Sick ADF: Spinning, redness by eye

[BossFrog]

Not sure what could be causing this to your poor lil frog, however I’d take her to the vet asap if she’s still alive. How is she doing?

[Bertram]

Thank you for asking, BossFrog. She is still hanging in there. It's been a couple of days since I first noticed something was wrong, and began treating her. Daily water changes to make sure the water is as clean as possible to give her the best chance. I'm currently operating under the assumption this is some sort of bacterial infection so I have been adding some maracyn 2 to the water to treat her. I read some suggestions to use that the last time one of our frogs became sick with something similar resembling a bacterial infection, by the time we got it I think it was too late for it to have been of much help.

So far I haven't seen any signs of her condition deteriorating further, but unfortunately I haven't seen any definite signs of improvement yet. In her current state I can't get her to eat as she'll swim away if she notices me bringing anything too close to her and isn't searching for food on her own if I leave it nearby.

There is one animal clinic nearby that we found would at least take a look at these little ADFs but it wasn't the best experience. The exotics vet there was more specialized in birds than amphibians and wasn't familiar with these frogs, all he could really tell us about the previous frog was that it was likely a bacterial infection which was affecting it. We have an axolotl who we took to see a different vet at one point. That guy was very good. Not sure he takes frogs either, but I'll have to check.

[BossFrog]

No problem, hope she makes it.

It’s good that her condition isn’t worse. You’re doing great as far as I know, keep us updated!

[Bertram]

I wanted to post a follow up.


On another forum someone pointed out that the spinning looks similar to when these frogs are trying to shed and remove old skin. This got me thinking, and I watched back in the video I recorded to see the exact way she would spin around. Whenever she starts it up she always goes to the left, the same side her injury is on.


Now I have no idea why frogs would exhibit this behavior, as these ones don't have teeth or even a tongue, but it made me think of the way an animal would try to lick its wounds when injured. So is she just aware that there is pain on her left side and trying to reach it somehow... but it being right on her face she's never able to reach it and keeps spinning? I don't really know for sure, don't even know if these frogs would have some similar behavior.


But this could explain the bizarre spinning thing which I can't find any info on elsewhere, and wanted to keep this thread updated on that regard. So far she's still hanging in there, but as she still refuses to eat I feel like her activity level has started to drop. Hoping she recovers enough to get her appetite back before much longer. Still no signs that there is an infection that has spread anywhere else for now.


I might try to see if I can find someone nearby who will examine these frogs and confirm whether or not it is a physical wound. It was my first thought when I saw the injury but I couldn't fathom what could be the cause. Now I'm starting to suspect that it may have been the work of one of the other frogs. They can get into fights during feeding time, just today I noticed the biggest one latched onto another's leg and was particularly aggressive. Wouldn't let go until I reached in and lifted them both in my palm out of the water for a few seconds. Due to the nature of the bare bottom tank I have them in, these frogs seem to retain their claws. I have no idea how sharp they are, but it seems plausible that it could injure the skin.

I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has kept these types of frogs if they've had any experience with them fighting bad enough to injure one another. I've read mostly that they are non-aggressive and won't harm each other. This has mostly been true in my experience too, but our biggest frog who we've had the longest does tend to get more aggressive than the others, particularly during feeding time. She has tried to grab food from another frog while they were eating it, and I'm wondering if an encounter like that may have been what lead up to this situation.


I'll update again with the outcome or if there are any other significant developments. Thanks for your responses and kind words, BossFrog!

[BossFrog]

The spinning could be shedding or pain, yes. She’s most likely pretty distressed about having a wound on her face. Poor lil thing not sure if there’s any way to force feed a frog that small so you may just have to wait and hope she’ll eat. Maybe try feeding a different/favorite food?


I’ve kept a couple of African clawed frogs before, a male and female in the same tank, and they seemed to enjoy each other’s company- they’d snatch food from each other occasionally, but I never saw them fight. Their claws however could be sharp enough to injure the frogs. Thanks for keeping us updated! Good luck with little frog.