Missing Claws and red toes!!

[TimRock733]

Not really sure if there is already a thread for this, but I'm new here so please excuse me lol. I have an African Clawed Frog (i think), and have had him for 21 years. I just noticed today while cleaning his tank that his inner claws on both rear feet are missing and red (see images). I am very concerned and was looking for some advice and known causes of this. I read that these wounds should heal themselves. Any suggestions??


Also, I attached a picture of his tank set up. Just recently put him in this set up and just bought the filter two days ago (hence why I cleaned the tank today). Is this filter ok for him?? It's one of the waterfall types for a 10 gallon tank, which is what his is. He seems kind of freaked out by it, but I think it's cause it's new to him. Any comments are appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Tim. Don't see anything there that could hurt frog; although if filter freaks out the frog anything could happen while you are not looking. Wow, 21 years is a long time, congrats !

Red injuries can represent an infection. Recommend treat with Melafix (fish natural antibacterial) mixed according to bottle label directions for 7 days or until frog extremities are healed.

ACF can get stressed by strong currents and noises. Raising water level can help reduce filter waterfall effect. Just make sure tank is covered so frog does not get out.

Gravel is an impaction hazard; guess your frog knows better than to eat it after 20 years in similar set-ups. Good luck !

[TimRock733]

Haha thank you, sir. I actually raised him from a little tad pole (hence his name, Tad....I know, I know. Original...but I named him when I was 5, cut me some slack lol). But I just put the filter in. Meaning I took him out of the tank, then noticed his feet, cleaned his tank out, and then put the filter in. However, the toe that's red looks like it's pretty much already healing, so it must have happened a while ago. The other foot still looks a little fleshy, and almost like it's bare bone. I've never used any kind of water additives for him, not even for the tap water because I never knew I was supposed to when I was younger, and I didn't want to change it after so many years. But apparently I've done something right all these years. I've always been very wary about putting stuff in, so can I trust this antibiotic stuff?? Also, the reason I put the filter up so high is so he didn't jump up on it. He is a lunatic at times lol

[TimRock733]

Also, as a side note, the past like two weeks he has been what looks like shedding. I have never seen that happen before in the 20+ years of having him, but he seemed like normal to me, so I didn't think anything of it. I just kept an eye on him. I don't know if that is relevant at all, but it can't hurt to mention

[CJP32]

Maybe a sponge filter would be a better option for him. You should be able to find ones that will fit in the water and I would think it wouldn't bother him as much. I've used a filter sponge or even some bio balls on the output of my HOB filters to quite the water fall and break up the current. Basically it just gives the water something to flow down to the water level on. Kind of like a water chain for your gutters. If you want I can take a pic if it would help.

I'm still pretty new to the ACF so I really can't help with the injuries much.

[SwimminSteve]

Please answer the Trouble in the Enclosure questions so that we have all the background info.

Those are some pretty significant injuries. He isn't just missing claws he is missing entire toes. Do you know how this happened? You say you just moved him into this setup. What was he in before? Did you use a net to transfer him?

There feet (especially the webbing) is very delicate and can be damaged by handling or by sharp edges in the tank. Can you post a recent photo of the feet? I don't want to recommend antibiotics unless there are signs of infection. It's tough to tell from the photos you posted.

You need to fill his tank the rest of the way. That will greatly reduce the water disturbance from the output of the filter and will give him a lot more swimming room. As long as you have a cover on the tank there is no reason to limit the amount of water.

What do you feed him? Have you always had gravel on the bottom? We recommend bare or sand-bottom tanks since gravel is a risk of impaction if the frog mistakes a rock for a piece of sinking food. But if you've had success with gravel for 21 years I'm not about to tell you to remove it.

Do you keep the hood light on the tank? Did he always have a light? These frogs come from murky wetland habitats and aren't accustomed to such bright conditions. This kind of lighting causes a lot of stress. Either keep the light off or add some large artificial plants (floating or anchored) to provide shade.

[TimRock733]

I didn't exactly just move him into that setup, it was probably 3 months ago (so fairly recent). He has only been in a filtered tank for a little over a year now, the first 19 years I just changed his water weekly, sometimes bi-weekly. The injuries definitely happened within the past couple weeks. The setup he was in before was pretty much identical, just smaller.

I had a box filter in there since I moved him in to this setup, but it crapped out on me and I didn't get the waterfall filter until probably about a week after the box filter died. So he was without a filter for a week (but like I said earlier, he was without one for 19+ years). When I got the new filter I changed and cleaned out the tank, but before I did so I noticed the feet. So it definitely wasn't when transferring him in and out of the tank.

I have always used gravel and the gravel I use is quite a bit larger than his mouth, so I'm not concerned about that. The bamboo looking tree things I have in the tank are a little rough so I'm thinking I should take those out. The hood does have a light, but I only put it on when I feed him (so many 5 min a day, tops). I've been feeding him ReptoMin floating food sticks for his entire life.

He won't stay still long enough for me to get a good picture, but his feet actually seem to be healing up. The redness is gone and they look like the skin has grown back over them. I did raise the water level a bit and put the filter lower down so there is only like an inch for the water to fall. Even before I did so he seemed to have gotten used to it. He was a bit skittish the first day, but he got over it quick. I heard they can regenerate toes kind of like lizards with tails, don't know how true that is. I bought anti-biotics just in case, but didn't bother to use them since he looks like he's doing better.....I'm just really puzzled as to what happened.

[CJP32]

I'm glad to hear he's doing better. Hopefully he will be good as new before long.

My experience with these frogs goes back over 6 months so I'm a real expert. That said, in my experience people make a bigger deal out of the filter noise than it seems to be. I have 4 ACFs in a 55 gallon tank along with a Fluval 406, an Aqua-tec 30-60 hob and a generic sponge filter. They don't seem to notice the noise or water flow at all. I have made some adjustments to limit the noise and flow but it's still there.