Bloated frog

Hello,

I am new to this site and joined because I badly need advice. My beloved female xenopus has become hugely bloated since yesterday. She has never been ill before, is now 32 years old and I don't want to lose her. None of the vets around here have a clue what to do (I've phoned 10 vets so far) as they won't deal with frogs and specialists are too many miles away to get to without a car. I have seen various antibiotic treatments suggested on the internet eg eryhromycin and tetracyclins; also salt water treatments. My question is, does anyone know which is the best treatment to put in the water? Thanks

The first thing you should do is provide osmotic support by keeping the frog in a isotonic setup (like amphibian ringer's solution).

The second thing is you need to determine the cause of the fluid retention as some are not treatable. Some of the ones that need to be ruled out are kidney or liver failure (and if the frog is experiencing kidney failure, shotgun antibiotic treatments are going to make this worse) and infections. This needs to occur quickly as some of the infections can cause death fairly rapidly once symptoms begin to show.
I am not in favor of the over the counter medications such as tetracycline because due to drug resistance they are usually useless and simply give the owner a satisfactory feeling of having done something and they can cause stress on the amphibian's ability to osmoregulate.
If you have a regular vet, get them to consult with an amphibian vet for the proper route.

Ed

Thanks. I'll try the isotonic route first. Unfortunately no vets around will consult with others. They will only refer and there are no specialists within 50 miles.

Hello Cimicifuca,
this is the highest age for a Tongueless Frog I've ever heard before!

Look here to get more information about bloated frogs: http://pipidae.net/faq_illness.php

Bye Martin