White's Treefrog Not Eating

[jonewald]

Unfortunately my first post here has to be a sad one as I come looking for help for our White's named Edward. It's been 8 days since he last ate and during those 8 days he has been spending most of his time in his water dish or hiding. He generally only changes where he sits 2-3 times a day.

I keep his cage at 80-82F at the top and it decreases to about 76F at the bottom with about 50-55% humidity. I've been having issues with high humidity and switched him from a moss substrate to white paper towels that I change at least every other day.

He is fed every other day a diet that has been mostly crickets along with waxworms every 3rd or 4th feeding. Crickets are fed Flukers orange cubes and dusted with calcium at least once per week. Currently he shows no interest at all in waxworms and will sometimes go after a cricket if it passes near him but won't hunt or chase them.

What has me most confused is that he seems to perk up and act more normal when I remove him from his cage while I clean it and change the paper towels. He'll change from an olive brown color to his normal mint green color and also seem more alert as well. Room temperature when he is out is 78F which is slightly warmer than the bottom of his cage (~76F) where he has been hiding lately.

Edward:

Picture of Edward's cage:


Sorry for such a long first post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible with any information needed. I am looking into finding a exotics vet in my area that could look at Edward as well, but any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[jonewald]

Here's a pic of him from just a few minutes ago. Gives a side shot of him being out and climbing over my computer desk while I cleaned his cage.

[John]

That's a spartan terrarium, with little cover. When you say you had humidity problems, you don't say if it was lack of humidity or too much. If it was lack of humidity, putting a piece of glass or plastic over one of the mesh sections in the lid will help a lot.

Have you tried feeding your frog when he is out of his terrarium when he is "more alert" ?

[jonewald]

That's a spartan terrarium, with little cover. When you say you had humidity problems, you don't say if it was lack of humidity or too much. If it was lack of humidity, putting a piece of glass or plastic over one of the mesh sections in the lid will help a lot.

Have you tried feeding your frog when he is out of his terrarium when he is "more alert" ?

Humidity was too high which is why I removed the moss that was holding in moisture.

The pic does not clearly show some additional fake vines on the bottom that are also for hiding. He's been in this setup since I got him in February and usually climbs into the hanging plants to hide or in side the hollow rock. Since he's stopped eating he doesn't climb and only hides in the rock or vines.

I have attempted feeding when he is out of the terrarium and he still will not show any interest in feeding.

[treefrogsrules]

it could be red leg he does look like he has a lot of red on the belly but i could be wrong hope he gets better

[Kurt]

Where are you located? Someone may be able to reccomend a vet to you.

[jonewald]

it could be red leg he does look like he has a lot of red on the belly but i could be wrong hope he gets better

His belly shows up more red than it is in that pic, but it is a bit of a darker pink than usual. Red leg or an infection is something I'm concerned about.

Where are you located? Someone may be able to reccomend a vet to you.

I'm in Southern Jersey. Found Dr Joe Filgno listed on arav.org and we have an appointment this evening. Will keep everyone informed on what he has to say.

Thanks again everyone for all your help!

[jonewald]

Back from the vet. Edward is retaining a clear fluid and the vet believes it is an infection. Just finished our first antibiotic bath. Edward gets a tetracycline bath twice a day for the next week.

Hopefully good news follows in the next few days and he begins eating again!

[Kurt]

Good luck.

[John]

Good luck - sounds like your vet knows what he is doing.

[jonewald]

Good luck.

Good luck - sounds like your vet knows what he is doing.

Thanks for the well wishes! He's had 3 antibiotic soaks so far and the swelling in his abdomen seems to be lessening. Hopefully, Edward will start eating soon!

I strongly recommend Dr Filigno for anyone with amphibians or reptiles in need of a vet in the South Jersey area. He was quite helpful and seemed to know his stuff on our exotic pets.