So here is the story from the beginning.

I work at a pet shop, on June 1st, 2014 a small tomato frog was shipped to us, he was about the size of a quarter, I found an image online of the size he was when he came in: http://www.frogforum.net/attachments...ies062912a.jpg
Due to a shipping order error we had recently received too many reptiles to house all occupants in separate reptile showcases, so he was placed inside a case, inside a small critter keeper (9" L x 6" W x 6.5” H) http://petca.imageg.net/PETNA_36/pim...n_t300x300.jpg with a repti rock water dish, a fake plastic plant, and an inch of coconut fiber substrate.

Nearing the end of July, due to over misting, the coconut fiber had turned to mud, and he was switched to repti bark, we were then advised to stop misting him. Shortly thereafter I noticed that his upper eyelids and around his nostrils had started to bubble and go milky grey, they also appeared to start receding, which I noted and brought to the attention of management. After a week nothing had been done, so I took him out and showed his condition to a manager. Upon seeing him I was told I could have him if I wanted to take care of him, and I immediately took up the offer and brought him home that day.

Now, I am a first time frog owner, aside from the wild ones I used to catch when I was younger, this is ALL new to me, feeding, lighting, temperature, vitamin/mineral supplementation, water conditioning, handling, terrarium set up/placement, and his problems. I’ve read through postings on this forum, magazine articles, and care guides, but there are too many differing opinions. What do I actually need to do to make sure he is happy/healthy? I worry I will make a mistake that will end up harming him and just wish to do the best I can for the little guy. <3

I also hand feed him, and I’m pretty sure he looks forward to it. Every time I come close to the terrarium now, he blinks, turns to look at me, and waits for me to offer him crickets. Sometimes he even gets over-enthusiastic and will shoot his tongue out b4 I even put my hand in to offer him a cricket, he has never once refused a cricket offered to him in this way and he doesn’t seem to show any signs of fear (tucking head, puffing up, or closing eyes) unless I loom over him; I always bring my hand towards him from his level and from in front of him so he can see me coming, I just personally feel he is less stressed by my presence now that he associates me with food.

I set up a 5 gallon acrylic enclosure with a mesh lid: http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/04...05_500X500.jpg
filled the bottom with coconut fiber and green moss, then put in a water dish and misted everything. I also bought thermometer/hydrometer and a small zoo med heating pad. For the first 4 days I had the heating pad under the enclosure, but it was so warm that the fiber over it was dry by the end of the day and I was having to mist several times a day to keep it moist, so I switched the heat pad to the side and it seems to be working well to keep the temp at 75. I also bought a moonlight night 60W bulb, but I think I will return it as the heat pad seems to be sufficient.

I do realize that the minimum enclosure size is a 10 gal, and I even have a 30 gal aquarium I am hoping to move him into a bit later on, but I thought having him in the 5 gal was better for me to monitor any changes in his actions/condition. I gave him a week to acclimatize to the new surroundings and thought that maybe he would start to recover, with me giving him (to my knowledge) better care than he was provided at work, but in the past 2 days I have noticed that his nose has now started to show greying, and his already existing injuries also seem to have gotten more raw and inflamed. Though his condition has deteriorated slightly I do think he feels at least happier since I brought him home, as he sang for me the second night I had him, I was under the impression that they only really sang if conditions were right, though I may be wrong, I am not sure.

1. Size of enclosure

  • Before: He was kept in a small critter keeper (9" L x 6" W x 6.5” H) up until Saturday August 23rd, when I took him home.
  • Now: He is currently in a 5 gallon acrylic enclosure with a mesh lid


2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences

  • He has always been the only frog in his enclosure.


3. Humidity

  • Then: I am unsure what his exact Humidity was, but me being the only employee misting him at work my guess is it was quite a bit lower..
  • Now: Predominantly 80s but it fluctuates between 70 and 90 throughout the day


4. Temperature

  • Then: I am unsure of the exact temp’ his container was not directly under the lights so I think it was a bit cooler than it should have been.
  • Now: Around 75 give or take a few degrees throughout the day


5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish

  • Then: He was being misted and his water dish was filled with water that had been treated with "ReptiSafe Water Conditioner” by Zoo Med.
  • Now: I am using “Top Fin water conditioner” for both misting and soaking water.


