Additional remedy suggestions for impaction?

[mysterythought]

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately my frog has what I assume is a pretty bad and unusual impaction. It is on the frog's right hand side (on the left when looking at the frog head on), which is the side I always understood the stomach to be on. I can feel that the impaction is lumpy, I would say two distinct lumps. I have not fed my frog in about 3 weeks and have been giving warm honey baths frequently and massaging its sides during the baths, but no luck. The frog hasn't pooped in over a month. I was wondering if there were any other methods I could add to this honey bath routine to help my frog pass the impaction. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am also confused as to why my frog has become impacted, as I never feed hard foods and I tong feed to reduce substrate consumption. I guess the frog does eat substrate when shedding, so that could be a factor, but it's just coco fiber. Enclosure information is posted below.



1. Size of enclosure: 10 gal
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences: Solitary Pacman frog
3. Humidity: 70-90%
4. Temperature: 75-80F
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish: Misting - Distilled, Soaking - dechlorinated tap
6. Materials used for substrate: coco fiber
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.: Bioactive, live plants + springtails and isopods
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source: Zoomed Pacman frog diet/earthworms/canned insects for diversity
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often): Every 3 feedings or so (Zoomed contains vitamins and calcium so I try to avoid over supplementing)
10. Lighting: 9 watt LED 6500k
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure: Heat pad attached to back
12. When is the last time he/she ate: >3 weeks ago
13. Have you found poop lately: None for over a month
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)

The impaction isn't really visible but it is on the left side.
15. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.: Hard lump on frog's right hand side, left side when looking at the frog head on. Frog is somewhat lethargic, possibly due to fasting.
16. How old is the frog: > 1 year.
17. How long have you owned him/her: Almost 1 year.
18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred: Captive bred
19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats: When I was feeding, once every 4-7 days.
20. How often the frog is handled: Often recently, for administering honey baths
21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area: Low traffic + black paper on 3 sides
22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc): Water changed every 2 days or when dirtied, spot cleaning, misted daily.

[Hill111]

High temps help to promote digestion, when the temps get too low their metabolism slows down and can cause an impaction. Daytime temps can go as high as 85, so you could try raising it to 85 and see if that helps speed things up.

[mysterythought]

Thanks for the reply. I figured warmer temperatures would help speed up her metabolism, but I think I'll need to get a larger heat pad to bump up the temperature in my tank.

[mysterythought]

I have an update on the situation: last week on Tuesday I bought some mineral oil and managed to syringe some into her mouth, which resulted in her passing some stool in a long, warm bath the next night, however the impaction was still there. I soaked her more the next day but she had passed all the mineral oil already.

In my search for better ways to give the oil I came across a user who had success in injecting a nightcrawler with mineral oil and feeding it to the frog. In brainstorming ways that I could deliver the mineral oil in a similar fashion, I searched for information on administering medication to frogs via gelatin capsule, but came up empty. I figured that since gelatin is made from animal material and dissolves quickly in water, plus is safe for humans, that it should theoretically be fine for frogs as well. Yesterday night I filled a small gel cap with mineral oil and formed some Pacman frog food around it and my frog snapped it up with no issues. Tonight, I gave my frog another long, warm bath and had great success; she passed most if not all of the impacted stool and is looking much more symmetrical. I'm pleased with how well the oil worked but I hope I'll never have to give this treatment to my poor frog again. I'll look into getting a stronger heat pad and give her more frequent more soaks so she'll stay regular from now on. I will say though, I'm impressed with how well she kept her weight on throughout this whole ordeal. It's clear she's lost some mass but still looks and feels like a normal weight, even with no water retention. I'll always be impressed with how hardy Pacman frogs can be!

I can't really say for sure whether mineral oil gelatin capsules are perfectly safe to use or not, but they worked well in my case, just in case anyone else has a hopelessly impacted frog and is desperately searching for ways to get it to poop.