Red, raw genatilia - I'm incredibly worried! HELP!

[CaitlinAnn]

Thanks I'll have to look into it. I was looking at him again and I just noticed one of his eyes are really red. And one of my snails did die, so I'm sure that added to it. Now I'm getting really really worried.

[CaitlinAnn]

[mpmistr]

Yeah that looks like a bacterial infection but take that diagnosis with a grain of salt since I am not a vet. You may want to pick up Maracyn which can treat bacterial infections, just in case. I would not assume red leg (which is usually fatal, yes) yet because he appears to have an infected eye and cloaca.

Right now top priority is to stabilize the tank and stop it from getting worse. ACF truly do recover from most ailments by just having a proper environment. They are amazingly resilient animals.

[CaitlinAnn]

Thank you! With your help I really am beginning to feel better. I found where the pond snail died and it was gross. Brown sludge and the hard plate (I have no idea what the technical term for that is) are both gone now. So are the mystery snails. I picked up all the plants and decor and mixed up the sand a bit to dislodge any more debris and did about a sixty percent water change. I will definitely pick up some maracyn tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get him better soon.

[mpmistr]

Thank you! With your help I really am beginning to feel better. I found where the pond snail died and it was gross. Brown sludge and the hard plate (I have no idea what the technical term for that is) are both gone now. So are the mystery snails. I picked up all the plants and decor and mixed up the sand a bit to dislodge any more debris and did about a sixty percent water change. I will definitely pick up some maracyn tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get him better soon.

The plate is usually referred to as it's "trap door" since it uses it to enclose itself inside it's shell to avoid predators.

Yup removing the snail and any dead plant matter will help. I saw in your other pictures you had some duckweed in your tank, that is good since those floaters are pretty great at soaking up ammonia. I use duckweed in all my tanks, it's messy but it's a great at keeping stable water chemistry.

I hope your frog recovers fully, let us know how this situation progresses.

[CaitlinAnn]

Thanks I definitely will do. I'm a nurse and my brain is so jumbled with worry right now that I can't even think straight..of course a nurse isn't an exotic pets vet either. I'm just overall freaking out. I just did an chem strip and so far everything looks good except chlorine is a little high which I added more Easy Balance to help fix that. Filter is going at a good clip and so far (I still have 3 minutes) ammonia is reading at zero. I'm wondering if I should get a stress coat as well as maracyn tomorrow when I'm out.

[mpmistr]

Thanks I definitely will do. I'm a nurse and my brain is so jumbled with worry right now that I can't even think straight..of course a nurse isn't an exotic pets vet either. I'm just overall freaking out. I just did an chem strip and so far everything looks good except chlorine is a little high which I added more Easy Balance to help fix that. Filter is going at a good clip and so far (I still have 3 minutes) ammonia is reading at zero. I'm wondering if I should get a stress coat as well as maracyn tomorrow when I'm out.

SeaChem Prime is the only tap water treatment you need. I would pick up a bottle of Prime and Maracyn to keep on standby.

[mpmistr]

Thanks I'll have to look into it. I was looking at him again and I just noticed one of his eyes are really red. And one of my snails did die, so I'm sure that added to it. Now I'm getting really really worried.

Sounds like you've got an ammonia spike. I would replace 50% of the water immediately, remove the dead snail immediately. One of the worst ammonia spike producers are dead apple snails, they decay rapidly, foul the water and overload your bio-filtration. I would do 50% daily water changes and get everything but your frog out of that tank in conjunction with lower water temperatures.

Don't bother messing with the filter cartridge, I don't know if the filter is established but if you are changing the media out frequently it could not be, either way it's better to just let the filter do its work (which is to build a colony of bacteria inside of it that breaks down ammonia and nitrite).

Do daily 50% water changes and see if he gets better, ACF are really good at bouncing back. If stabilizing the environment does not solve the problem you can look into medications but I would hold off on medicating the frog, it's more important to get his water chemistry under control first.