Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found one of my frogs today with a huge abrasion or scrape on the top of his head. Its red and raw and i am worried not only about him but about the others as well. What do I do for him? All i have done for now is separated him in case its something contagious. Is there an over the counter treatment for wounds in amphibs?

Here is what Kevin M. Wright, DVM recommends in AMPHIBIAN MEDICINE and CAPTIVE HUSBANDRY. "Acute clean abrasions require minimal treatment and some abrasions will granulate and re-epithelialized without any effort by the clinician. He goes on to note the size of the abrasion and re-evaluate it in 24 hours to see if it has enlarged. If so, he recommends debriding it by "gently rolling a dry cotton tip applicator across the surface o the wound-" without rubbing or swabbing. Then rinse with a saline solution. The best solution I've found is hyperosmotic ophthalmic solution. Then rinse this off with fresh water in 10 to 15 minutes. (Shouldn't be applied in the normal enclosure, but you have already removed the frog to a separate container.

If this doesn't seem to be working or if it appears to be irritating to the frog, he recommends a Gentamicin-based ophthalmic preparation, 1-2 drops daily. Silver sulfadiazine cream (Silvadene cream) is also mentioned as an alternative.

He also mentions oral care based gels, but some of these contain pain killers and are sometimes used to euthanize frogs, so I would avoid these.

I would personally use "leave it alone" approach unless it is obviously increasing in size and doesn't appear to be healing. My reasoning for this is that handling is always stressful to frogs and one may do more harm than good with treatment unless it is absolutely necessary.

I hope this helps you. You could also contact a herp vet through ARAV if there is one in your area. Click the link and then click on "members," which should give you a list by state and location.
ARAV

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

I also forgot to mention, although you have probably already done this, is to search around the tank to see what may have caused the abrasion. If you are able to post a picture of it, this may help, as well.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

Thanks for the advice! Im worried it may also be some sort of fungus or parasite because it started as a white spot and then became raw about two days later. Another frog now has a similar white spot on the same place and the original frog is getting a small white spot on the tip of his nose now too. Ill try what you suggested and it still doesnt improve i might have to see a vet. Thanks for the help!

That's quite a different scenario from a clean abrasion. I would look up a herp vet right away and at least telephone and talk to him. The saline treatment won't harm anything, but don't go beyond that until you consult someone and find out what it is. Best wishes.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

Here's the update on the mysterious frog outbreak. THe first one that got sick spontaneously got better and the skin is slowly starting to heal back. the second one that got the problem got much worse and the area of skin missing went nearly from eye to eye. i took him to the vet and they took a look at some of the cells on his head in a microscope and established that whatever was causing the problem has gone away and it is starting to heal. there was a small amount of bacteria on the slide but no more than would be expected on the skin of a normal frog. i really wish i had brought him in earlier and figured out what caused the problem but they are both getting better so the crisis is averted. I am just treating the last one for the large area of skin that is now missing from the top of his head. Bizarre!

Thank you for the follow-up information. It's good to know that they are getting better. What did the vet recommend treating this with?
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris