My frog is shedding its skin. Is this normal?
This is normal. All amphibians shed their skins frequently. African Dwarf Clawed Frogs shed their skin about once week. Sometimes they eat the old skin.
On extremities or other regions of the body I found white thin threads. What should I do?
These are wounds infected with fungus. You can treat the fungus with a disinfecting medicine or a broadband medicine for tropical fish. You have to act quickly. A bath in a weak pink CaMnO4 solution or in a NaCl solution (1 spoon per litre) with Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) tea is often very beneficial. You have to repeat the bath for several days. My main fish dealer recommends ESHA2000 for fresh wounds. In my experience ESHA2000 is only good for fresh wounds.
My frog’s body is very swollen or it is always floating on the water surface.
I call frogs with this condition “balloon frogs”. The first step to prevent this illness is to give the frogs a varied diet.
There are different opinions about the reasons for this illness, which has at least two different forms with very similar symptoms:
- fluid under the skin:
The fluid is thought to be lymph fluid. The illness seems to correspond with “Hydrops” in tropical fish. The cause of hydrops is viruses, which are present in every fish tank. In principle there are some circumstances, which (in combination) can cause this illness:
too much and too frequent feeding of red mosquito larvae (bloodworms), mainly live bloodworms
stress
insufficient Calcium
bad osmotic pressure difference
Some aquarists believe that live or frozen bloodworms (red mosquito larvae) with the hooks on their body can hurt the frogs internally. Live bloodworms probably have the ability to bite.
In my experience too much, and too frequent, feeding of bloodworms is related to this form of “balloon frog” illness. Furthermore, it is not caused only by low quality or bad bloodworms. Some years ago I had a quick succession of “balloon frogs” that were fed on live bloodworm. I believe you have to be very careful. A German pipidae.de user told me that her frogs regurgitated live bloodworms one and a half days after feeding them.
The most reliable information for treating the illness I got from another German pipidae.de user. She took her ill frogs to a veterinary surgeon and got a medicine called Borgal from Bayer. She gave 1 millilitre of Borgal 7.5% per each litre water with good results. Another vet gave her ROTA-TS 500mg (1 tablet per 7 litres of water – active substances: Trimethoprim und Sulfadimidinum). She gave it to her frogs and after 24 hours the liquid had reduced by 50%. You can also use Borgal 24% or Kokzitiol but you must use the correct dosage. Another vet thought that kidney failure could also be a reason for “balloon frogs”.
He recommended the frequent use of marine or sea salt (Jodinium-free) to make the osmotic pressure lower. You can start with 1mg per litre then raise it raise to 3mg per litre. This at least eases the symptoms.
If there is fluid under the skin do NOT raise the water temperature! This will only kill the frogs faster!
In Xenopus laevis it is known that frequent puncturing of the skin to release the fluid helps the frogs to live for several years with the illness.
“Hydrops” is a deficiency symptom. Frequent feeding of (chopped) earthworms is good for prevention. They contain a lot of Calcium. Although you can give multivitamin preparations, the quoted veterinary surgeon recommends Korvimin ZVT Reptil (1.5 gramms per 1 litre). The frogs of the keeper mentioned above lost all “balloon frog” symptoms after several months of weekly treatment. - air under the skin:
In these cases you can raise the water temperature in a separate tank to 31°C (88°F) for several hours. If the frogs defecate you can put them back in their main tank.
One of my frogs often lies on his back for some time.
This could be a normal defensive reaction. If its behaviour is otherwise normal there is no reason to be worried.
One of my frogs is becoming increasingly thinner but he is eating normally.
In most cases this affects older frogs. A vet once told me that the reason could be a deformed kidney. When the frog stops eating you should euthanase it.
My frog’s eyes look cloudy.
Mostly this is normal and the frog will soon shed its skin. However, I have some frogs with permanently cloudy eyes and I have no idea how to treat them. Quite often you will find this on older frogs.
A German pipid frog keeper told me that her frogs lost the cloudy eyes after treatment with Rabomed from Hobby Dohse. She actually wanted to treat her fish for another illness.
How do I treat fresh wounds, sores or skin problems with my frogs?
Treat the wound promptly with CaMnO4 or with a broadband medicine like ESHA2000. You can also use a NaCl solution (1 spoon per litre) with Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) tea. Repeat the treatment for several days.
My frog has totally black eyes, grey, ill-looking skin and is only floating on the water surface.
I don’t know the reasons or treatment for this illness. If you have more information please send an email.
My frog’s legs are red or there are red sores on its body. The infected regions are being destroyed.
This may be the so-called ‘red leg’. Reasons for this illness are bacterial infections of the bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila or others caused by weakness or stress. Treat the illness with Nifurpirinol, which is included in Aquafuran or in Furanol from JBL. Sometimes the redness goes away without any treatment. In such cases it is not red leg.
I think my frog has tumour. What should I do?
Laboratory bred Xenopus laevis qquite often have tumours. If the frog is eating and behaving normally, in my opinion there is no reason to do anything. Otherwise you should think about euthanasing it.
My frog is very ill and I want to euthanase him. What’s the best way?
This topic is often discussed. In my opinion the fastest way is to anaesthetise the frog then cut off the head with a sharp knife. This sounds brutal but it really is the quickest and most humane way.
Do missing limbs regenerate?
Tadpoles are able to regenerate limbs. I know some cases there lost finger segments have regenerated successfully.
Are pipid frogs endangered by the highly infectious fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, which is killing amphibians in the Americas, the Caribbean and Australia?
Since some years scientists are thinking that Xenopus laevis which si resistent agains chytrid brought Chytrid around the world. I know one case of infected African Dwarf Clawed frogs in captivity which had been infected by other frogs imported from Central America.
Are there kinds of food dangerous for pipid frogs?
Please look at the feeding FAQs.