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Sick White's tree frog

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chumbawamba

Guest
Just wondering if anyone had some advice on this...

We've purchased a White's tree frog several weeks ago. It was wild caught and has been in captivity for about one month at the time of purchase. She looked healthy at the time. After about a week after we purchased her she changed color from green to brownish. Her appetite, however, was excellent. Several days ago she began to refuse food and started to look lethargic. She seems no longer able to climb the walls of the enclosure. When picked up, she hangs on with her front legs but the back legs dangle limp. She's able to move about and seeks shelter and water, just unable to climb.

We've looked around for information on amphibian disorders but have come up with little information. We are new to keeping tree frogs, but have kept other herps (snakes, lizards, and tarantulas) without incident. We have paid careful attention to maintaining the conditions recommended by most books on the topic. Any help is appreciated. We would like to know if there is anything that we can do to save our frog or, if we cannot, where we have gone wrong and what is actually happening to our pet. Thanks for your help,

AL
 
J

john

Guest
Well the fact that it was wild caught would have a great affect of the condition of your frog in captivity. Sometimes they do well and sometimes they dont. Also, you could have a very old frog. The loss of the use of limbs is usually a sign of a dieing frog. Also, the change in color to brown is no good. What are you temps. WTFs do not need any heat source if your house stays around 65F to 75F. What size tank is it in? What have you been feeding it? Do you suppliment your food with calcium dust and vitamin D3 dust?
 
C

chumbawamba

Guest
John,

I have moved her to a small quarantine tank where I can control temperature, humidity, and sanitation easily. She has a water dish to immerse in and the substrate is a bunch of moist paper towels. I'm thinking of putting in a piece of cork bark for her to hide under. For now, the tank is inside a larger tank which is 80% covered with a towel to keep it dark. The temperature is around 80F and the humidity is at about 60% or 70%.

She's moving around and even trying to climb, but her back legs don't seem up to the task. I find this particularly worrisome... What could be the cause of this?

Her normal setup is a tall 15 gallon tank with branches and cork bark to climb on. There is a mixture of live and plastic plants. There are dark corners for her to hide in. The substrate is sphagnum moss. We mist at least once a day and the humidity hovers around 60%. She has a large water dish, and we've seen her make good use of it. There is a temperature gradient between 80F in one corner and 70F in the opposite corner. The temperatures drop to about 65F at night. We feed her crickets, 50% of which are dusted with calcium and a vitamin supplement including D3. The ventilation in her tank is good.

Does any of this raise any red flags?

Thanks for your help.
 
J

john

Guest
That all sounds good. I would add that eco-earth or bed-a-beast are the best substrate for frogs and toads. It is coconut shaving. It is just like dirt. Other than that, get some plants in that quarantine tank. The use of limbs comes with sickness and sometimes death. We just had a post about it with someone elses frog and his limb use came back and now the frog seems fine. So there is hope. I would not let the temp get to 80F. 75F at the highest. Like I said, if you are using heat lamps, dont. And dont make it dark all the time. That could cause some stress messing with day/night cycle like that. I would keep her on the regular 10-12 hours on and hours 10-12 off.
 
M

mark

Guest
The loss of hind leg control is an interesting question. I've seen it before in tree frogs and judging by the posts on this forum it's not uncommon. We could do with a vet on the forum.
wink.gif
I guess that there are a number of potential causes. Spinal damage from a fall or poorly timed jump in a tank it's not used to. I would also guess that certain bacterial infections or pathogens may cause this sort of behaviour. I had a Hyla Arborea which developed a nervous twitch in its hind legs which over a period of 6 month worsened until it could hunt no longer and eventually died. I suppose this could have been a genetic problem but it's interesting that it only affect the hind legs. Any ideas anyone?
 
C

chumbawamba

Guest
John-thanks for the info.
Regarding the post where the frog regained use of his limbs, any idea what was done specifically? She's not looking good today, she has moved a bit, but has no use of her back legs - they are splayed out behind her.
Any advice would be appreciated.
 
J

john

Guest
He just quarantined the frog and it recovered on its own. Sry. I cant provide you with anymore help on the matter. It has exceeded my knowledge.
Hopefully someone will come along with more knowlegde. I might get introuble for this but here is a link to a tree frog dedicated forum. Someone there might be able to help you.

http://talkto.thefrog.org/index.php?action=vtopic&forum=3

please dont get mad mods. Noone else is helpin this guy out.
 
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