URGENT- Sick Golden Bell Frog- HELP NEEDED

[BlueKiwiOca]

Apart from earthworms in the garden, nope... They'd carry a risk of disease I guess, but can I wash them and risk it?

[Heatheranne]

Hmmm, it's not recommended. I buy night crawlers that are scent free and dye free from Walmart. There are no additives at all. I cut mine into little pieces.

I made a video, but ran out of video room so it cut off. It wasn't Twigs's best video ever, but he only eats one cricket each day because he's on a diet . He's a little chubby.

http://youtu.be/sJbEu0xNsBU

[BlueKiwiOca]

Very cute, thanks for going to all that effort and making a video to show me how it's done

As for more solid foods, I have mealworms... Can I try force-feeding him a bit of mealworm just so I can get some form of food+calcium+vitamins into him, even if it is those awful things? Unfortunately "food ready" night crawlers are not as easy to come by over here as they are in the US... I wish exotic pet culture was bigger over here!

And when it comes to force feeding, I guess the key thing is to be gentle.. I may have to enlist the help of another pair of hands lol

[Heatheranne]

Hmmm, can you squeeze out the insides? I know it's gross, but we don't want to re-impact him.

[BlueKiwiOca]

Yeap... I was thinking the same :S so he'll have some mealie-worm soup.. excellent!

[BlueKiwiOca]

I managed to force-feed him two small syringe squirts of mealie-worm soup (mealie-worm insides, decholorinated water, tiny amount of calcium powder and liquid vitamins)

He was a challenge to swaddle! Hehe, but he sure looked cute he only had a little bit to eat but it's definitely better than nothing, and it's probably good that he only had a small amount to start.. I used a rounded edge of cardstock to get his little mouth open, while my mum squirted the mix into his mouth...

When I put him back into his tank he hopped away energetically I'll keep his tank covered now to let him calm down.

Thank you for your video Heather, it was definitely a lifesaver!

[BlueKiwiOca]

Getting a feed... I've also decided to rename Mr Blobby, as Ned- after Eddard Stark from the book and TV series Game of Thrones... I think it reflects his personality better now that he isn't all bloated!

[Heatheranne]

So cute! Great job!

Any more signs of twitching? I would feed him every day this week and then see if he'll start eating on his own. You could use the big crickets if you do as you did with the mealies and only use the insides to make his food. Hopefully your package will arrive soon, which has some Reptaboost in it . Then you can mix a teeny tiny bit of reptaboost with the soup .

Did he swallow easily for you? Some people use a very clean credit card edge or guitar pick to open their little mouths.

Can I just say I'm so proud of you for rescuing them and giving them so much . I really hope he pulls through for you. Something about saving them really makes us appreciate them, doesn't it?

[BlueKiwiOca]

Thank you!

I haven't seen any more twitching today, so that's a good sign I'll feed him again tonight and tomorrow night... I'm going away Friday and I have a house/dog/fish/frog sitter coming in to look after everyone, but I'm thinking I'll probably take Ned and the other sick frog with me so I can look after them properly... it's a 45min ferry trip but I'm confident we can manage it without stressing them too much..

I'll go get some big crickets then those mealies were revolting.. eurgh! >.< and no doubt crickets are better for him. What a pampered frog he is...
ReptaBoost? You truly are amazing. That will be VERY useful! Hopefully it arrives soon

He took a little while to swallow, but I imagine it was a bit daunting having someone shove food in his mouth... but at least he didn't choke I used a rounded edge of cardstock, but thanks for the guitar pick idea... that will work much better!

Can I just say I'm so proud of you for rescuing them and giving them so much . I really hope he pulls through for you. Something about saving them really makes us appreciate them, doesn't it?

Thank you so much for your kind words they really mean a lot! I hope he pulls through too... Looking after him so closely has made me realise what amazing and beautiful creatures they are! So has the rest of my family; in fact, my little 9-year-old sister is doing a speech for school on frogs and why we need to save them

[Heatheranne]

I hope he's gets some strength and starts wanting to eat on his own. The red eyes I took in took a bit to come around too.

That's awesome that your sisters doing a frog saving project. My daughter did one too. I took some frogs to school for her. We made lots of educational posters and played frog games. We even made dirt pudding with gummy worms to celebrate .

I'll link some sites for you/her to make the project easier .

[Heatheranne]

************
http://************.com/students/index.html

http://************.com/teachers/index.html

AllAboutFrogs
http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/save/save.html

http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/save/whattodo.html

Amphibian Ark
http://www.amphibianark.org/

http://www.amphibianark.org/educatio...re-amphibians/

[URL]http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/what-can-i-do-to-help/[/URL

Tree Walkers
http://www.treewalkers.org/about

http://www.treewalkers.org/our-projects

CGEE Threatened Frogs and Toads List
http://www.cgee.hamline.edu/frogs/sc...Threatened.pdf

Discovery Channel
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows...hing-frogs.htm

Animal Planet
http://animal.discovery.com/endanger...extinction.htm

National Geographical Endangered Frogs Articles
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/se...dangered+frogs

The Guardian UK
http://m.guardiannews.com/environmen...angeredspecies

Earth's Endangered Creatures
http://earthsendangered.com/search-g...&amp;sgroup=AM

Good News Network
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/earth...red-frogs.html

These are just a few of the articles we used to gather information. You/she might find them helpful .

