Bullfrog with abcess on jaw

[Bombina Bob]

Recently ive caught a very small bullfrog only about two inches in length, he looks very malnourished and
skinny but i was most disturbed because he had this large bump on his lower jaw, ive brought him home
To see if there was anything i could do, it looks like an infection of some sort? this is the best picture i
have of this guy. Please help

[Gnag the nameless]

Sorry about the lack of comments, Bob

To me it looks like a bacterial infection. I would suggest picking up some baytril, bactine, reptiboost, and unflavoured pedialyte. I would then give her a pedialyte soak of 9/10 dechlorinated water, 1/10 unflavoured pedialyte, along with 3 drops of natural honey to give him some energy.

Before giving him the pedialyte soak, I would move him into a 5 gallon tank with moist paper towel for substrate and an easily accessible water dish, as well as a black background to help the frog feel more secure. Refresh the substrate daily, as well as the water in the water dish (I am currently having to forcefeed my lethargic Green frog (Rana Clamitans), of whom is only 3 inches head to vent, so I can advise you on how to forcefeed a small bullfrog/green frog.)

How weak is the frog? I would place crickets in his tank (you can take off the hind legs so the frog can catch them easier) or chunks of earthworms, and wait to see if he goes after them. If he doesn't you may have to forcefeed him, but I'm not sure if you can with that abcess on his lip, and his tiny size.

More photo's would help a lot.

I advise a vet for this frog, that looks like an infection to me.

[Bombina Bob]

Thank you so much for the advice ! im very discouraged because i just dont have the money for the antibiotics though

[Gnag the nameless]

I don't have the money for antibiotics for my Green frog either, so if she has a parasite, there's nothing I can do so I know how you feel, Bob.

For now, we'll do what we can. As for the anti-biotics, pedialyte is cheap, it only cost me about 12$ at the Walmart in Coquitlam, and reptiboost is sold at most petstores, however, I can't find any at the Petland in Coquitlam, the Mr Pets in Maple Ridge, and the Pet Cetera in Pitt Meadows, though you could try the Pet Habitat in Coquitlam. That store has a lot of frogs, and lots of stuff for frogs too. Here's the location, it's a bit hard to find: https://plus.google.com/104903060273...ut?gl=ca&hl=en

We need experienced people on this, I'll go alert HeatherAnne and Psychotic, as well as the others that helped me out with my Green frog, Bumpy.

[Bombina Bob]

Thank you so very much caspian ive put the frog in a plastic steralite tub that is 2.5 gallons and is more wide than tall, he had tried to eat a cricket! i feel more confident about him but he is very lethargic. Im trying to convince my parents to help me with some money, thank you for the locations of the stores

[Gnag the nameless]

Heather is on her way over to help out, so don't worry, we're on the case

I definitely think you should give him the pedialyte soak ASAP, you can buy Pedialyte at walmart, in the medications section. Make sure it is the unflavoured kind, the flavouring will hurt your frog. Here's instructions on how to give a pedialyte soak:

(Originally posted by Heatheranne:
"Pick up some plain, unflavored pedialyte and some reptaboost. Save the reptaboost for now. Give him a pedialyte bath. It's one part pedialyte to 10 parts dechlorinated water for 15 minutes. You can do the soak in a Critter keeper or tupperware with a lid with holes in it. Be sure to poke the holes in the lid from inside out so they are smooth so he doesn't get hurt. I very carefully use a awl or poker heated and I just poke holes right through the underside of the lid. If you do this, please be careful not to burn yourself. You can even set the container in his actual tank to help decrease stress, though you don't have to. The pedialyte will help replace lost electrolytes. Continue to offer food. Give him another day to see if he eats. Maybe he will feel better after the soak."


I used measuring spoons (1/4 of a cup, 1/2 of a cup, 1/3 of a cup, a cup) to measure out the liquid. Just 2 full cups and 1 1/4 for the dechlorinated water, and 1 1/4 for the pedialyte.

