froggie update

[John]

Here's what Rayson said:

Hi John,

Frogs have a higher sensitivity to gentamicin and thus is not a first drug of choice. Besides being nephrotoxic, frogs are particularly susceptible to gentamicin ototoxicity. Vestibular damage can occur swiftly whereby destruction of crista ampullary hair cells of frogs occur.

Gentamicin diffuses rapidly into the inner ear but elimination from the inner ear is much slower leading to an accumulation of a toxic metabolite. The frog will develop vision, hearing and motor coordination problems, leading to actions like bubbling, rigid limb stretching and recumbency. Neurological damage ensue in toxicity whereby loss of muscle control can lead to diarrhoea etc. They can also bleed out from orifices.

Therefore in a lot of pharmacokinetic studies on gentamicin, frogs are the test subjects of choice. Thus frogs need much lower gentamicin dosage compared to any other species if it is absolutely warranted as they accumulate even small dosages of gentamicin to toxic levels.

There are other safer antibiotics that cover a wider spectrum rather than gentamicin as it targets only gram negative bacteria. It is better to culture a suspected pathogen and get the verification before proceeding to use gentamicin.


In general, support for kidney perfusion is warranted when an ill animal requires a nephrotoxic drug. This is particularly so for amphibians as they have a higher fluid composition than other species. I would support the kidney function by use of amphibian ringers to provide hydration (and thus improved blood circulation).

If the frog was merely presented with loose faeces, i would proceed with performing a faecal floatation to check for parasites. Metronidazole and fenbendazole can then be safely administered. I don't see any indication for antibiotics.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

He also sent me this:

Hi John,

Just a link for you.

http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/phtm/PH...otter-2006.pdf

Cheers.

I've asked him to comment directly on the death itself.

[John]

From what Rayson has said I think it likely that the dosage was just too high (although that surprises me - I thought 1 mg / Litre was alright). Still, your vet seems directly responsible for your frog's sudden death.

[Kerry1968]

So sorry to hear about your loss Laura. What a terrible thing to happen. You know you did eveything you could for this frog and only did what the 'professional' told you to do.