Damaged Frogs

[frogmom17]

My Daughter is 16 and determined to save the world, or at least all of the creatures in it. we were in Petsmart and she over heard the employee talking about 2 frogs that had just come back from the vet. After begging me and making my daughter fully understand that this is most likely a hospice situation we ended up bringing the frogs home. it seems these 2 frogs were "damaged in transit" they have not eaten in around 2 weeks. one just sprawls out in the tank like jesus on the cross the other only turns in circles. sometimes they flop on there backs and just lay in the deeper end of there tank. i put a cricket in the tank and they turned and moved but didnt eat. I tried holding it in front of them with tweezers no luck there. pet store lady said mash the crickets into a paste and force feed.. OK HOW IN THE NAME OF ST SWITHEN DO YOU FORCE FEED A FROG???? How long can they go without food? and does anyone have Any idea how long i have before im no longer a froggie nursing home?

[MsBlueRose]

It sounds like one may have brain damage, the one that turns in circles. If you do manage to force feed him, you will likely have to do it for the rest of his life. The one that just lays there does not sound like he is gonna make it very long at all. I had to force feed my frog once, it is not an easy task. Do you have a medicine dispenser, like the ones they give you at the pharmacy for a baby's meds? It is a tube with a plastic plunger and some times has a rubber covered end to make it slide easier. Anyway, if you have one of these it will be easier to force feed them. Mask up the crickets very well, almost liquid, and fill the tube up with the cricket paste. You will have to likely have your daughter help you open the frogs mouth, and they will fight it. Make sure you have a firm grip on the frog, don't let it wiggle out of your hands but don't squish the little guy either. To do this gently wedge a smooth thin object between the top and bottom jaw. You can use a tooth pick or anything similar. After you get the frogs mouth open, quickly insert the feeding tube into the frogs mouth and squeeze about a crickets worth of food into his mouth. You will have to let him close his mouth to swallow and then you have to do it all over again. It is not fun or easy, but when you love your pets enough, you are willing to do anything to save them. I am sorry for your troubles and I wish you the best of luck with your injured frogs. Let your daughter read this as well so she can help you to take care of the little guys. Best Wishes; MsBlueRose.

[frogmom17]

Thanks for the post. Both frogs have now seriously darkened in color. Is that a good thing? one was a very pale gold color at first hence the name Goldy the one withh brain damage is now called curly.. My daughter put 2 crickets in the tank and fell asleep waiting to see if they ate. next morning no crickets in tank dont know if they wriggled out from under the cover or if the frogs finally ate. ill clean their tank this evening maybe ill figure out where those crickets are. also, one of the pet store ladies told my daughter that they could live up to a year without food. i find this ridiculous but is there any truth to that?

[MsBlueRose]

Darkening in color can mean several things. Either they are changing color because of the temperature change, or back ground, or humidity; or it could mean that they are ready to die. When a frog is sick or injured it will often times change color and become very dark. It may lose it's patterns and markings all together. I had this happen to two of my Grey Tree Frogs a few years ago. Do you know what kind of frogs you got from the pet store. It does not sound like they are water frogs, since u said the crickets were walking around in the cage? And also, crickets are very good at hiding. If the frogs did not eat them, they will instinctively find a place to hide so they do not become lunch later on. I would advise raising the heat just slightly for the frogs, the extra warmth will help them heal since they are cold blooded creatures. Make sure the frogs are soaking too, if they are not going into the water on their own try and place them at the edge of the bowl so they are positioned half in and half out of the water. Watch to make sure they don't fall in and drown, even frogs can drown. But they must soak. You can also mist them a few times a day with pure spring water. Always use spring water, tap water has race metals and chlorine in it and will eventually kill even a healthy frog. I hope this helps! Good lucky with the babies, I do hope they ate the crickets?!

[MsBlueRose]

Oh and by the way; if possible, can you please post some pics of the frogs and the information you gathered from the pets store about the vet visit and injuries (how the were received, if possible). I know I can assist you better if I have all the information. Thank you for your time. I hope the little guys are doing at least a little better?!

Sincerely;
MsBlueRose

[crazy]

OK HOW IN THE NAME OF ST SWITHEN DO YOU FORCE FEED A FROG????

Lol. Thats a good one. But yes as MsBlueRose stated force feeding a frog is difficult.

[MsBlueRose]

How are the little guys doing? I hope you have had at least some success with them getting better?! I can't stop thinking about those little guys...