Hello,

This is my first time posting on this forum and I really hope someone can shed some light on a gray tree frog issue. I work for a nature center that recently took in 3 GTFs from someone who could no longer care for them and did not keep them in ideal conditions. These frogs were taken out of the wild and since they received veterinary care and were sick with an unknown illness, the DNR did not want them released back to the wild.

These frogs came to us with obvious issues. The one in the worst shape came to us extremely bloated with atrophy of the back legs. He had been on medication for 7 days and passed away early this morning. These medications included meloxidyl (meticam), enrofloxacin (Baytril), and calcium gluconate. I administered the medication by coating a cricket in the liquids and hand feeding it to him with tweezers. I handled him with gloves and kept him in a hospital tank separate from the others. He was in such bad shape he needed assistance peeing because he couldn't postulate to go.

One of the other frogs also had this condition (vet thought it was a bacterial infection) and was on the same medications (before we took them in) and "recovered". She still drags her back legs and is lethargic, but the vet called her "cured".

My question is regarding the prescribed medications. I know Baytril is an extremely common antibiotic prescribed for amphibians, but I have never heard of Meticam (an NSAID) being used on amphibians. I have done some extensive research and I can't find any reason the vet would have put the frogs on this. I know long term, it can cause liver problems in mammals. Has anyone had experience using Meticam/Meloxidyl? I can't help but feel it may have contributed to the demise of this poor frog. If it helps, the dosage that was prescribed was 0.01mL for 7 days, and the dilution is described as "0.5mL in a 4.5mL cherry syrup" on the bottle.

As far as the other two frogs go, we have an appointment with our exotic animal vet and plan on taking them in to be reevaluated. I'm not a person who normally challenges what a vet prescribes (they're obviously the experts), but I can't help but feel this vet that they were taken to wasn't knowledgeable about amphibian medication.

Any input you have on this topic would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

All the best to you and your frogs!