Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First of all, for anyone that had been following the story of Prince the Albino Bullfrog who was unusually light in color and passed away a few weeks after I got him, I never did update my post with the Necropsy results. The vet said that Prince was not only pale on the outside (he was ivory instead of yellow for anyone who didn't see his pics) he was also abnormally pale on the inside, his organs were pale, I believe he specifically mentioned kidney and liver. He had no stored body fat despite a tremendous appetite, had food in his belly at time of death. He found no signs of parasites, which doesn't completely rule them out, and he found nothing unusual in the live moss I had lining the tank (I'd brought in a sample then disposed of the rest just in case). There was no obvious cause of death, he said it didn't look like he was a healthy frog to begin with. What I took to be a unique coloration was actually a sign of something wrong. Live and learn.

I obviously didn't live an learn because I found a Barking Tree frog who was round and so cute! I took him to be just pudgy and thought he must be a great eater. I set up an enclosure and went back to get him and he'd died the night before. Can I pick them or what? I guess "sick" frogs just seem to appeal to me?

Anywho, hopefully I did better picking out my new Eyelash Frogs. I don't know if they are boys or girls or a pair. With my luck probably both boys. I read in a below post about holding them up to a light to see if you can see the ureters(sp?). I'll try that after they've settled in. I love that they don't have a tadpole stage and the eggs hatch right into tiny froglets. If these two are boys I will begin a search for some females.

First my question, then the pics... The reddish frog has lost the projection that was on his nose. I'm guessing it happened in shipping at some point. Will he ever grow it back or is it gone for good? If gone for good will this hurt him in finding food or in any other way?

Here are the two of them. You can see the brown one has the point on his nose and the red one doesn't.

This one I've nicknamed "Chompy" because he tried to eat my thumb when I was transferring him into his new home...

This is the one missing the front pointy piece (don't know what you call it?). He seems friendlier. Did not take a chomp out of my thumb and actually sat on my hand for a while when I set him down, then just calmly walked off of my hand.

This will show you their size. I don't know how old they are or if you can tell by how big they are. I'm thinking they are about full grown but I haven't measured them. I read they get about 3 inches. Note how I'm trying to keep my thumb away from his mouth, this was just after he got his nickname...

I'll take more pics after they settle in a bit, and will get pics of their enclosure. I just have them in a 20 gallon now, hoping to get them a 40 breeder down the road. Don't think they need height like my White's so think a 40 breeder would be good.

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www.LynsLair.com
Western New York Herpetological Society
0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Ratsnake (Pumpkin)
0.0.1 Southern Water Snake (Ripley) coming soon!
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
1.0 Albino American Bullfrog (Prince)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.9 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess Leo, Twister)

One of the causative factors you may want to consider as a possible cause in the death of newly aquired frogs is refeeding syndrome. Refeeding syndrome typically occurs in frogs that have no fat reserves and have been starved to the point where blood values of required electrolytes are being sustained at the expense of the cellular levels. It is typified by newly aquired animals being fed a large meal and dying shortly after being fed the meal. The animal dies as the electrolyte levels in the blood suddenly drop as they are scavenged to transport the sudden influx of nutrients into the cells. It can be readily avoided by feeding small meals daily to allow the animal to build up the reserves to some extent. Once this occurs then the quantity offered with each meal can be increased and the frequency decreased until the animal is on a normal feeding schedule. Animals that are held at various distributers may be held for a significant period of time may be underfed (or not fed at all) and need to be dealt with carefully until well acclimated.

There is a fair possibility that the eyelash frogs have been underfed prior to you purchasing them as there isn't any way to tell how long them were held at the exporters before being shipped to this country. (you might be able to see if the frog has fat pads by illuminating the frog with a strong flashlight).

Also when I have recieved wildcaught frogs of this species in the past they have usually been heavily parasitized by nematodes. Once they are acclimated you can have their fecals checked and discuss a worming program with your vet.

The snout looks to be well healed over so the rostral point is unlikely to regrow at this point.

Some comments,

Ed

I never knew about the problems overfeeding new frogs who have not been fed properly. The Bullfrog was at the pet store for quite some time, but they don't always feed so good and he was in with other frogs, so not sure how much he was eating. He seemed so hungry I did feed him alot when I got him. I'll be careful not to do that with the Eyelash Frogs. Chompy did eat immediately when I got him. I put him in, then put in a cricket and he gobbled it right up. Haven't seen the other one eat yet.

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Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley) coming soon!
1.0 Normal Corn Snake (Mystery) coming this summer
0.1 Motley Corn Snake (Autumn) coming this summer
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (not named yet)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.9 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess Leo, Twister)

Hi,
Small meals frequently is the best way to deal with it until you can make sure of the animals' condition. I would recommend feeding them once a day several crickets for the first couple of weeks as a basic precaution. These frogs can be shy to get feeding initially so I would suggest letting them settle in a few more days before worrying about it too much.

I'm working on acclimating a group of Atelopus spumarius at home right now and as this is normally a species that feeds daily I'm offering small amounts of fruit flies and ten day old crickets a couple of times a day to make sure I don't over do them.

Ed