Poor Vixen is IMPACTED!!

[scm133]

He was doing so well!! Eating an average of 4 small crickets daily, gaining weight, and then bam...
Three days ago, I realized that it had been since 12/27 since a poop. Checked his side, and sure enough...a hard mass.
I started the honey bath (just once), and now very day he gets a warm soak for 20 mins. Today, I saw him struggle, and pass a 1/4" poop. He stopped eating two days ago.
He is in a 10 gallon tank; substrate eco-earth moist. All water is treated. Temps are 82, and humidity 80% 24/7. I have been reading everything on this forum about impaction. I even did the gentle massage. Wish us luck!! Any other advice is welcomed.

[danfrog]

Keep with the daily soaks for a couple days. Buy some unflavored pedialyte and prep a bath of 1 part pedialyte to 10 parts dechlorinated water. Soak for twenty minutes, then give a rinse bath for twenty minutes. Water temp should be eighty degrees.

[scm133]

Thanks! I am heading to the store now, for the unflavored pedialyte. I will increase the soaking time (total 40 mins) like you suggested with the Pedialyte and rinse bath. It is so pitiful to watch them strain.

[GrifTheGreat]

To clearify Dan's medicated soak. Its 1 ounce unflavored pedialyte for every 10 ounces of 80° dechlorinated water. The bath should be no deeper than up to the frog's chin. You can add a 3 drops of honey to the bath to help reduce swelling in the cloaca and assist with having a bowel movement. You can also massage the mass in very gentle small circles to stimulate Vixen to go.

[scm133]

To clearify Dan's medicated soak. Its 1 ounce unflavored pedialyte for every 10 ounces of 80° dechlorinated water. The bath should be no deeper than up to the frog's chin. You can add a 3 drops of honey to the bath to help reduce swelling in the cloaca and assist with having a bowel movement. You can also massage the mass in very gentle small circles to stimulate Vixen to go.

Thanks!! Can I do this twice daily, or would that be more stressful?

[GrifTheGreat]

Thanks!! Can I do this twice daily, or would that be more stressful?

Once per day, but after the baths when you place Vixen home just place him/her in his/her water dish.

[scm133]

We did the Pedialyte/Honey bath for 20 mins, and the the rinse bath for 20 mins. Put him back in his water bowl in his tank. No poop, but he was trying. He did eat one cricket last night. I massaged the right side. It has such a hard mass. I do hope this will pass, soon. Poor guy!!

[danfrog]

Did you go treasure hunting in the substrate yet?

[scm133]

Did you go treasure hunting in the substrate yet?

Yes, nothing.

[danfrog]

Kk. Keep with the baths for a few more days. Keep checking the substrate too. If the baths dont work there is another thing you can do, but its kinda last resort.

[scm133]

SUCCESS!!! We have poop!! I can't believe that I am this excited over poop....it is almost embaraassing.
Tonight we did out soak, and then I put him in his water bowl. He pushed, and strained...but finally!
Huge, and looked like mostly his substrate with cricket parts. There is still a small hard lump on the right side, but nothing like it was.

[danfrog]

Good news! You can start tong feeding to reduce the levels of substrate he takes in.

[scm133]

Good news! You can start tong feeding to reduce the levels of substrate he takes in.

Definitely tong feeding!! Thanks for all your help!!

[scm133]

Tonight, I went ahead, and did another short warm bath....massive poop. I think that is the last of the impaction. Such a change. Vixen was very active tonight. Ignored my tong feeding with a night crawler. He actually turned his back to the worm. However, he devoured five small dusted crickets.

[danfrog]

Keep with the tong training! Also if you haven't found poop in the enclosure during the week go ahead and do a regular dechlorinated water soak at 80 degrees. I always did my soaks on Sundays. I also got a hand held laser temp gun to make sure water temps were spot on for the soaks.

[danfrog]

I started tong training with crickets. Grab a cricket from a back leg with the tongs. The crickets squirming helps trigger a feeding reaction. Then once my frog was eating crickets from tongs I switched to nightcrawlers chunks. Too easy. Ill post a YouTube link.

[danfrog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e5W...e_gdata_player

[DesertHeat]

Great video Dan. Gingerbread had some terrible aim lol! Super cute.

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[danfrog]

Thats when he was first learning tongs. He went through a terrible impaction and almost died. I ended up injecting a worm with mineral oil several times to clear it up.