Tapeworms!

[Gnag the nameless]

I'm afraid my old enemy may have returned.

Parasites

A few days ago, whilst inspecting one of my bullfrogs, Bumpy's, feces, I noticed small, white, long rice-like objects. After doing research I've found that these are either Pinworms or Tapeworm segments and/or cricket egg cases, and that Gnag has them in his feces too. Gnag has also developed 2 odd, very small bluiesh spots on his back, which look fungal to me.

I've already gone ahead and given Bumpy a 0.2 milliliter dose of Panacur-C, and I may given him another on Monday. As for Gnag, I'm taking him into the exotic Vet on Monday, for help on the blueish spots. As for the possible causes, if it's tapeworms, since these two are wild-caught it's likely they picked them up as tadpoles, or got them from my cats. If it's pinworms, it's likely they came from the crickets. I've never seen these in Gnag and Bumpy's feces up until now, and I got an abnormally large batch of crickets this week (as in the crickets were huge! Biggest I've ever feed to the pair of them, actually.)

I've also other problems with this scenario. I only have 1 spare 5 gallon for a quarantine tank, and I know that if I place Bumpy in it, he'll become lethargic. So, for now, I'm just going to have to keep his tank clean and make sure he keeps eating. As for Gnag going into quarantine, I don't have a lid for the 5 Gallon so he'd easily jump out

Any advice? And is it possible these things are just cricket egg cases from the big crickets I've been feeding them both? Crossing my fingers it is :cower

[flybyferns]

I'm afraid my old enemy may have returned.

Parasites

A few days ago, whilst inspecting one of my bullfrogs, Bumpy's, feces, I noticed small, white, long rice-like objects. After doing research I've found that these are either Pinworms or Tapeworm segments and/or cricket egg cases, and that Gnag has them in his feces too. Gnag has also developed 2 odd, very small bluiesh spots on his back, which look fungal to me.

I've already gone ahead and given Bumpy a 0.2 milliliter dose of Panacur-C, and I may given him another on Monday. As for Gnag, I'm taking him into the exotic Vet on Monday, for help on the blueish spots. As for the possible causes, if it's tapeworms, since these two are wild-caught it's likely they picked them up as tadpoles, or got them from my cats. If it's pinworms, it's likely they came from the crickets. I've never seen these in Gnag and Bumpy's feces up until now, and I got an abnormally large batch of crickets this week (as in the crickets were huge! Biggest I've ever feed to the pair of them, actually.)

I've also other problems with this scenario. I only have 1 spare 5 gallon for a quarantine tank, and I know that if I place Bumpy in it, he'll become lethargic. So, for now, I'm just going to have to keep his tank clean and make sure he keeps eating. As for Gnag going into quarantine, I don't have a lid for the 5 Gallon so he'd easily jump out

Any advice? And is it possible these things are just cricket egg cases from the big crickets I've been feeding them both? Crossing my fingers it is :cower

Hi Caspian,
You take , such, good care of your frogs ! And you're prepared !!! Good for you !

I guess the best thing to do is to get an additional tank/ lid and 5 gallon lid for Gnag's, of which I'm sure you considered.
You could even get a plastic storage bin in a pinch. Melt a bunch of air holes in the lid.
When you're done it could be used for a 2nd cricket bin, as it's nice to have a clean spare.

What are you going to do with their regular enclosure?
If this turns out to be (+) parasitic infection, it should be sterilized while they are being treated.
The vet may be able to give you something for this, or do the bleach thing and then rinse w/ de-chlorinater in the water.
If the tank is large, I have actually done this in the driveway using the hose !!!!

Fill...add bleach...siphon out....add rinse water..siphon out....repeat fill...add de-chlorinator...let it sit...siphon out - you get the picture. No bugs will be left in there after it sits with bleach water all the way to the rim.

What a pain but best in the long-run.

An additional small, spare quarantine tank will never go to waste !

Please, let me know how things go.

[Gnag the nameless]

Thanks for the advice, Lynn!

The thing is, see, I'm not entirely sure if these rice-shaped things are Tapeworm segments or Cricket Egg cases. I'm ruling out Pinworms because, after a bit more research, it's obvious that this is not Pinworms. I've found several pages of people, after feeding large adult, female crickets to their pets finding egg cases in their feces. I can't be sure without a fecal exam, and I rarely find intact feces from either frog unless I see them (for lack of a better term) poop it out. Otherwise, it gets sucked up by the filter or splashed into little pieces by the feet of either Gnag or Bumpy. Both the frogs are acting fine, Gnag (if you call being aggressive and biting the hand that feeds you fine) as plump as ever, and oddly enough, the spots on Gnag's back have disappeared, or at least I can't see them anymore. Even so, I will take him in if I can spot them again or he begins to act oddly.

I don't think it's a coincidence the week I fed them huge, adult crickets (the biggest crickets I've ever seen or fed to Gnag and Bumpy, actually. They were so big I wasn't sure whether they were Acheta Domesticus) is when I've first spotted these odd shapes in their feces, but either way, we can't be sure without a fecal exam. I probably should have done one for the pair of them on an earlier date but there's no point in thinking about that now.

I'm sorry about all these false alarms I've been having with my frogs (this may have been the third of fourth), but I really hope that all this is is a false alarm, and my frogs enjoying some cricket caviar.

I'll try and get a spare bin, I know I have one around somewhere. Either way I could definitely use it. As for their regular enclosure, since it's on the upper stairs, it's probably not going to move.

As for if it does turn out positive, I'll have to follow your instructions. However, it's going to be difficult moving Gnag's tank, so I may have to find a solution that doesn't require moving it. As for Bumpy's current tank, I can move and clean that, although I may be getting bigger tanks for the both of them in a month or so.

But, for now, the best thing to do is monitor Gnag and Bumpy's activity, check for spots on Gnag's back, and wait for an intact feces so we can do a fecal exam and find out whether I've got the worst parasite a frog can have, or if they're just enjoying some cricket caviar.

[Lija]

.... and that is why i really dislike how some vets are sending meds just in case without actual problem....

Frogs are very sensitive creatures and without indication any meds should never be given!

Caspian you can't rule out anything until fecal exam is done, you can't visually tell whatever that is without an actual test. if your frog has pinworms/roundworms it is pretty nasty and long process to get rid of them, requiring very strict treatment plan and quarantine. it might become nightmare to get rid of them. tapeworms are easy to get rid of unless a frog is a intermediate host. again only vet can confirm that.

i know what kind of crickets that might have been, i've seen them in vancouver stores, jamaican giant crickets, they're bad, have very strong jaws and might very seriously injure a frog.

anyhow, i think you should do a test asap and go from there. good you have exotic vet nearby!

[Gnag the nameless]

I know what you're saying, Lija. That's why I gave Bumpy 3 of the large crickets before the medication, and I gave him a 0.2 Ml dose instead of the proper dosage (0.3 Ml dose), just to be safe. I also monitored him closely for the hours afterward, and he seemed fine to me. He actually came out to get more crickets, which is surprising because after disturbance he typically hides for an hour or so.

The thing is, the only indication my frogs have parasites is the rice-like objects, which do not move, and seem too large for pinworms. Otherwise, they both seem fine, and are acting normally. As for the blueish spots, I'm thinking that that's fungal. But even so, you do have a point, and you're right. I won't rule anything out until the Fecal Exam.

I don't think that these crickets I got were Jamaican Field Crickets (Gryllus Assimilus), I did a bit of research on those guys a few weeks back. They seemed very large for Acheta Domesticus - but I did not see any signs of aggression, nor did they look like Jamaican Field crickets. I even took the test of placing my hand in the cricket bin and waving it around to make sure that they weren't aggressive before feeding them to my frogs. I also placed a small slice of Squash on the Driftwood in both of the tanks, just to be safe.

I've never had a problem with crickets attacking my frogs, simply because Gnag and Bumpy's environments are 80-90% water. Most of the time I'm having trouble keeping the crickets from drowning, let alone attacking Gnag and Bumpy. But, you're right, best to be safe.

[N3XU5]

Do you have any pictures of them?