Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two fire bellied toads with a weird skin irritation/infection on their faces. It's only on their faces around their mouth and eyes. They are lethargic, not very active, and have refused food for over 2 weeks now. I'm wondering if this is some kind of fungus or bacteria because they both got it around the same time. Could this be an irritation because of the city water? The water in the town I live in isn't good - I rarely drink it. I treat it with a declorinator (2 drops per gallon of water) then I also boil the water the day before I'm going to use it.

I've tried putting Tetracycline in the water like the vet recommended but the vet really doesn't know what is wrong without running expensive tests. Any ideas what this could be? They've been like this now for over a month and are only getting worse and not better.

Thanks!
Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

Here's a photo of one of my sick fire bellied toads with the skin irritation on his face. It's much worse now and they close their eyes a lot...

Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

To be blunt: the reason why you did not get a response is because the only thing to do is to get those "expensive" test that the veterinarian was talking about. The simplest tests could not possibly be too expensive, it would mean determining whether or not the infection is the result of a fungal or a bacterial infection. Even doing a gram stain could help direct the course of therapy. I would imagine that you could do one or a couple of these tests for the lesson hundred dollars. Certainly the infection could be secondary to primary stressors such as poor water quality.

In the meantime, your veterinarian should invest in the Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry, by Wright and Whitaker.

If these options still are not viable, do not let them waste away like they are now, because they will not get better without treatment. You should consider a humane euthanasia and whether or not you can provide veterinary care to future pets you may have.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

I CAN provide veterinary care for the reptiles that I rescue. I just CHOOSE to put the sicker, weaker reptiles first. There are only a limited amount of funds that Beautiful Dragons has to rescue and rehabilitate sick or ill reptiles and I'm sorry to say that the FB toads are near the bottom of the list for getting $45 tests done. I just recently treated a uromastyx with a respiratory infection that cost around $250. I am posting to this board for some advice not criticism. I can get that somewhere else.

I'm still hoping that someone will recognize the symptoms and give me some insite before I have to take such drastic measures like euthanizing them. I certainly don't want to see them suffer.

Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

I provide advice in the most factual basis as possible. I commend you for the efforts you are putting towards saving the lives of captive reptiles and amphibians, but I do not have time to do background checks on everybody who posts here. I personally have no patience for people who refuse veterinary care of their pets because of the cost. Although I certainly would not lump you into this category, I don't think that a $45 diagnostic test is out of the question. In fact, I consider it absolutely essential for the remedy of this condition. I can assure you with 99 percent confidence that no one on this forum will be able to provide you with a diagnosis and the course of treatment by looking at a picture of it. I am 100 percent positive that it absolutely requires those diagnostic tests. It is important to remember that even a simple nose rub can turn out to be much worse, if the infection go systemic, there will be little hope for the little toad.

I think that you and I are in the same boat, we just want what is best for the animals. I am just trying to explain that there is no home remedy for something like this. Unfortunately even simple things require huge medical bills.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)