Please HELP my African Clawed Frog!!!!!

[tgampper]

I am not a vet, but let's go ahead with a basic treatment program. I want you to isolate the frog in a bare tank. Add three gallons of water with one tablespoon of epsom, sea, or aquarium salt (not iodized table salt) and allow the salt to dissolve. Make sure the water is conditioned and temperature about 72 (F). Keep the frog in the water for 30 minutes and remove. Do this daily for 5 days (of course, change the water each day). This may kill any internal or external bacteria or parasites. These frogs are quite salt tolerant. If you can, please post pictures.

[Dejavudoo]

That's my sweet little Bibbit. I hope those pictures help. I have pretty crappy lighting and didn't want to attack his sensitive eyes with flash.

He recently shed his skin but couldn't kick it all off the way these frogs usually do. So that's the fleshy stuff in the second picture.

Also, I don't have a heater that will work in that amount of water so I'm not sure what his water temperature is. Its about 70 in my house though. Will this be ok?

I've been doing the salt baths yesterday and this morning as well. I can't do it with 3 gallons though because then he can't reach the top. I have a container that i put 1/2 gallon in with 1/4 tsp epsom.

[ramble]

I'm not pro (obviously!) but could you float or hang his isolation tank in the other to keep the temperatures the same?

From the comments on the video, it looks like he has a bacterial infection of some kind. I hope you can figure it out quick.

[Dejavudoo]

I'm not pro (obviously!) but could you float or hang his isolation tank in the other to keep the temperatures the same?

From the comments on the video, it looks like he has a bacterial infection of some kind. I hope you can figure it out quick.

I finally found an old thermometer that I used in his 20 gallon before he and his friend Freckles got upgraded to a 40. The water is at 70-72 thankfully.

He is still holding on. He's so brave.

[Dejavudoo]

I also noticed this morning that he is missing one of his toenails. I heard that can be caused by nutrient deficiency. I've always tried to feed my frogs a variety of things. Maybe he has parasites?

What I find odd is that he has been calling after his spasms sometimes. Other times his head will twitch up and down, which I've noticed him do while in amplexus before. I have no idea if this is at all related to his illness or maybe he's just lonely without his friend. Just throwing anything out there.

Any time he tries to move he spasms, but other times he spasms just while sitting there.

Also, when he pokes his head up to breath he'll sometimes take a couple of gulps of air and then sometimes blow out little bubbles from his mouth. I don't think that's normal for him.

There also seems to be a very small dark spot on about the middle of his side, running pretty much along his lateral line.

[tgampper]

Thanks for the photos. Without knowing for sure what is causing the infection, it is hard to determine the proper treatment. If it is a bacterial infection, the salt baths may prevent any osmotic problems (the ability of the skin to exchange fluids and wastes) that may occur. Continue the salt baths for another 5 days or until it clears. However, it may not address the possible bacterial infection. There are two types of bacteria, gram-negative and gram-positive. Red leg is a gram-negative infection. There is an excellent product you can get at any store that sells tropical fish products - it's called Lynmozyme. It is used to treat and prevent red leg. You can add this to the aquarium that the frog normally resides. Hopefully, this will take care of the infection. I add Lynmozyme whenever I do water changes.

[tgampper]

Concerning the diet - it is a good idea to feed your frog a variety of foods. However, it has been my experience that Tetra's Repto-Min is a great staple food and I've been using it for 30 years with great success. I also hear that many Xenopus keepers feed their frog bloodworms. This is a bad practice since bloodworms have little or no nutritional value and may cause excessive bloating. If you must feed bloodworms, do so only as an occasional treat.

Just a FYI.