Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was holding one of my WTF's the other day and upon inspection I realized that one of his fingers has been torn off!
How could this have happened? I don't have anything unsafe in their tank...some logs, jungle vines, a water bowl, bark for substrate, lots of plastic plants...
Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Will he be okay?

Tanzee

Do you feed the frogs inside of their cage? It is possible that crickets could have eaten at the toe and it has fallen off. And even though things may seem safe inside the cage, plastic can injure them. Is the whole finger missing? Or just the toe pad? When I purchased one of my frogs, part of its upper lip was missing...how it got there? I have no clue!! Another one had a huge hole on the inside of it's arm and you could see its muscle and ligaments. Maybe it got caught underneath or inbetween something or fell on something in just the wrong way...and just out of curiousty...have you been treating it at all? I think you can make a solution of salt and water which I have used on my frogs it works-obviously it would have to be very diluted. Or even just put a topical antibiotic on it. Another thing could be bumblefoot, but usually affects more than one toe or limb. Here's the link to the web address describing the condition and it's cure: http://www.klsnet.com/sickamph.html

good luck

Yes I do feed them in their enclosure. I once tried to feed them in something seperate, but they wouldn't eat. They only eat in their tank! I also have a tree frog with part of his upper lip missing. I am not sure if that was like that before I got him or not. And the finger, well, it also could have been like that before...but we only just recently noticed it. It does not appear to be infected at all, so I have not treated it. It actually looks fine, healing/healed nicely.
Don't you think that if a cricket were to start munching on one of the frogs that they would not just lay there and take it?! LOL...I know they are relaxed..but still...!
Thanks for the reply and info!!

Tanzee

If you haven't had problems with feeding them in their enclosure...then don't let anything stop you! My situation is that one of my frogs somehow started to lose abilities/feelings in the back of his legs, and so I saw crickets kind of nibble at his toes...and yes the others who have all their feeling jerk away when crickets start nibbling at them, but they don't jump away so I have to "shoo" the crickets away sometimes especially during feeding when the frogs are trying to swallow. Another thing is that if the frog is sick, it might be reluctant to want to move...but if the frog's dealing with it just fine, and it's healing, there's probably nothing to worry about. I've noticed things on my frogs after I purchased them that I hadn't seen when I inspected them thoroughly previous to purchase (such as the two I described.) I like to think of it as fate...LoL because what would of happened to them had they been left in poor conditions? (at least in my case they were) So I guess the possibility of an injury on something inside of the cage would be the best bet. How long have you had the frog? Chances are it happened beforehand if you just recently purchased the frog and it's already healed up nicely...I just feel bad when the poor frogs are in any kind of pain...but as long as your frog is eating and shows no sign of infection, I'm sure it'll be just fine (as you probably already know!)

Thanks for the reply! I have had my frogs for about 6 months now, and I didn't inspect them when I bought them, but I think I will from now on!
Looking in my tank right now, I can't see anything that I think is dangerous, but I guess you never know. I do use plastic plants...could those be sharp for them?
Well, I am assuming that my frog is okay..he definitely pigs out at feeding time!-and roams around at night and still croaks and acts normal, so I guess he is alright!
Thanks again for the info!!

Tanzee

if either of you are worried about the crickets biting at your wtf's have you ever tried hand feeding? it is just a thought but by doing so you know that there is a lot lower of a chance of a loose cricket in the tank. hope this helps

*gulp*, I don't think I could hold a cricket! eeewww... but good idea!

Tanzee

They actually have feeders in most pet stores...at least stores you know carry amphibians/reptiles. I've seen them for turtles, but would do just fine for crickets. And you can also used dead crickets (which can also be purchased in the store) as long as they're dusted with vitamins for the frogs. I usually just take a tweezers and find some place to grab (on females I grab the long black tube coming out if it's behind) and on the males I usually just squeeze the butt. Sounds cruel, and it's not really fun, but my frogs will eat crickets that way as well. Sometimes I can also grab the cricket by the antennae and just dangle it in front of the frog. Different ways to do it...but I would never grab the whole body...they bite!

That sounds like a good idea. Funny that I never clued in to using tweezers to feed them..I just held my breath and dangled a live one, but they didn't take it. Maybe they just weren't hungry.
Well I have to pick up crickets today, saw my guys out trying to hunt last night, so maybe I'll try it out.

Tanzee