WORRIED My milk frog has what looks like a blister

[goldwaffles]

A few days ago I noticed that my milk frog has what looked like a slightly swollen area on his lower back. I checked him yesterday and the bump had gotten considerably bigger and today it has turned dark blue in color. I am wondering if someone could give me an idea of what is going on. I have scoured the web trying to find out something but I have not been successful. I know I should take him to the vet but for several reasons I am not. I feel that it is a blister or something and maybe it should be punctured and drained because it sees to be full of fluid. He doesn't seem to mind me touching it.He is in a 280gal tank with a waterfall and a misting system. He is housed with 3 green anoles, a copes tree frog, a painted chabby, several normal green trees, and a vietnamese blue tree frog.

[goldwaffles]

[flybyferns]

Hello again Ashley,
Yes, you are right; you have a good reason to worry. Your milk frog needs vet asap.

This is one, very, odd looking blister ! The color confuses me.
It could be a foreign body ? ( splinter) are there any fake plants in the enclosure?
This little guy could have been bitten by one of the anoles

I have a few questions:
Burn ? are there any 'heat elements' he could have been near?
Did you apply any medication?
Have you found / had any kind of insect the tank?
What do you feed the anoles?
Do you see anything moving around under the skin ( in the blister)?

He needs to be moved into a sterilized hospital/enclosure.
Do not break the blister, let the vet do it.
He will need a topical or systemic antibiotic.

We really want to help you. Soooo, I will be as blunt as possible.
Every species you are housing in your enclosure should be separated!
It as simple as that…… NO matter who told you otherwise!
I know it's a large tank, but unfortunately that does not solve the problems that will continue to occur , especially for the frogs.
Sadly, sometimes you can get really bad advice. I'm sorry.
Shame on who ever has misled you.

At the very least, start by separating the frogs from the anoles for now, until you can house them all separately.

You will have the advantage of getting advice from many very experienced members here on FF that have many, many different species of frogs.

Brace yourself for a barrage of responses regarding never mixing species.
Please use this ( your thread) to keep all of us posted moving forward.
We are here to help

If you do a simple" Frog Forum" search or google search on the topic of mixing species you will able to understand the reasons this is never a good idea. This topic has been discussed over and over for decades.

Best, Lynn

[goldwaffles]

Thank you for replying. No the plants are all real, however i do have one trunk it there that does have sharp edges. I purchased the tank already setup from a friend who had anoles and fire belly toads. I removed the toads and started putting frogs in it. My milk frog has his favorite perch in the tank really close to the light, but he cant touch it. I do not use heat cords or pads or rocks in the tank.
I applied original neosporin to the affected area yesterday when I saw him in the morning because the blister had popped and blue stuff was coming out. I put it on with a q-tip so I wouldnt stress him out. He did not react like i was hurting or bothering him. This morning the swelling is almost completely gone and he seems his normal self. I did not see any obstruction in the skin or worms or anything just swelling and the blue stuff coming out. I thought maybe it was a backed up pore from the poison or something?
Everyone in the tank gets 3/4in and 1/4in crickets. They never seemed interested in the dubia roaches so i dont feed those and sometimes i toss in some mealworms.
The only weird thing I have noticed about the tank are these tiny little centipedes are showing up...i dont know if maybe one bite him.
I've never had a problem with fighting or biting in my tank between the different species and never had a health problem until now.

[goldwaffles]

UPDATE_ I did some searching around and the bugs in the tank are little millipedes. I also went in and put more neosporin on the milk.
on these pictures there is one to show the blister as it was draining. then one i just took and the swelling is almost all gone and then one of a q-tip swipe showing the blue stuff thats been coming out.
popped and leaking blue liquid
blue liquid sample
after the blister popped and the swelling is almost gone

[flybyferns]

As previously mentioned.
This little frog needs a vet as soon as possible.

[Heatheranne]

Oh no!

Yes, this little one has an infection of some sort. Not knowing the cause worries me even more . Your tank needs to be cleaned out. Get the millipedes out. I would change all of your substrate and before adding new, I'd wipe it down with hit water and only use paper towels until he heals.

Honestly, I would take him out and make him a hospital tank. Clean tank, paper towel on floor misted with dechlorinated water. Shallow water bowl with dechlorinated water, water bowl rinsed with hot water every day, cooled and new water added. This is to minimize spreading any bacteria.

The wound needs vet care and he needs a culture of the fluid done. This is obtained by a vet. The wound needs the proper antibiotic depending on what the culture grows.

It's really important not to delay getting him the care he needs, or this could end up to be fatal for him. I have never seen a blue abscess before. I've seen some bright green pseudomonas abscesses. Either way, not good. He definitely needs treatment or I'm fairly certain he could die. Sorry, I don't wish to scare you, but a vet can help.

Another concern... You don't want to contaminate the tank, other frogs, or anything else living in the tank. He really needs moved to the hospital tank.

Continue the original neosporin daily with a qtip until you can contact a vet on Monday. It might not be the right antibiotic and it is only topical, but at least it's something. He will need systemic antibiotics if its infected.

Is he eating? Pooping?

The mixing of species... A saved a frog from living with geckos, from a local pet store. He is still alive today. He ended up with scratches and abscesses on his back when competing we food (we suspect). It is highly frowned upon to mix species and this is why. It is inevitable that something in the tank will become sick, injured, poisoned, killed, stressed (which also leads to illness), etc. In nature they can move to another location away from other species. In a tank they are prisoners to the other animals, whether it be dangerous or not. If you like more than one species, do like we do and have a few tanks. You can still enjoy them, and keep them healthy. Another factor is the temps and humidity...too many different requirements with all of those species. I've had anoles and they can be territorial even with their own species. Anyway, just letting you know. It is your decision. Make it a good one. Give the animals a happy stress free home they can enjoy .

Please keep us updated. I hope he heals well. We will continue to help you as much as we can.

[Heatheranne]

How's your frog doing today?

[goldwaffles]

SO SORRY FOR NOT REPLYING SOONER! I assumed I would get an email if someone replied to the post.

Update: He is doing wonderful. I made sure to put the neosporin on him twice a day til it healed. He is the same ol milkie as he always is. I left him in the tank simply because with my experiences with saltwater reef fish, when they are sick sometimes it harms them more to move them then to leave them in their home. Especially when no direct threat is seen when leaving them with everyone else. But I do appreciate all the posts and im sorry I did not respond to you sooner.
He just has a little Booty Dimple now, but maybe it will close up soon, still keeping it cleaned.

[flybyferns]

Hi,
If there is still any open/or broken skin, continue the neo until it is completely closed.
Use it until the skin looks normal.