[Heatheranne]

I've gone over the allotted number of links per post so some are not touch links. I'll fix it this evening.

[BlueKiwiOca]

Sorry I replied so late, we've just gotten back from a weekend holiday... Ned and Mr Chubbs came with me
Thanks for the links, I'll show them to my sister.. I'm sure she'll find them invaluable!

Ned seems to be improving, I wasn't able to force-feed him over the weekend but his colour's good and he's quite active. I'll offer him live feed tomorrow
Mr Chubbs (the one from the other thread) remains a mystery... he passed what seemed to be a tiny, watery stool, but I threw it away stupidly. I'll continue trying to offer him food and getting him to poop.

[Heatheranne]

Any new updates?

[BlueKiwiOca]

Any new updates?

Thanks for the continued interest Heather Ned, the one who had a calcium deficiency, seems to be improving (he is a lighter colour and tried to eat a fruit fly yesterday- first time I've seen him attempt to eat). He's very skinny though. I can see his hip bones, so I need to amp up the effort to get him to eat.

But Mr Chubbs- the mystery frog- seems to be getting worse he's very lethargic, muddy brown coloured and hasn't eaten anything except one small (1cc) force-fed dose of Repta-Boost a couple of days ago. He did a tiny runny poop the next day while having a soak, but that's it. I'm having trouble getting the force-feeding technique right on my own (Mum's at work) because they're so tiny... what can I do for him?

These frogs are really worrying me D: I really want them to survive, but I just don't know what to do from here

[Heatheranne]

Good...perhaps Ned will pull through . I am hopeful. Give him a chance to eat. If he does not, go ahead and feed him every other day. He should want to eat daily.

Chubbs sounds weak. Give him a 1:10 pedialyte to spring water or dechlorinated water soak for 20 minutes. It will give him some sugar and electrolytes. Then carefully feed him the reptaboost with some fruit flies mixed in. See if non can help tonight.

Try to minimize their stress and handling of them to only as necessary.

You are doing a great job! Sometimes we can help them pull through. Sometimes they will not help themselves. Know you are giving them all that you can and just hope they try. You are a great frog mom .

[BlueKiwiOca]

Hi Heather,

I too am hopeful for Ned offered him food today, he went for one fly but missed :/ will try again tomorrow.

As for Chubbs, I gave him the Pedialyte bath yesterday, and attempted to force-feed again. I don't know what it is, but lately I just haven't been able to get them wrapped up snugly enough without crushing them, they always hop around and wriggle their toes out the top which leads to an escape... therefore I haven't been able to force feed. I try many times in a row before giving up due to stress- both Chubb's and my own! Any tips for wrapping up tiny little frogs? haha..

You'll see that I sent you a PM. I come across as harsh. And I really hate that, as animals are a huge part and love of my life, and I am so attached to the adorable little guy.. Taking him to the vet for help is not an option as there is not an exotic vet within range (will take maybe an hour to drive to, an hour back), and we don't have the money to spend on New Zealand's exorbitant consultation vet fees.

Ugh. I guess that's about it for now. I'll continue trying with force feeding, and as usual, thanks for being a superstar with all your help and advice

BTW, you are still the queen of frog mums

[Heatheranne]

Hi Gabby,

I sent you a pm. You can continue soaks for Ned with the pedialyte and the calcium every 2-3 days for now. I'd rotate pedialyte with calcium every other day if he does not eat, or use the reptaboost. I prefer the reptaboost.

Another trick is to feed him when he is shedding, if you can. They will open their mouths big to stretch and pull their old skin off. You can sometimes sneak food into their mouths when they do. You would have to gently squish the fruit fly so you can just drop it in. Lynn came up with this great trick . You have to be quick though. Sometimes I can do it, and sometimes forget it, lol!

As for Chubbs, you could try the pedialyte and calcium soaks, alternating every few days. If this does not work you'd have to feed. I sent the alternate treatment to your pm in case the time is nearing.

Let me know how things go tonight. I'll pray they eat for you!

[BlueKiwiOca]

Just thought I'd post a quick update...

NED: I moved Ned back into the main terrarium a few days ago so he could be in a better environment and to reduce stress- it seems to be working; his colouring has improved and he's climbing the fake plants happily. He's still not eating- although he's made half-hearted attempts to, so I'm giving him a Pedialyte soak and attempting to force feed a small amount of Repta-Boost. I'll continue offering him wingless fruit flies.

MR CHUBBS: Mr Chubbs is not improving, and I'm not seeing any change in his condition. He is very weak and lethargic, his skin/ colouring is a muddy brown colour, and he spends the whole day in one spot or hiding away. I am giving him a daily 1:10 Pedialyte soak, and attempting to force-feed Repta-Boost. I will be trying a Repta-Boost soak tonight. I am trying my best for him, but sadly it's not looking very good I have added a small amount of clean sphagnum moss to a corner of his hospital tank in order to provide some cover and comfort. It may not be the wisest thing to do but I feel better knowing that if he does pass away, it will have been in relative comfort compared to a bare tank.

So that's pretty much where we're all at right now. Thank you everyone for all your help, I'll keep you all updated

[BlueKiwiOca]

THIS MORNING NED DID A POOP AND THIS EVENING NED ATE AT LEAST THREE BIG FAT JUICY FRUIT FLIES ALL BY HIMSELF!!!
I AM SO OVER THE MOON HEHEHE! GOOD ON YOU NED! YOU ARE MAKING ME PROUD!