Gastrointestinal parasites

[Wambli]

When they have the gastrointestinal parasites does this kill the frogs? So if the one I got had it.. and gives it to the one I have then they both die or live with it... can humans get anything from the frogs? I will call a vet... I have not seen fecel material... but the pen is large... how often do they go? what does it look like... and are they more like to do it in the pond or on land. sorry for all the questions I am new to frogs. Wow... I thought I was saving a frog from dinner... and I made a mess.

[adawinters]

There aren't as many zoonotic (transferrable from animal to human) illnesses in frogs as in mammals. Salmonella is spreadable, though most humans w/ healthy immune systems won't get this even when exposed. A well kept enclosure prevents salmonella infection. (If a herp is in a dirty cage, sitting in his own poo, there's a good chance of salmonella spreading.) I think there are a couple of other spreadable diseases (I want to say Giargia, but I think I'm wrong).

If your husbandry practices are good, then your chance of infection -- even with a sick animal -- is greatly decreased. This means:
>washing hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap after handling any animal. (You should was hands beforehand for amphibians, since they are so sensitive to toxins; I'm a smoker and I'm always paranoid about accidentally tarring my frogs to death, so I wash my hands A LOT.)
>Cleaning any and all materials the animal/its gear come in contact with. (i.e. you're cleaning a water bowl. You place it on the kitchen counter. Sanitize the counter. Generally, it's best to avoid animal gear in the kitchen, since that's where your food goes.) I often use vinegar solutions, but if you really wanted to be thorough, bleach solutions are the way to go.
>Ideally, (& especially if you KNOW you have sick animals in your collection), you should have separate gear for each terrarium. (I.e. if you use a hose to drain frog tank #1 for a water change, and frog tank #1 has chytrid or some other contageon, then using that same hose on tank #2 is a good way to spread the contageous disease.)
>A clean tank is much less likely to house/foster disease/bacteria/fungus/parasites than a dirty one. Stay on top of cleaning those cages.

Basically, clean (yourself and your gear) frequently, and just be mindful that the possibility for disease exists, and you and your pets should be fine. (And yes, as someone mentioned in a previous post, you should quarantine new arrivals, just to make sure they're not introducing any new illness to an established tank.)

It should do without saying that you shouldn't kiss pets. Try not to stick pet-coated-fingers into your mouth. Use common sense. (Those adorable baby red-eared sliders were banned because one too many a toddler tried to eat them, and with an infant's immune system, a few got salmonella. Chinatown petstores are not known for good husbandry practices, though.) Frankly, when I was living with someone undergoing chemo (repressed immune system), I kept her away from all reptile gear, just to be overly cautious.

I've had all manner of pets throughout my life, and I've never had an illness that I could attribute to one of my pets. If you try to keep things clean, you and your animals should be fine.

[Kurt]

Gastrointestinal parasites can kill frogs and they can be spread to other frogs by exposure to infected feces. A small gut load is usually not much of a problem, but with stress or other infections a small gut load can bloom and kill the frog. Most wild caught animals have some GI parasites and capture brings about stress, that is why most WC animals are in such rotten shape. The further away they came from, the worse shape they are usually in. Also most importers don't feed the animals that they sell. Often the frog's first meal after capture is the one it gets in the pet store.

As far as to what frog poop looks like, well it looks like poop.

[John]

A nice solid poop is a good sign of a healthy frog with, at worst, a manageable parasite load (if any). Not all amphibians have gut parasites, and some amphibians have a range of parasites - lung worms are common in southeast Asian animals for example, there are also parasites of the kidneys, etc. Kurt is right about the stress issue though - bringing a wild caught animal into captivity and also stressful conditions, lowers its natural ability to handle its parasite load and lowers disease resistance, and this can and does kill.

[Kurt]

Just about every amphibian I have tested has tested positive for gastrointestinal parasites. Only my dart frogs and White's treefrogs came up negative. My vet says that 95% have gastrointestinal parasites and some of the worst cases he has seen have been in captive bred animals, for some reason. Its a lot of the reason I automatically treat for them with new animals.

[John]

Wouldn't it be nice to post a "how to" treat your frogs for parasites? An owner could print it and bring it to their vet, in case the vet isn't savvy with frogs/amphibians.

[Kurt]

Does that mean you want me to write something?

[into]

Does that mean you want me to write something?

you should. I think that's a great idea.

[John]

Yes that's exactly what it means. Run it by me first please so I can check the science.

[Kurt]

OK I will try to get to it this week.