female frogs in captivity

[herpdoc]

I've been keeping a few southern leopards I rescued from a friends' unkempt pool and the mixture includes some males and females. One of the large adult females who was clearly full of eggs had died all of a sudden. The tank is well maintained and the frogs were not in any stress, she had no signs of systemic illness including edema, "red leg"/micro hemorrhage, just decreased appetite and then lethargy and floppy tone and then death. This brings me to my questions. Is it possible for female frogs to die if they do not discharge their eggs. If she just died of old age, is there anyway to tell how old a frog is/do they show signs of aging? Thanks

[Mentat]

Hello, welcome to FF and sorry for your frog's death . Don't think the eggs where cause of death. Probably it was related to symptoms you described (edema, etc.). Do keep close observation for similar signs in other frogs. In order to try and narrow down the cause; please answer the following questionnaire to help us get a complete picture. Thank you !

“Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”
The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.


1. Tank Size and volume of water in it (full, 1/2 filled, etc.)?

2. Number of inhabitants including all frogs and any fish?

3. Water source and any conditioner treatments?

4. Water Temperature and how is it heated (if so)?

5. Water chemistry levels: pH; Ammonia (NH3); Nitrites (NO2); Nitrates (NO3)? Note that if you do not have test kits, most aquariums/pet shops will do complimentary tests if you take a clean water sample.

6. Describe any filter system including model and media?[/COLOR]

7. Substrate type?

8. Tank set-up (plants (live or artificial), driftwood, hide outs and other decor? - How were things prepared prior to being put into the tank?

9. Main frog staple food and any treats? How often you feed?

10. CA, vitamins, and any other additives used (how often)?

11. Lighting set-up and hours it's used?

12. When is the last time frog ate?

13. Have you found poop lately?

14. A picture would be helpful including frog and tank (any including cell phone pics are fine).

15. How old is the frog?

16. How long have you owned him/her?

17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred?

18. Any medications in the water (treatment dosis and for how long)?

19. Any salt in water (how much)?

20. Is the tank kept in a high or low traffic area?

21. Describe tank maintenance to include water changes, cleaning, media changes, etc.).


By Lynn(flybyferns), GrifTheGreat, and aquatic questions added by Carlos(Mentat)

[herpdoc]

thanks for the reply...after searching around i figured someone would post this. yea the funny is it was not edematous, have any "red leg" symptoms. it was perfectly healthy appearing the day before but just stopped eating the next day, became lethargic and hypotonic and died.


1. Tank Size and volume of water in it (full, 1/2 filled, etc.)
30 gallon long, half filled with water to a depth of 3 inches, enough for the filter to run.

2. Number of inhabitants including all frogs and any fish?
2 adult leopard frogs, no fish.

3. Water source and any conditioner treatments?
Water is treated with reptisafe dechlorinator with calcium

4. Water Temperature and how is it heated (if so)?
75-78oF, room temp

5. Water chemistry levels: pH; Ammonia (NH3); Nitrites (NO2); Nitrates (NO3)? Note that if you do not have test kits, most aquariums/pet shops will do complimentary tests if you take a clean water sample.
haven't measured this in a while and dont have a kit but the tank is loaded with aquatic plants that would help with this; water is also changed 1/3 volume weekly

6. Describe any filter system including model and media?[/COLOR]
30 gallon turtle filter

7. Substrate type?
gravel and rocks

8. Tank set-up (plants (live or artificial), driftwood, hide outs and other decor? - How were things prepared prior to being put into the tank?
java moss (lots), crytocoryne. "artifical mushroom ledge)

9. Main frog staple food and any treats? How often you feed?
red wriggler worms and crickets, feed every other day

10. CA, vitamins, and any other additives used (how often)?
CA powdering

11. Lighting set-up and hours it's used?
low wat UVAB light, 8hrs 5 days a week

12. When is the last time frog ate?
day before death

13. Have you found poop lately?
yes

14. A picture would be helpful including frog and tank (any including cell phone pics are fine).
don't have a camera and my phone is a clam shell

15. How old is the frog?
unsure, large adult for the species

16. How long have you owned him/her?
8 mo

17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred?
wild

18. Any medications in the water (treatment dosis and for how long)?
none

19. Any salt in water (how much)?
none

20. Is the tank kept in a high or low traffic area?
low traffic, minimal stress

21. Describe tank maintenance to include water changes, cleaning, media changes, etc.).
weekly 1/3 water changes (i think anything more frequent would cause the plants to die), stools sucked up daily (obv i miss a few)

[Psychotic]

Frogs can die from being egg bound. However it's pretty rare. They generally reabsorb them if not laid with no problem.

[Mentat]

Leopard frogs can live close to 10 years, so unless you captured an old female, something shortened her life. Since we don't know the water chemical status, can't comment on that. Water changes are good, would not replace all the filter's media at same time because doing so will create a mini cycle. Only other thing noted is that from description, your tank is all water set-up and most care articles recommend 1/4 of tank with substrate (3-4 in. of shredded coco) for frog to burrow if desired.

Appears only thing left to do is observe the others for any similar signs, and take frog(s) to veterinary with frog amphib/reptile experience ASAP if those symptoms recur. Good luck !