Impaction help

[COOCOpUcHoo]

My Pacman frog has been impacted, i previously posted a thread about something wrong with he back but now i realize she is impacted. I am sitting next to her in her honey bath right now and the only way i know moss got in my substrate is that when i soaked the eco earth brick, there was moss n the bucket from previous animals. I can see the piece of moss sticking out of her butt and i don't know if i should pull it out or if i should wait till tomorrow. I can't go to the vet now becuase it is too late (time wise) to go. I read that if you put a few drops of olive oil in the frogs mouth it will help the impaction, does this work for pacman frogs?
PLEASE HELP no pictures yet.

[Heatheranne]

Hi Cooco, just use the honey bath and allow it to pass naturally. Please do not pull on it, you could cause a rectal prolapse . Give him some time in the soak and don't feed him any insects or solids tonight.

Will you keep us posted?

[COOCOpUcHoo]

Heather there is good news and bad news (sounds stupid and generic) but the good news is that she pooped out the piece and lunged for the cricket that i was trying to remove. Bad new is that she took in more substrate (moss is unsure because I removed as much as possible) and her anus is pinkish reddish.

[NialR35]

That's why you never use moss unless you feed outside the tank. Well if she gets impacted again just do another honey bath...wait about a week though because she may just pass it.

[COOCOpUcHoo]

I got rid of as much as i could before i bought her and there is still some left i probably did not see.

[DVirginiana]

So, when you say the frog is impacted, you feel a lump in its side?

Also, you say the cloaca is pink/red. That could be just simple irritation, or it could be a very bad thing. A pic as soon as possible! (btw, if the pink/red color disappears before you can get us a pic, it was just irritation).

How big are these pieces of moss you're talking about? I don't recall seeing any large chunks in the setup pics you've posted... ANYTHING can cause impaction if enough of it gets eaten, or the temps are off (affects digestion). Some sensitive frogs can even get impacted from eating normal froggy food items.
If you can't even spot the moss pieces by looking, then they probably aren't large enough to impact the frog. It's just that sphagnum doesn't digest at all, and tends to come in long strings. The little tiny dust-like flecks the break off won't cause a problem if a few of them end up in the bedding accidentally...

My guess is that either the temps are a bit off (or fluctuating too much) or that your frog could just be sensitive. If caught in time, impaction isn't a huge health problem. My Trevor has a neurological issue that seems to affect her digestive tract. She can only eat nightcrawlers, and still needs almost weekly 'preventative' honey soaks. But she's otherwise healthy and fine.

[DVirginiana]

BTW sorry I misread the pink/red thing. What I get for having five reptile forums open at once...

If there's no blood or prolapse, don't freak out. Keep an eye on it, but don't worry too much. Probably just irritation. A pic would still be helpful though.

[COOCOpUcHoo]

So, when you say the frog is impacted, you feel a lump in its side?

Also, you say the cloaca is pink/red. That could be just simple irritation, or it could be a very bad thing. A pic as soon as possible! (btw, if the pink/red color disappears before you can get us a pic, it was just irritation).

How big are these pieces of moss you're talking about? I don't recall seeing any large chunks in the setup pics you've posted... ANYTHING can cause impaction if enough of it gets eaten, or the temps are off (affects digestion). Some sensitive frogs can even get impacted from eating normal froggy food items.
If you can't even spot the moss pieces by looking, then they probably aren't large enough to impact the frog. It's just that sphagnum doesn't digest at all, and tends to come in long strings. The little tiny dust-like flecks the break off won't cause a problem if a few of them end up in the bedding accidentally...

My guess is that either the temps are a bit off (or fluctuating too much) or that your frog could just be sensitive. If caught in time, impaction isn't a huge health problem. My Trevor has a neurological issue that seems to affect her digestive tract. She can only eat nightcrawlers, and still needs almost weekly 'preventative' honey soaks. But she's otherwise healthy and fine.

The piece of moss was around 3/4 of an inch which seems quite large for her size. I used an Exo Terra Forest Moss, it came with two bricks that had to soak in water. Although there is a picture of a pacman frog on it, I do know that doesn't mean it won't impact them. It says it is good for amphibians and there are no dyes or chemicals. It says that it is completely safe for amphibians and burrowing animals. Also it says that it is grown in Asia. Can I trust this moss? Or should I put it down. Also I do not think my temperature changes all that much, I do consider my frog a rescue animal because she was very skinny at the petstore compared to now, so think she just might have some problems from past experience. From past experience, I had two fire bellied toads when I was very young and I kept them both in a ten gallon tank in the basement using this same moss and eco earth mixed. I did not use any lighting, or heating. I was able to keep them for five years before they died, and not once did they get impacted. So how come my Pacman can get so impacted so quick?

[COOCOpUcHoo]

BTW sorry I misread the pink/red thing. What I get for having five reptile forums open at once...

If there's no blood or prolapse, don't freak out. Keep an eye on it, but don't worry too much. Probably just irritation. A pic would still be helpful though.

