Help!!

[leannec]

Oh my goodness this is devastating to the point i need to turn to you guys for help! I spent 1 month building a killer paludarium, well it has turned into a killer. My heart is broken. All that hard work and it killed 3 out of my 4 frogs in 2 days!!! After painstaking reasearch I thought I knocked this out of the park.

Materials:
Great foam
100% silicone
Cement (cured and rinsed a zillion times for PH)
Various plants (see picture) store told me they were not poisonous.
Live water plants (grasses)
Seachem florutite substrate
Eco earth
Fluval plant root stuff (maybe it was this)
Frog water conditioner
Krylon fusion spray paint (cured for 2 weeks and lots of people use this for aquarium decor)

They were going crazy and were so so happy. I saw one looking like he was shedding and now I know there was something serious not right. I came home from work today right to my babes like I always do and to my horror 3 were dead!!

For the love of cheese and crackers someone please help me.

Attachment pic of tank. It has to be the plants which I will rip out and throw over my deck.

[Strider18]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry about your frogs Please answer the questions below and highlight them if possible.


“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. Size of enclosure
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
3. Humidity
4. Temperature
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
6. Materials used for substrate
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
10. Lighting
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
12. When is the last time he/she ate
13. Have you found poop lately
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is 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. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
20. How often the frog is handled
21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

by Lynn(Flybyferns) and GrifTheGreat.


0.1.0 Psuedacris regilla

[leannec]

On my tiny phone so I'll do my best here. I am not a new frog keeper, these guys were 4 years old. They are like my children and are very well taken care of. It has to be poison, something is leaching into the water. All I noticed was it looked like one was starting to really badly shed, then I came home and 3 were dead. I took the live one out and put him into a hospital tank. This is my first full on tank build and I did something wrong.

[DigitalPunk]

To the best of my knowledge cement will leech toxins into the water and make it extremely dangerous to amphibians among other things. People who use Cement are usually advised to seal the cement in Drylock type paint to seal it as good as possible.

The cement is the only environmental thing you listed that I see that could have caused this.

I am so sorry for your loss. If you haven't already I would pull the last frog out of the tank.

[Strider18]

She or he(?) already did Paul

0.1.0 Psuedacris regilla

[leannec]

Thank you for the reply. It is very appreciated. Out of all the videos and how to's I watched only one had mentioned dry lock. I did try to buy it at home depot and they told me they don't sell it in canada! U used self bonding concrete and sifted out all the fiberglass threads. I did let it sit for 2 weeks and rinsed for hours in a running shower, then changed the water 6 additional times before planting and letting my frogs go to their new home. I guess I am going to have to make a trip down over the border and find a safe sealing agent. I found it bizarre that in rainy Vancouver, BC I couldn't find a waterproofing sealant!

I have removed the 4th frog and have him in an emergency tank to recover. I really hope he makes it through the night or I will feel worse then I do now.. Which will be pretty hard!

[deranged chipmunk]

I don't believe a sealing agent will help. The curing process need to complete itself. Normally, concrete takes about 6 weeks of rinsing and constant water changes before the ph stabilizes. What is the current ph of the water? My guess would be somewhere in the 8.2 range.
Another issue could be due to using self bonding concrete. That has a lot of nasty binding agents in it that could have leeched out into the water column.

All these are reasons why I always recommend against concrete backgrounds. Unsanded grout is a much safer alternative.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[leannec]

I ripped the concrete block out of the tank.. I am going to back to plexiglass and hydroballs. The internet is our most powerful tool to date for research yet this time it lead me astray. For it to be that powerfully poisonous in such a short time, I just don't know how so many other people were successful. Lesson learned... Lesson learned.

[s6t6nic6l]

I ripped the concrete block out of the tank .. I am going to back to plexiglass and hydroballs. The internet is our most powerful tool to date for research yet this time it lead me astray. For it to be that powerfully poisonous in such a short time, I just don't know how so many other people were successful. Lesson learned... Lesson learned.

what a shame you have done this as that was a nice setup you had there for the fire-bellies. I use pond paint on my foam covered projects:



I just wait for it to dry thoroughly then everything gets thrown in. plants, algae and the toads(OFBT's) thrive with no issues whatsoever.

[leannec]

I will be on a new mission to find pond paint! Thank you very much.

[Tongue Flicker]

It was indeed a nice viv, too bad. Sorry for your loss

[leannec]

Now my 4th toad is dead. I tried to save my 50$ of live plants. I rinsed the substrate and plants for a good long time. He was fine this morning, then poof dead by the time I got home. Currently grabbing any left over crickets and they are going in the toilet.. Grr. So dumb!! I quit.