WC Grey Tree Frog - parasites (worms) in stool, ID possible?

[wodesorel]

I'm still going to follow up tomorrow with my vet about this to be sure, but after hours of searching online I think I finally figured out what they are - undigested cricket eggs. She had four adult female crickets for dinner last night. Seems like it's pretty common in herps for them to pass straight through intact! It looks like no parasite would end up being this big and in such large numbers, and given it was extremely fresh when found and there was no movement of the segments whatsoever the egg idea fits. Phew.

And yes, she's staying for sure. She wasn't asked for and it was bad timing, but she's grown on me and I really enjoy having her around. I have to be careful when feeding her as she doesn't even wait now and will grab food right from my fingers! Never thought a wild frog would ever be that comfortable.

[kueluck]

Such GREAT info. I'm keeping this post for future reference.

[Mentat]

Cricket eggs... evil looking things ! Please let us know what your vet finds. Myself would do a fecal and also test for Chytrid any wild caught frog. Good luck !

[Mentat]

Was just wondering while doing dishes; if those cricket eggs are still viable? If so; are frogs helping crickets spread out or maybe repopulate after a harsh Winter? Do frogs in the wild empty their whole digestive system prior to Winter or could some cricket eggs survive inside the frog? Oh, my wild scientific mind !

[StickyFrogfeet]

Yeah for some strange reason frogs cant digest crickets eggs either.I thought my frog had parasites too until I found out that frogs couldnt digest them.yeah..thats interesting i wonder if they would still survive and hatch.

[wodesorel]

So, he calls me completely confused and goes - "they're definitely hard egg cases, but there is no way a parasite large enough to make eggs that big could take up residence inside a tiny little frog." So I ask if they look like cricket eggs and he had a total eureka moment! So yep, cricket eggs. Phew. They totally looked like tapeworm segments, so I was still freaking out a bit. (My history is with cat rescue and shelters.)

Now that we know it's not an emergency (he was doing this for me even though he had a billion other things going on right now), we can take some time for him to research deworming protocols in frogs and go from there. So she will be properly treated within the next week or so!

[Gnag the nameless]

So I'm not the only one who's had this scare before I got that with both my American Bullfrogs (Rana Catesbeiana) a few months back, I was so scared that they had Tapeworms or worse, and since they're both W/C it seemed so likely to me. But after close examination of the 'tapeworm segments', a ton of research, and the rather unpleasant dissection of a large, drowned female Cricket (Both of my Bullfrogs' tanks are compromised of over 75% water with little land area), I found out they were cricket eggs. Such a relief !

Just as a sidenote for anyone curious as to what kind of cricket you'll find the eggs in, typically you'll find Cricket Eggs in feces if you feed larger, 4-6 week old crickets, specifically the large, plump females typically around an inch or longer, so finding Cricket Eggs will be very common if you've got frogs with big appetites!