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Bloated frog

arianja

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I found one of my xenopus floating in the tank this morning, it was severely bloated and the skin hung like a wail around it, it looked several weeks dead although i had only just seen it frolicking same as usual the night before.
It had a smelly green looking sore on its side one and another in front of his front leg and once i nudged it there was a lot of air let loose and it sank.
Although it was so bloated she skin seemed to have folds, was very rubbery looking and the smell was just absolutely horrible.
A friend told me it was most likely Bloating Decease but was baffled by the state of it's skin.
I fed it mostly shrimp, occasionally bloodworms and a few times an earthworm.
I recently changed the substrate, added another frog and lost a salamander in that tank, so i'm think one of those may have been a factor.
Does any one recognize this or know something that can help me save the one that's left or know how to avoid this happening again?

I didn't think to take a picture of it until it was too late.
 

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Jenste

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Can you take some better pictures of the one in question?

Put it in a clear tupperware or a kritter keeper and get pictures from all angles (side, from below, from above)

So you added a frog and salamander to the same tank? Are they both still there? Mixing species can introduce toxins and disease that the other species cannot tolerate.

Pictures and a thorough description of the tank, set up, and tank mates (when added, any symptoms, any deaths) and when this frog's symptoms started.
 

arianja

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It has some dark spots on the underside, which i've never seen before and it has 4 claws on each hind leg which i find odd as i'm pretty sure they are supposed to be 3, the extra claw is on the "heel" of its foot kind of like a tiny thumb, on a tiny extra toe (it has 6 toes on each hind leg and 4 on each "hand").
It has always been all speedy and energetic with a big appetite, and to me it has always seemed perfectly healthy. I have however gotten some comments on how it looks like it might have a skin problem and that it looks sick, so i thought i'd check if any thing knows what it might be just to be on the safe side.
There was also a misunderstanding where someone thought the skin was coming loose but that was on the one who died,after i found it dead, this one has never had any problems with flaking or loose skin, it was the way it is when i got it, although the spots are less pronounced now.

The salamander and the frog that died were kept in the same tank at the petstore and i didn't know they should be kept separate, never had any problems though she always backed away from the frogs i got the new one (the one that survived) after it died, i would have bought another salamander but i didn't want to make the same mistake twice :p
there were originally one paddle tail and three xenopus, but all of them were kind of lethargic and soon 2 of the frogs died, that was almost two years ago, one of them barely ate at all and the other was much bigger then the others and i think it might have been old.
Then Nessie, the salamander died a few weeks ago and i'm pretty sure that she ate a pebble from the tank, so i changed to sand and waited for a few days before buying the new frog, i made the foolish beginner mistake of forgetting to quarantine it before adding it in and a few days later the last of my original ones died of bloat.

the tank is pretty basic and a bit small, 40x20 and 24 cm tall, it has black sand (used to have beige pebbles) a hiding rock with 2 openings that is situated near one corner so it can hide behind it, a plant all the frogs have loved to sit in, and a filter i have about 3 cm off the bottom to allow an exra hiding spot
 

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Jenste

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I am not sure this is a laevis - The the number of claws depends on species but 3 is incorrect - it is usually 5 or 6 hind claws.

The pictures are a bit dark, can you describe her color for me? I'd be interested in knowing if her back is a grayish green with a blue tinge and her underside a bit yellower with the spots being purpley/gray? If so she would be classified as a borealis. Have you had her long or is she a newer addition?

How long is she?
 

xxianxx

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I am not sure this is a laevis - The the number of claws depends on species but 3 is incorrect - it is usually 5 or 6 hind claws.

The pictures are a bit dark, can you describe her color for me? I'd be interested in knowing if her back is a grayish green with a blue tinge and her underside a bit yellower with the spots being purpley/gray? If so she would be classified as a borealis. Have you had her long or is she a newer addition?

How long is she?

X.laevis have five toes with three claws on the hind leg http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/xenopus_laevis.htm , i did come across this interesting article about polydactyl Xenopus laevis African Clawed Frogs Today . I have also considered the possability that the frog is a different species of xenopus but dont know enough about the others to have an idea of what it could be, i have googled the heck out of them but to no avail. The frog is apparently acting normal (eating, active etc), its colour has faded from red, its tank mate died a week after the introduction of the new frog and was sloughing skin when it died, is it possible that this frog was suffering from chytrid but made a recovery whilst its tank mate didn't ?
 

arianja

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Its about 4-5 cm long from nose tip to hind legs brownish green back, pale yellowish belly with pale brownish grey spots that seem to be fading as time passes, there were a lot more spots when i got it and they were dark brown, I've had it for about three weeks now.
And it seems even more energetic now than ever.
 

Jenste

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Can you get a really clear picture of the top and bottom? I think this is a borealis based on the description.
 
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