Dying FB Toadlet - help!

[lmcca996]

Obviously this toadlet is on the way out - if not already. I've had it since it was an egg, and it would have been 3 as of this year. I didn't show any signs of being sick until today. There appears to be some sort of muscular problem. Prior to this state, it was in a large habitat with 4 other adult FBTs. They only ever have distilled water, any cleaning is thoroughly rinsed after using vinegar, have had proper uva uvb and heat lighting, and using herpetitive vitamins dusting wax worms and meal worms. You will also notice that this baby's belly never turned orange. It was my first reproduced group, and I didn't know about feeding them blood worms and crustaceans as tadpoles. As toadlets they lived off of flightless fruit flies that I hadn't used paprika with.

I've made some mistakes as a newbie to baby toadlets - does any know of any good guides for raising them/identifying sicknesses, etc. I've lost many to dropsy and not eating over the years.

... Getting pretty tired of loving and losing these guys :-(

[LilyPad]

Firstly, I'm sorry your baby is sick That is always hard. Are you dusting with both vitamins and calcium? Why wax worms and mealworms? That's not a proper diet. Crickets, dubia roaches, or you could even try worms cut to size. Foods should be no longer than the spaces between their eyes. I'm not sure that is the issue with this little guy, but it's a start. Hopefully someone will pop with ideas on what is going on with him.

[Mentat]

...They only ever have distilled water, ...(

And there lies one of the issues. Distilled water has nothing in it... so ions, salts, minerals; all necessary for proper physiological functions in a frog travel by diffusion out of frog and into the distilled water to try and balance things out. Obviously the frog looses stuff it needs to live and perishes from massive loss of body functions. You can only use distilled water for misting, for the rest use dechlorinated tap. Reading this will help understand water differences and why we recommend only using dechlorinated tap with Seachem Prime or ExoTerra Aquatize: http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...hing-else.html.

If frog is still alive, get some unflavored Pedialyte or similar and prepare a bath mixing 1 part Pedialyte and 5 parts 80F dechlorinated tap. Bath frog to chin depth for 20 min. twice daily and hope it recovers. If you want to provide a full picture, please answer the below questions and good luck !

“Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”

The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.


1. Tank Size and volume of water in it (full, 1/2 filled, etc.)?


2. Number of inhabitants including all frogs and any fish?


3. Water source and any conditioner treatments?


4. Water Temperature and how is it heated (if so)?


5. Water chemistry levels: pH; Ammonia (NH3); Nitrites (NO2); Nitrates (NO3)? Note that if you do not have test kits, most aquariums/pet shops will do complimentary tests if you take a clean water sample.


6. Describe any filter system including model and media?[/COLOR]


7. Substrate type?


8. Tank set-up (plants (live or artificial), driftwood, hide outs and other decor? - How were things prepared prior to being put into the tank?


9. Main frog staple food and any treats? How often you feed?


10. CA, vitamins, and any other additives used (how often)?


11. Lighting set-up and hours it's used?


12. When is the last time frog ate?


13. Have you found poop lately?


14. A picture would be helpful including frog and tank (any including cell phone pics are fine).


15. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.


16. How old is the frog?


17. How long have you owned him/her?


18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred?


19. Any medications in the water (treatment doses and for how long)?


20. Any salt in water (how much)?


21. Is the tank kept in a high or low traffic area?


22. Describe tank maintenance to include water changes, cleaning, media changes, etc.).


By Lynn(flybyferns), GrifTheGreat, and aquatic questions added by Carlos(Mentat)