Quote Originally Posted by charlamanda View Post
Thanks Seth, any and all info in greatly appreciated.
So I understand, the parasites are usually not the "primary" problem, but are problematic only with a secondary infection (like Chytrid or other bacterial infections). This secondary infection can create the stress that causes the intestinal parasitic "bloom" and or the stress from changing conditions (buying a new frog), which can also cause the secondary inf. (Chytrid or bacterial inf.) to become evident, activate or worsen significantly. So basically it's the secondary infection (Chytrid or bacterial inf.) that will kill the frog, but the intestinal parasites can weaken the already ill frog and complicate it's treatment of the infection? I would also assume that you would need to rid the frog of the intestinal parasite before effectively treating the frog for the Chytrid, etc, especially if the treatment is given orally? If you give the treatment orally the worms will eat or absorb the medication so the frog will be unable to receive an effective dose to rid it of the infection..or am I stretching here? I am also assuming that the treatment for the intestinal parasites are a mild poison?, and giving the sick frog a treatment to rid it of the parasites, while treating it for another infection maybe lethal in itself?.......It's sounding very confusing and a really bad situation for the frog!!!! The CB frogs usually get these secondary infections from cross contamination from other CB frogs or untreated WC frogs. Have I got this right? BTW all my frogs are wild caught I took in a few weeks after they morphed and left my pool. I have not gotten them dewormed, but all are eating and seem healthy. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts whether I should have them dewormed or any other prophylaxis?
Yes, you pretty much got it. Much of the time when you see sick captive bred frogs it is because they were contaminated by mixing them, or their cages and bedding with sick wild caught frogs. Pet stores do this quite a bit as do some wholesalers. Sickness in CB frogs is usually caused either by contamination from already sick frogs, poor nutrition, or by keeping them in unsanitary conditions long enough that they get sick from that. As far as deworming I personally don't usually do it for any frog, no matter if it is CB or WC. The reason is if the frog is in good enough shape to handle worming without it causing any issues in most cases it can also handle the parasites. I prefer to let them gradually thin out as they eventually will in captive conditions without a continuous source of reinfection. On the other hand if a frog is in bad shape deworming it can shock its system to the point it can contribute to the death of the frog. If a frog appears weak or malnourished it is much better not to worm it in my opinion, at least until it has a chance to put on some weight and regain some health. About the only exception I make is when a frog has a good appetite but doesn't seem to gain much weight and has a heavy parasite load. In those cases worming is beneficial most of the time.