Actually, I did see some red stuff in her poop, but it looked more solid.

[DVirginiana]

The piece of moss was around 3/4 of an inch which seems quite large for her size. I used an Exo Terra Forest Moss, it came with two bricks that had to soak in water. Although there is a picture of a pacman frog on it, I do know that doesn't mean it won't impact them. It says it is good for amphibians and there are no dyes or chemicals. It says that it is completely safe for amphibians and burrowing animals. Also it says that it is grown in Asia. Can I trust this moss? Or should I put it down. Also I do not think my temperature changes all that much, I do consider my frog a rescue animal because she was very skinny at the petstore compared to now, so think she just might have some problems from past experience. From past experience, I had two fire bellied toads when I was very young and I kept them both in a ten gallon tank in the basement using this same moss and eco earth mixed. I did not use any lighting, or heating. I was able to keep them for five years before they died, and not once did they get impacted. So how come my Pacman can get so impacted so quick?

FBTs are different from pacman frogs. They are semi-aquatic, don't really burrow, and eat in a different way. Also, they typically live 10-15 years so there's a decent chance that something in their setup did cause early death. Not criticizing since it sounds like you were pretty young, just saying that it was probably detrimental to the FBTs in ways you may not have noticed at the time and that you probably shouldn't use that to make decisions about your current frog.

Just use eco-earth. It's the safest substrate as far as impaction goes. Honestly, as long as they can burrow pacs really don't care whether or not there is variety in their substrate. And if you think the frog is eating leftover sphagnum moss and becoming impacted, then clean out his tank and replace the bedding. Or feed him in a separate container.

[Heatheranne]

Do another honey soak, hopefully it will go back in. Remove all of the moss and use Eco earth or paper towels as substrate. The pink/red area may be a partial prolapse, though difficult to tell without a photo. Be sure his crickets are no bigger than the distance between his eyes to minimize impaction.

[Lija]

I'm pretty sure it is because of luck of caffeine but i'm not getting it.
so what is happening right now, did he pass the moss? how the frog is doing?
i would like to see "trouble in the enclosure" questions replied here, would you please do it, so it would be easier to get a pics and advice on possible corrections.
re substrate - it doesn't matter what pictures are on a bag of substrate, the only one suitable is exo earth/plantation soil, and when you expand it make sure you break all the pieces and take whatever bigger stuff you see here, usually bigger pieces on plant matter, but you can find plastic too.
moss is bad! even if you feed outside of the enclosure or only tong feed, a frog will shed and can ingest piece of moss with its shed and may get impacted.

[COOCOpUcHoo]

I will post a picture of her with my trouble in the enclosure post. At the moment she seems to be doing fine, i am taking her to petsmart today to check her up. She did pass up the moss and there was redness around her anus.

[COOCOpUcHoo]

Trouble in the Frog Enclosure

1. Size of enclosure: 11'' high 22'' long 10'' wide
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences: 1.5-2 inches head to butt
3. Humidity: Unknown Sprayed Down 2 times a day
4. Temperature: 80-83 F during the day 72 plus at night
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish: All water is treated with aloe dechlorinator
6. Materials used for substrate: Eco Earth Brick with traces of terrarium forest moss
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials. : Cleaned artificial plants
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source: Crickets Medium and Small
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often) Every other feeding. Dusted with Calcium+d3
10. Lighting: One 13w low bright UVB bulb
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure: Same as above
12. When is the last time he/she ate: Yesterday
13. Have you found poop lately: Not found but in a honey bath
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)

15. How old is the frog: Unknown, very young
16. How long have you owned him/her: About a week
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred: Unknown
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats: Getting Night Crawlers soon
19. How often the frog is handled: Only for cleaning and honey baths
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area: Low
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc): Substrate Will be monthly, Water as needed, Changes as needed.

[DVirginiana]

Why are you taking the frog to PetSmart? The people that work there know next to nothing about the animals and following petstore employee advice has lead to a lot of sick frogs on this forum. Plus the trip will really stress the frog for no reason.

Also, like I said, just go ahead and replace the substrate with eco-earth. When you said you'd gotten all the moss you could see out, I wasn't expecting pieces that large to still be in there. Like Lija said, just shedding will cause him to eat pieces of it.

[COOCOpUcHoo]

At the Petsmart I go to there is a pet hospital, I don't know if it is for dogs or all animals, I won't take her until I am sure.

[DVirginiana]

At the Petsmart I go to there is a pet hospital, I don't know if it is for dogs or all animals, I won't take her until I am sure.

My guess is that it is focused on dogs and cats, but call to make sure. In general when you need to take a reptile or amphibian to a vet, the best bet is to go to an exotics vet. You can just search for ones closest to you on google.

Also, is the frog still impacted, and do you still see any reddish/pink color? If it's not impacted and you don't see any damage why are you taking it to a vet?

[COOCOpUcHoo]

The frog's redness is now totally gone and i do not believe there is any more impaction, i am not taking her to petsmart anymore.