Giving dewormer to a White's tree frog

[froggy bottom]

Hi there

I took my sick White's tree frog to the vet today and was told he has intestinal parasites and possibly coccidia. I am giving him Ivermectin transdermally and am supposed to be giving him Albon orally. He will not open his mouth to let me get the meds in him. Any suggestions on how I can pry his mouth open without hurting him?

[Paul Rust]

Hi, Albon is for the Coccidia. I assume it is an oral suspension. Try gently squeezing the corners of the mouth while gently inserting the eyedropper in the front working it side to side. Don't get too aggressive.

[Kurt]

I use those dental floss picks to pry mouth open. It works fairly well. I have done it with dart frogs and other small frogs, so doing a White's should be no problem.

[froggy bottom]

Thanks for the responses..I will try the dental pick...he is a very small frog right now with a little tiny mouth.

[Kurt]

Good luck.

[froggy bottom]

My frog died. I came home today at lunch to check on him and found him in his water dish face down, but still alive. He was neurologic with very little use of his limbs and very bloated. I took him to the vet I work for and had him euthanized. I feel that he was beyond any help I could give him other than putting him to rest. I also feel that the Ivermectin I gave him last night may have been too much for him as the doctor I took him to yesterday did not have a gram scale to properly figure out his dosage..poor guy

[Paul Rust]

I'm very sorry to hear that it died. I did not want to interfere in another person's treatment recomendations but it doesn't matter now I suppose. For future reference, if you have a parasitic infection you can treat with Panacur (fenbendazole). You just dust their food with it. I use it constantly because it is safe and virtually impossible to overdose your animal with. I know this doesn't help now but maybe in the future you will remember this and know what to do. Again, sorry about your pet's death.

[froggy bottom]

thank you for the condolences. I will use the panacur next time I run into this sort of situation. I did find a very reputable Exotics Vet (too late unfortunately) and am waiting for a call back from him on who he suggests that I get my next Whit's from. I am a little paranoid now after having such a sad experience my first time around.

[Paul Rust]

I understand. The first thing I do with a new frog is quarantine it and give it Panacur for 3 consecutive feedings and then do a fecal exam just to make sure it carries a healthy parasite load. Best of luck on the next one.

[Ebony]

Im so sorry . You did the right thing for your frog.

[Kurt]

So sorry about your loss. Where did you say you were from?

[froggy bottom]

Thank you Ebony. It was hard to see him in his condition.
Kurt: I am originally from Texas, but moved to the beautiful state of Tennessee about 10 years ago. I wold love to find a reputable White's breeder in this area as I will NEVER get another one from Petco or Petsmart. I am pretty sure Skipper was already sick when I purchased him. They do not seem to care about the frog's well being and they are not very certain on the husbandry of these amazing little creatures either....at least the ones in my area are like this. Yesterday I was very sad and now I am mad.

[Kurt]

I was talking to this woman at the vet's office tonight who told me that she got a White's from Petco last fall and it died three days later. She went back to the store and was told that all the White's had died, so they gave her a leopard gecko instead.
I have two White's myself both of which came from Petco. I have had them for 5 years now.

[froggy bottom]

Hi Kurt. That is great that your White's are five and thriving. I hope I did not offend you or anyone else regarding my comments on Petco and Petsmart. If I did, I truly apologize as that was not my intent. I am just going by my personal experience and spoke out of frustration. I just wish he would not have been infested with parasites the way he was and I wish the vet that gave me the ivermectin would have weighed my frog so I would not have given him toxic levels of the stuff...again, just speaking out of frustration. This was my first WT frog, but I can assure you it will not be my last. I just want to learn everything I can about them. They are amazing to watch...even when they are just stuck on the side of the tank doing nothing. Thanks again for your suggestions. I am sure I will have tons more questions when I get my next one.

[Kurt]

I was not offended, so no worries there. My point that I was trying to make is, there are bad Petcos and good Petcos. It all depends on the who is working at the particular store.
Also the drugs that are used to treat GI parasites are metronidazole and fenbendazole. The brand names being Flagyl and Panacur.

[froggy bottom]

Thanks Kurt

By the way, I just checked out your albums and your frogs are awesome. That Colorado River Toad is huge. I was fortunate enough to speak with Dr. Christian Keller last night who is the exotics vet for the Tennessee Aquarium. He is going to try and hook me up with a White's tree frog from the person who purchases them for the aquarium here in Chattanooga. I should know something within a week or so. If it is not possible for me to go that route then I will probably go back to Petco or Petsmart and be smarter about my purchase. The only thing that bothers me about going to Petsmart is that they had more than one species of frog and some sort of salamander in there as well....totaling about 6 amphibians in a small tank..that is just asking for trouble in my book. Do you recommend I get 2 whites at the same time or just 1. I only have a ten gallon right now, but will be purchasing a larger vivarium for the next frog/frogs I get.

[Kurt]

It doesn't matter when you get them as long as they are roughly the same size. Mixing amphibian species is a no-no in most frog keepers books. I have a bigger toad than the Colorado River toad, my rococo toad.