[Heatheranne]

Hi Bombina Bob,

The photo is hard to see, but I'll give it a whirl. Is there any red or pink on the area? I cannot tell if it's an old injury, an infection, or an enclosed cyst. If you can get a clearer photo it may help. Do you see any other skin alterations?

Try and keep his tank in the 70's. give him a nice water bowl with dechlorinated water. It can be deep so long as he has a way out. They swim and hold their breath very well. Change the water and the paper towel daily. Mist twice a day. Feed as you would any frog...ca/D3 dusted every other day and multivitamin once a week. He's beautiful, btw! I would recommend metronidazole if you can get it. It is prescribed by a vet. Watch his feces to see if its runny or has a foul odor. I would recommend panacur if it is...it's for parasites.

Dr. Frye is not very expensive and is very helpful. If you'd like, you can send him a call or email. He does not charge am assessment fee.

This is an email to/from Donlisk with Dr. Frye that he has shred for us here.
http://www.frogforum.net/tree-frogs/...-prepared.html

If you keep him he'll need a large tank as he grows, at least 100 gallons as an adult.

If you can shoot me a side photo I'll tell you if he's male or female.

Be sure to wash your hands very well between frogs and tanks just in case the area is an infection. You don't want to get your others sick.

If there is an open would you can apply ORIGINAL neosporin with a qtip, daily. Do not use the type with pain reliever -it is toxic to frogs/toads. It is not a systemic treatment, so if he is carrying the infection inside the neosporin will not be enough to fight the infection. If you do plan to help him, he may need the systemic antibiotic as listed above. A vet may also recommend Baytril or another treatment.

Please keep us posted. Good luck!

[Psychotic]

The above info is all good advice. From the picture it looks like his jaw may have been broken at one point. But its hard to say.

[Psychotic]

If he isn't eating you might try giving him a cricket or two (no bigger than the space between his eyes) right before you go to bed at night. Then check to see if he has eaten any when you get up the next morning. If not remove the crickets and try again the next night.

Also I wouldn't put the uneaten crickets back with the others or feed them to any other frog in case of cross contamination. Wouldn't want your other frogs to get sick.

[Bombina Bob]

Thank you heather and Ashley has been eating well, she is a female by the looks of it (smaller ear drum)
and has faint markings on her belly, but the infection now that you mention it looks more like a cyst on the
inside of her mouth. i am getting the pedalyte ASAP for this guy!

[Heatheranne]

You're welcome. If it is a cyst, it will need treated. Do you see any open areas?

[Bombina Bob]

there are no open areas around his jaw

[Heatheranne]

Does he look sick at all?

[Bombina Bob]

besides that large bump on the side, he's just really skinny

[Gnag the nameless]

Any news on our little guy?

[Bombina Bob]

His abcess had gotten better and he is much healthier!, i had released him.

[Heatheranne]

Great job for helping him!

[Gnag the nameless]

It's a great feeling that you get when you help an animal out

And you may have made a good choice in releasing him rather than keeping him. Bullfrogs (and Green frogs) are pretty hard to keep, and can be expensive, too. They eat a ton, require huge tanks, and a very strong filter. Trust me, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first got my Gnag and my little Bumpy. I certainly don't regret it, though my frogs have changed my life entirely for the better, given me something to be proud of and to care for, and also something to look forward to every day (feeding time , and when they begin croaking every night.)

[Bombina Bob]

LOL i know what you mean! ive kept Kermit (my old bullfrog) in a 15 then a large
steralite tub that was about 40 gallons, he was a great frog and probably the one
i got most connected with eventually i had to release her because we went on
vacation to manitoba and that was very hard, i vow never to do that to a beloved
pet! every now and then i even catch him and i can recognize him by the stubbed arm

[Gnag the nameless]

I'm lucky: My neighbors down the street keep animals, and have volunteered to care for all my amphibians when I'm away. We take care of their animals when they're gone, so it's a good balance.

If I were in your position, I wouldn't of had fun during the vacation. Seriously, I wouldn't be able to do that to my Gnag, Bumpy, or any other of my amphibians. But it's good you seem him every now and again