Ill Leopard frog; PLEASE help!

[Heatheranne]

Hi Lovino,

A quarantine or hospital tank can be either a tank or tub. Be sure to have plenty of vent/air holes.

Use non-printed paper towels as flooring and change them every day. Have a smooth edges water dish and fill it with dechlorinated water. Rinse the bowl in very hot water daily, allow to cool, and add new dechlorinated water daily.

Mist the tank twice a day with spring water or dechlorinated water.

You can apply Original Neosporin to the wounds daily with a Qtip. Avoid the types with pain killers - they are toxic to frogs. Use a new Qtip each day.

Diluted 50% Silver sulfadiazine cream works much better. It is a prescribed medication though. It can treat both bacteria and fungus.

Continue to offer food daily. Continue to use calcium with vitamin D3 and multivitamin amphibian powdered supplements. Ca/D3 every other day and MVI once daily, not on the same day as the calcium/D3. Lightly dust the crickets with the shake-and-bake method.

The goal is to keep his housing as clean as possible to avoid further infection.

He should stay in the hospital tank until completely healed. If he's not fond of the tub, a ten gallon tank with a screened lid works nicely. Cover the back and 2 sides of the tank with a nice background to help him feel safe and less stressed.

Stress can weaken their immune systems, so try and minimize the noise and handling to the minimum needed to care for him.

If the wounds do not start improving or if they worsen, he'll need vet prescribed treatment. If you are in the USA there is a vet here who will send medications via mail. You have to send an email stating the situation with photos. He does not charge a vet fee, just meds and shipping. If you'd like his contact information, please let me know.

The salt soaks... Only use aquarium salt. Use a very small amount. Frogs absorb up to 4 times more than fish. They are like sponges. Fish have scales. Quite a bit different. Only do the soak once for now. Too high of salt level can cause electrolyte imbalance, kidney problems and shock. It is better to do a few spaced dilute soaks than it is a heavy soak.

My best recommendation is to get some SSD cream from the vet. I would actually email the vet I mentioned and seek his opinion. It's free advice. Whether you choose to buy anything is up to you. You can mention to him your funds are limited and he may have other options. Your frog may need systemic antibiotics. SSD cream is only a topical treatment.

It has been my experience here with others seeking help that they wait to long for treatment and it becomes too late. Best to at least have a vet assess him. Then go from there.

The frequent shedding is a sign of illness.

I will check back tomorrow. Hope he does well overnight for you.