6. Materials used for substrate

  • Then: His first 2 months he was on daily misted coconut fibre, his third month was spent on mostly dry Repti Bark by Zoo Med. (He was also fed on this).
  • Now: He is on moist coconut fibre, and green moss by All Living Things.


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.

  • Then: He had a fake plastic plant (easily bent and without and sharp protrusions) and a zoo med water dish in with him, these were both washed using the cleaning product “watchdog” and then thoroughly rinsed. His original coconut fibre was mixed with ReptiSafe conditioned water before they switched him to the bark chips.
  • Now: He is on moist coconut fibre and moss, I mist his enclosure daily. So far I have no other decorations in his enclosure other than the water dish.


8. Main food source

  • Crickets


9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)

  • Then: Between 3 and 8 small cal/Vit.D3 dusted crickets every morning (to the best of my knowledge).
  • Now: I have only had him for 10 days, and thought he is fed 4 sm crickets daily, I am only giving him Cal/Vit.D3 dusted crickets every other day.


10. Lighting

  • Then: UVA and florescent daylight bulbs during the day, and an infrared light at night.
  • Now: He has a heating pad for day/night warmth, and regular desk lamp for the 12 hour light cycle.


11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure

  • Then: UVA, florescent daylight, and infrared at night.
  • Now: A heating pad for day/night warmth, and regular desk lamp that gives off little to no heat, I use it solely for lighting.


12. When is the last time he/she ate

  • He ate just a few hours ago. Throughout his time at the pet shop, and now at my house, he has been a very healthy eater.


13. Have you found poop lately

  • Four times since bringing him home.


14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure


Name: FTF-1.jpg Views: 1253 Size: 57.5 KBName: FTF-2.jpg Views: 1238 Size: 50.0 KB I have a few more images to upload of enclosure and the differences between his injuries when I brought him home and now, but for some reason it will not allow me to upload any more photos at the moment :S Oh and just to be clear, as I do not yet have a hide for him I do not shine the lamp directly in his terrarium, I just tilt it up and light the enclosure with ambient light.

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

  • He looks perfectly healthy with the exception of the milky grey bubbles above his eyes and around his nostrils, (and since getting him, a greying spot on his nose). The closest thing I can use to compare the degradation of his eyelids to, would be fin rot.


16. How old is the frog

  • He was roughly the size of a quarter when he first came to the store; June 1st, so three months ago now.. but I don’t know how old he was when he got there.


17. How long have you owned him/her

  • 10 days (Since Saturday, August 23rd)


18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred

  • Unknown



19. Frog food - how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats

  • He has only ever eaten calcium powder with vit.D3 dusted crickets.



20. How often the frog is handled

  • Then: Little to none most of his time at the pet store was spent in the critter keeper and we only opened it to feed and water him in the morning and refill his water at night.
  • Now: I have picked him up to bring home and to put in his new enclosure, after that once to take pictures to post here. (I always wet my hands first).


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

  • Then: I would say high traffic before, but seeing as he was in a critter keeper in the glass showcase at the store he likely was hardly bothered be any of the customers walking by.
  • Now: he is off to the side in the living room, I guess it’s kind of medium traffic.


22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

  • Then: He had little maintenance while living at the pet store, his water was always changed once in the morning and topped up at night daily.
  • Now: Since getting him home I have been misting his enclosure and changing his water once a day, removing wast when I see it, and once every few days I have “tilled" the substrate while he was in his water dish.


Basically my questions are:
Do you think the previous enclosure was the reason for his injuries?
Is my set up okay for this little guy?
Do you think something like Melafix or Pimafix soaks would be beneficial?
How old would you guess he is? (If the pictures helped at all)
How often and how many crickets should I feed him a day at this age..
How many crickets should be dusted out of the crickets offered?
Does anybody have any suggestions for what the cause of his injuries were, or anything I could do to reverse or fix them?

Any extra tips on tomato frogs would also be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance for the help!

- Dani