HELP! African Dwarf Frog sick..

[Ara]

HI.. sorry to be repeating myself, I posted this in the "Freshwater Illness and Disease" forum but cannot seem to get help..

I have an ADF who is ill.. she is suddenly showing a weird mottled skin, with white splotchy patterns (almost like camo).. and her eyes are all white and either are fuzzy or bulging..

She is still eating (a lot, she's my little piggy) and moving normally.. and the rest of her tankmates are fine (3 other ADF, 1 female betta, 5 cardinal tetras, 5 dwarf cory).

It was suggested by the one response I received that I should try an anti-fungal, but I am not sure what Anti-fungals are safe for ADF's (I know some that are safe for fish are not safe for frogs).

So far, I am just adding aq salt.. I am ready to take her out into a hospital tank, but I want to know if it would be better to do that or treat her whole tank.

???



Here's a few pics of her, the first with her healthy mate, Zen.




Anyone have any tips?

:help:

 

[Jannika]

I would treat the frog in a separate hospital tank with Binox or similar sulfa/antifungal drug @ 1/2 teaspoon per 10 gallons.

edit: As far as I know, most anti-fungals, antibiotics, and sulfa drugs are safe for amphibians. They can't tolerate any metal-based like copper, or dyes like malachite green.

 

[Plague]

Are you sure its not just shedding?

 

[Ara]

Thanks Jannika, I will look into finding Binox.

I could have read wrong, I`ve read a lot of other forums talking about frogs dying from various meds used for fish.. but of course, they were not the AC so they may have just been wrong

And yes.. I am sure it is not shedding.. have had ADF`s for 3 years now, witnessed many sheddings.. and this is something else.

I got her in a hospital tank now, and once I was able to get a closer loook at her, she definatly looks `fuzzy` and her eyes look awful. I don;t have any anti-fungal on hand, but I will try to pick some up right away.. for now I hope the salt helps...

 

[TheFishBoss97]

good luck

hope she gets better

and as a precaution inspect the other frogs closely for a while or maybe quarantine them too? as they might have it? idk, hope she lives

 

[mel_20_20]

Ara, I think your frog has Chytrid, a fungal infection that is decimating amphibians world wide. I did a lot of research on this back when I had some ADFs and found that New Zealand researchers discovered that chloramphenicol is an immediate cure, but the problem is this is not generally available in this country.

Dangerous health consequences in some humans after exposure, though I believe I remember that this requires a certain genetic susceptibility, but no one knows who will develop aplastic anemia upon exposure. Caution when using it should be exercised, and I have used it myself.

Vets have eye drops for cats or dogs, often, with chloramphenicol in it so you might ask your vet if you could get some of that. My vet was willing to write an RX and have it compounded for me, but it was going to be ridiculously expensive.

There is another treatment involving Lamasil AT, an anti-fungal spray that is over-the-counter. I had saved that information, but my laptop crashed and was replaced and I lost a lot of information I had collected.

Google using keywords - Chytrid, African Dwarf frogs, Lamasil treatment - to see if you can get the protocol for treating this. You may be able to compare photos of frogs with a definite diagnosis of Chytrid to see if this looks like what you're seeing.

What temp do you keep your tank? Warmer temps seem to help; don't let the tank drop below 78 degrees.

I'll keep looking for information, but I think your frogs are in serious trouble and this is extremely contagious. You have to sanitize and dry out completely their tank, all supplies and anything that has been exposed, if this is indeed Chytridiomycosis. Also, be careful and do not dispose of water outside in your yard, and it's best, actually, to nuke any tank water in a bucket with a lot of bleach before disposing of it. This could be spread to the frogs that may be in your yard or nearby.

Again, I'm not 100% positive this is Chytrid, but it sure looks like it. I'm so sorry. I hope for the best for you and your sweet little frogs.

 

[mel_20_20]

Here's an exerpt from an article that offers another treatment method that has met with considerable success. This was at this link:

http://amphibiaweb.org/chytrid/chytridiomycosis.html#cure

"Thermal treatment may prove to be the safest and most effective way to treat captive amphibians and their enclosures (Woodhams et al. 2003). Frogs (e.g., Woodhams et al. 2003, Retallick and Miera 2007; Andre et al. 2008), salamanders (e.g., Weinstein 2009), and caecilians (Raphael and Pramuk 2007, unpublished) have been reported to clear Bd infections when kept at higher temperatures for a time. When experimentally infected Litoria chloris enclosure temperatures were raised to 37°C for 8 h on two successive days (also allowing 45 min for warming and 45 min for cooling on each day), the frogs were able to completely clear chytrid infections (Woodhams et al. 2003). Similarly, experimentally infected Pseudacris triseriata were able to get rid of Bd after being held at 32°C for five days (Retallick and Miera 2007). However, it has also been reported that this treatment does not work in all species (Marantelli, pers. comm., cited in Young et al. 2007). Bd can be killed by heating to 37°C for 4 hours (Johnson and Speare 2003; Johnson et al. 2003). Thus Young et al. (2007) recommend holding heat-tolerant amphibian species at the highest temperature they can tolerate."

 

[Jannika]

That's possible Mel, but I was under the impression that Ara has had this frog for awhile. If she's still eating well and moving normally without abnormal posture or odd behavior I tend to think it's not Chytrid, but I could be wrong. Hope not.

 

[Ara]

Wow, thanks for the info Mel.. that IS really terrifying.

I do really hope it is not that.. she was fine for 2 years and none of the other frogs show any signs at all. I have not introduced any frogs into the tank for well over a year, so fingers crossed. I will look into the chloramphenicol. I live in Canada, so who knows if it IS available here, but I will try to find out..

Thannks so much for the info..

So far, my quarantined frog is still basically the same, the others still totally fine..

 

[Ara]

Well, jus doing a quick google search for Chytrid, "The symptoms are lack of appetite, lethargy and rough, flaking skin".

She is still eating a lot, moving around a lot and her skin does not seem flaky, just .. splotchy and her eyes are fuzzy, so I am hoping it is just a normal fungal infection, instead of Chytrid..

Odd that one would hope for a "normal" fungal infection..