Tongue issue?

[LG89]

Hi I have a juvenile pacman (cranwelli) had him for a few months now in a simple setup with moist paper towel for substrate and a heat mat under a third of the tub hes currently being kept in while hes still small. The temperature and humidity are both fine, hes eating sometimes by himself and sometimes with tongs. Around 2 weeks ago I noticed something wrong with his "mouth"...at first i thought it was a drooping jaw therefore MBD despite the fact that I dust his food with Cal+ D3 and vitamin supplements. To try and help I syringe fed small amounts of liquid calcium after feeding to try and give him a little bit extra...however upon closer inspection it would appear as though his mouth appears to be open due to his tongue being "swollen". Apart from the obvious visual sign he still eats, seems lively and in good health...has anyone came across this as I've struggled to find anything similar after hours of googling. If so does anyone know a potential cause and a treatment as I'm sure it can't be comfortable for him the way it currently is...

Thanks
Luke

PS. Just so you know the pictures are taken of him having a soak not his permanent enclosure.

[GrifTheGreat]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Please answer these questions http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...enclosure.html and post them back here.

[LG89]

1. Size of enclosure -currently in a small tub around 6" x 4" as he didnt seem to eat in the large faunarium I bought for him.
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences - 1
3. Humidity - high 80's
4. Temperature - between 77-80
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish - only has moist paper towel substrate (bottled)
6. Materials used for substrate - moist paper towel
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv. - n/a
8. Main food source - roaches and pinks
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often) - every other feeding
10. Lighting - daylight in a well lit room
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure - heat mat.
12. When is the last time he/she ate - yesterday night, still eating as normal though
13. Have you found poop lately - no poop since last couple of feeds but within the last week..
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
15. How old is the frog - juvenile around 3-4 inches in size so around 6 months
16. How long have you owned him/her 4 months
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred - cb
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats - mainly eats dubias and occasional pink, but has eaten morio worms, wax worms, crickets in the past.
19. How often the frog is handled - more often now since I have been worrying about the issue in question but prior to that only when enclosure needed cleaning.
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area - low traffic
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc) - cleaned each time he defecated as only a small enclosure. water added if necessary in between cleaning.

[Mentat]

Not sure what could cause a swollen tongue, but imagine a parasite or bacteria could do that or some internal organ malfunction. Will wait until Colleen/Jerrod or Lija reply; hopefully they got an answer.

In the meantime, following are general tips, it appears to me the enclosure is a tad small for your frog. At that size (3-4 in.) recommend a square foot area or so with standard shredded coco substrate and a water dish for soaking. Also, the humidity is high (keep between 70-80%) and the temperature could be higher (82-85F daytime with a 5 degree drop at night). Would not do pinkies more than one a month and would add night crawlers to diet. Good luck !

[GrifTheGreat]

Carlos is correct about the surface area for the frog's enclosure.

As for a swollen tongue. That can be caused from the frog biting its own tongue while feeding. If you are offering only crickets then that is only good as a staple, but is not a very nutritious diet even if you use supplements. Night Crawlers are far more nutritious and are easily digested.

If the tongue is swollen then it is possibly infected and would need antibiotic treatments from a Herp Vet. I'm not sure if a few antibiotic baths would treat an oral infection like this.

[Lija]

remove a heat pad under your tank immediately! and stop using all supplements until we'll figure things out.

before advising on anything else i want to clarify a few things :
- diet- you are saying roaches and pinkies- please describe that, how often he is eating roaches and how often pinks
- supplements - what and how exactly are you using?
- maintenance- do you do substrate changes and how often
as well i'd like to see a few more clear pics: frog from a top, from a side and front (eye level)