White's Tree Frog sick behavior? Pics*

[SamanthaFox]

I have bad news Nico seems worse and still has edema. I now see dark small sores on his thigh and in the little space between his legs and body. Anyone know what this could be? I don't know if the amikacin is working. Any advice?

Frog forum wont let me post pic yet...

[caerulia]

Hey I'm sorry I can't help with your red-leg question (I'm having some health issues with my own currently) but I wanted to mention that you should probably change their substrate to something that they can't swallow so easily. My herpetology instructor told me that frogs should always have rocks that are bigger than their mouths so they can't swallow them...they could end up swallowing that sand when they eat their food items and over time it can accumulate & block up their digestive system Their is also frog moss, which is awesome, and sphagum moss--but the sphagum can also cause issues if not maintained properly.

[Crunchy Frog]

Can you talk to the vet about trying a different medication? Baytril seems to be the most commonly used antibiotic in frogs, and I wonder if he would do better with that.

[SamanthaFox]

Going to vet tomorrow. Dr may switch to baytril, but she seems to think it is a separate parasite issue and wants to give antiparasitic meds.

BTW I dont' use sand as substrate--it is coconut fiber which is easily digested. We have used it for over 2 yrs now, so I don't believe it is the problem. I didn't have a filter for 5 days when I was waiting for new one--I should have changed water out because I think some kind of bacteria is what caused his sickness, plus stress. I have 4 kids age 6 and under, so I am trying to find right balance.

Will update with his condition after his appt tomorrow-thanks.

btw frog forum won't allow pics still, but you can see my pics on my blog: www.johnsamanthahodge.blogspot.com/2015/02/frog-update.html

[Lija]

Beautiful kids! Will look more later

for now im worrying about following. You say vet is talking about antiparasitic treatment, what is his/her diagnosis? Why it is susspected without any testing done? It is very dangerous just to try different things in hopes something will work that seems to be a case here, how experienced in amphibians is your vet? Keep in mind not all herp vets are experienced in frogs and some would honestly admit they have no clue, others might have no clue but pretend otherwise, these ones are the worst.
I really wanna see these sores that you mentioned.

Edit, looked more closely, not very clear pics of the sores, would you be able to take a clear pic? The redness seems to be going away, but it replaced with edema, am I right?
How long is a frog not eating?

[SamanthaFox]

HI Lija,
Thanks! Finally took some pics of my 4 kids together (hard to remember to in all the chaos)

I suppose you could be right about Dr Garretson, but I did search out a vet specifically for amph/reptiles and she was recommended by the arav.org site. She seems to be very knowledgeable and partial to amphibs/reptiles (she has a nonprofit called geoherps). She owns 2 dumpy frogs and said parasites are common and treatable. I don't know why testing wasn't done, but I did tell the receptionist on the phone that we couldn't afford that anyway in the initial call. I feel like he may be getting better because the initial redness is faded, but there is still a little edema (was worse before) and the dark spots are new for sure, so maybe it was a secondary parasite or infection.

Sorry about the pics-- the ones I got were with my phone while in the car taking him to get a shot. I've tried to get some pics at home with my good camera, but I don't want to stress him out---and I know pulling his leg to look in that little fold would surely stress him out. I will let the doc assess it tomorrow and try to get some pics and update. The sores look like little dots of possible blood collected under the skin (doesn't seem like open wounds ...yet).

The promising sign now is that although I was sad to see he was sleeping on the bottom of the tank in the corner today, I left him alone, tried to keep the temp and humidity right and give him privacy. Then tonight I took all the stuff out except the water, put in 3 small dusted crickets (and there was also a bigger one from yesterday still stirring in there). I turned off all the lights (he seems to not like the red light at night too). I just looked in there and he's wide awake and active, (you know how they get those big black eyes at night!) and there are NO crickets in the tank! That not only means he has an appetite, but he has energy because those little ones are squirrely!

I put his hide and leafy plants back in, misted the cage and left the lights off so he won't be stressed. This is the most he has eaten in the almost 3 weeks he has been quarantined.