treat " a large tree frog".
I have peace of mind knowing these meds. are on hand if one of my frogs becomes ill and I should need Dr Frye's help down the road and NOT have to wait for a delivery. If you were to purchase all of them at the same time it would cost $113.00 dollars including shipping. It took 3 days for me to receive my delivery.

Later today-I planned to a post a photo of my delivery ( along w/ a few other supplies) in the link above so members can get an idea
as to what these supplies look like.

http://www.frogforum.net/tree-frogs/...-prepared.html

Lynn

[tinkgirl77]

Thank you so very much Lynn... I was going to ask you what Dr. Frye's email was but I found it after all.... dr.frye.vetatmilan@gmail.com. I will email me him this morning and send him the above photos. Will keep yall updated!! Thanks for the support and encouragement!

[Bolisnide]

OMG! I thought my local pet store owner was bad, holy cow! Thank goodness he's in your hands now!
Glad to hear he's eating! That's always a great sign.

[tinkgirl77]

Ok guys so as im waiting to hear from dr frye, I ll give you An update on the little rescue. He ate almost every single (except 2 that jumped in water bowl) cricket I feed him last night. He was quite active and pooped normal! But, im concerned about these lesions on him. Got some more pics I will post. Any ideas in what this could be? The tiny black dots close to his left eye may be new. He let me get a good look at him tonight when I changed his towels since he was compelled to jump on my glove. I don't believe I saw them yesterday. But like I said, eating well and very active.

[Heatheranne]

Awe , what a cutie.

Lynn's post says it all .

It is great that he's eating and a very good sign. The dark areas do look like scars and frog scabs, so to speak. Retf wounds often turn black if severe and as healing fade to tanish-gray or blue, or will die and fall off with new skin underneath. Their skin does not usually grow in in green again. My frogs with larger healed spots are bluish-purple. A few small spots healed over as the gray-tan. We still want to monitor him. SSD cream is perfect for this situation. He looks pretty good, other than thin. That'll just take some catching up. You snatched him up in good time to save him. I would request the SSD cream and apply it daily with a new qtip to each discoloration. It can treat, if infected, and prevent, if not. It can also sooth the skin and protect it. It will help the new tissue fill in. You will know within a week or so if it's improving. If it's just scars they will look better or no different.

Welcome you're new baby .

[tinkgirl77]

Thanks Heather, I really appreciate everyone's help. I have great teachers I have met along the way. I love these guys, after a 14 hour day of dealing with direct pt nursing care (like today) they make me so calm and happy. I have a small container of Silver Sulvadene 1% cream I got from a friend of mine who is an EP nurse. I would like to begin treatment asap, but I am awaiting Dr. Frye's response. Where did you get your SSD cream from? Thanks again for all of your knowledge. This forum has been amazingly helpful!

[Heatheranne]

Any time .

I get mine from Dr. Frye already diluted. I'll check and see if the ratio is on the bottle.

[tinkgirl77]

BTW guys, I feel terrible about calling this lil guy orphan or rescue. So he/she needs a name. My other 2 are wall-e and eva... for this lil guy my hubby keeps calling him "Mr. Annie"( since no gender is known yet and he wants to call he/she orphan Annie - lol) or since he now HAS a home I was thinking "Felix Felicis" or liquid luck! What ya'll think?

[Heatheranne]

The bottle doesn't give an actual dose.

It does certainly give us a respect for how delicate and precious they are.

I stayed up late every night trying to help a very, very sick retf this past fall. She was so weak and so sick. I adopted her in from the pet store to try and save her. She started to get better, well, enough to lift her head and to swallow the reptaboost. I was still hopeful. I held her one night just crying after she started to decline again. All I could say was I was sorry she hadn't been better taken care of, that we loved her, and then it was okay if she go to sleep and be at peace. she passed away in my hands that night. We buried her in a satin jewelry box back by our butterfly bush. Just breaks my heart. We named her Angel. You can read through my old threads if you'd like, but its sad . The other 5 rescues made it and are still with me .

It's tough work, but I think we appreciate them more after going through this with them. I wouldn't change it for anything and I'd do it again.

[tinkgirl77]

Aww heather, I was in tears just reading your words describing lil angel. It broke my heart to see my lil rescue in the situation. I'm so sorry for the loss of her. But you have her every bit of the best shot she could have had. I think this is why God steered me to become a nurse instead of a very. I worked at my.dear friends very office for 8 years. I loved every minute but one truth I learned... animals are always innocent of evil... people on the other hand are most often a product of poor choices. So seeing harm come to the lil critters of the world is very sad, but to see it happen because of people ... it infuriates me. So here I am Lisa, Rn instead of Lisa, Dvm. Still wish I had chosen the latter but this is my path, was pretty far down that road oh well. So I will always be a good steward for all the little ones of the world . I have a feeling that this will not be my last rescue. But I still have lots of learning to gain. So I will continue to give wall e, eva and Felix felicis/ Mr. Annie every bit...of the best chance!

[Heatheranne]

Thank you, Lisa. I would do it again in a heart beat even knowing the outcome just to give her a chance.

I was originally going to heal the other 5 from there and donate them to my local zoo. They will remain in my possession instead. I have come to adore them. I now have 7. Six are rescues, 5 from there, one from living with lizards.

My original plan was to have 2 green retf and 2 albinos.

This is so very true....they ARE innocent. Not a bad bone in their cute little green bodies .

I too wish some days I'd have taken that path or that of a marine biologist. Though I am glad for the education I have absorbed. It is relevant to nearly everything in all life situations, both human and animal.

[tinkgirl77]

Update, dr frye thinks it is bacterial and/or fungal dermatitis. I ordered the froggy first aid kit and will be treating with baytril and silver sulvadene. Well keep everyone posted.

[flybyferns]

Update, dr frye thinks it is bacterial and/or fungal dermatitis. I ordered the froggy first aid kit and will be treating with baytril and silver sulvadene. Well keep everyone posted.

Go girl !!
We have a lot of tree frog nurses around here !
He will look better very quickly. Don't let that trick you ! Finish all the meds
He will shed more, so expect that!

He got sick from his terrible care at the pet store where he found you !!
It's great for other members to read / and benefit from this, your post !

Thanks for taking the time to post again , Lisa

[Heatheranne]

Oh good! He should pull through. I'm glad you heard back today.

Feed nightly before the medicine so he doesn't get upset and decide not to eat...a little trick I learned .

[Heatheranne]

Go girl !!
We have a lot of tree frog nurses around here !
He will look better very quickly. Don't let that trick you ! Finish all the meds
He will shed more, so expect that!

He got sick from his terrible care at the pet store where he found you !!
It's great for other members to read / and benefit from this, your post !

Thanks for taking the time to post again , Lisa

Agreed!

[tinkgirl77]

Aww thanks for the support guys! Like I've said I've had excellent teachers to guide me along the way. I will keep up the updates on the thread do everyone can benefit from my experiences! After all, that's how we learn!

[deranged chipmunk]

Lisa, so glad to hear your new little acquisition is gonna pull through. i have my paws crossed for him.

And what is it with nurses and red eye tree frogs? Lol

[tinkgirl77]

Must be something in those big red eyes...lol