Temporary paralysis or impending death?

[masonbuckyall]

Thanks for responding. I'm at work now and will have to check for lumps when I get home. Hopefully this is the only issue and hopefully it's a reversible one. I suppose all I can do is wait and take your advice about mealworms to heart in the future. I'm glad to have that knowledge as most sources I read never mentioned the frequency with which they can be fed, just that they are acceptable.

Any ideas about the ring on the back? It looked like blood to me, but I don't know what it would be from. I suppose it could be some kind of deposit. Perhaps the paralysis and blood aren't even linked. I wish I could do more, but the nearest vet qualified to handle amphibians is about two hours away.

[Whistly]

Also another problem with meal worms is that hey are so high in fat so your frog can become obese when fed too many.

[DVirginiana]

As MeTree said, mealworms definitely aren't a good staple, but the paralysis and stuff doesn't sound like impaction.. Definitely still check for it and probably a good idea to not feed it any more for right now, but I've never heard of an impacted frog acting quite like yours.

I can't really see from the picture, but is the ring of blood above or below the skin? If it's above, then is there any way it could be old shed skin that for whatever reason your frog wasn't able to get off all the way? If it's been having problems with paralysis then it might not have been able to get all the shed off and it could've dried on there.

I really have no clue what's causing that though. Try looking around on youtube. I've seen people post videos of pacman frogs doing the same thing. Maybe someone somewhere had a good solution to it? Hope your frog improves.

[MeTree]

Oh yeah, that is a good point, DVirginiana. Perhaps it was related to shedding. I have heard some awful stories...

What is your humidity at? If the humidity is too low (below 60%), then your Pacman Frog could have been injured while shedding. I have heard stories (plural) of frogs loosing limbs during shedding, usually because the humidity was too low. It makes a big difference to Pacman Frogs.

[masonbuckyall]

That would make sense. I haven't seen him shed yet or seen any sign of skin in the tank. I do, however, maintain a humidity between 60 and 70. Sometimes it goes as high as 80.

I also read somewhere on this forum that a calcium deficiency may play a roll in the paralysis.

The "bloody ring" seems to be under the skin and I checked him for lumps when I got home and found nothing other than things I determined to be bones (but I'm not expert).

I took two more photos after I examined him in the hope that it may reveal something externally.

[MeTree]

When you say you haven't seen evidence of him shedding, you probably never will. They are quick to eat their own sheds.

From the picture, it almost looks like he is still shedding! I mean, everything at the top is crystal clear (color), but everything below the big swollen line is faded. Perhaps he was shedding, but he couldn't get it off past that point. Notice how the faded area looks tight, and the color area is "out more", or bigger. The red blood line may be where the circulation was poor (because of the tightness of the shed not coming off).

If you have a local exotic vet, I would recomend taking the little guy in. This condition looks pretty bad. I have heard of sheds where people have literally had to help their frog get it all off (I am NOT recomending that at this point!). I would increase the humidty to about 80%, and see if you can get some vet assistance.

If you are having problems with himidity, block part of the screen lid (assuming you are using screen), and put the water dish on the warm side (assuming you have a side-mounted UTH). Don't put the water dish too close to the UTH. Mist the tank well, and then mist it frequently as needed.

That may not be what it is at all, but I don't know that I'd want to take a chance. Besides, this wont hurt your Pacman Frog either way, so he is alright.

[whiffer01]

i agree with MeTree, he looks like he is in mid shed, but cant get it off. i hope your frog gets better.