Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I ve had 2 d.luecomelas for about a year now and something has been buggin me about one of them. The female has always had a larger nose than the male, with a tumor on it about the size of her eyeball. I realized this was not natural after purchusing the frog (as a froglet- 3weeks old) but it never seemed to bother her or impede her feeding so i did nothing about it. Recently (the past 2 weeks) a wierd black blotch has appeared on top of the tumor and is slightly indented into it. She is still fine but the abnormality is bothering me, i dont want her to be uncomfortable at all. If it had not always been there I would say it was a bacterial infection but it has always been there. The pair live in a heavily planted 20 long with a 12 hour photoperiod and i remove feces weekily. They have 83% humidity and 79 degree temperature and a small waterfall i made for them. They are feastivily plump (even for Luecs) and eat fruit flys and the occasional ant that I take out of the yard, I use a vitamin supp. and calcium daily.Other frog tumors?? please tell

Do you live anywhere near a veterinarian who specializes in reptiles and amphibians? If so, it might be worth the trip and expense to get an expert's opinion.

If it's been there for a year without affecting your frog's health, it is probably benign, maybe a kind of foreign body granuloma that will form around a tiny sliver that embedded in the tissue very early in its life. The change you see may indicate it is resolving, as many foreign body reactions eventually do. On the other hand, any change in a lesion is a signal that something else is happening, good or bad. The good part is that the frog is still eating and still appears healthy. The bad part is that any advice you may get here is just a WAG or anecdotal. Have you contacted the breeder you bought the frog from? That would be one step. He may have had similar reports in other frogs, or experienced it in others.

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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)

thanks for the fast reply

The tumor is actually deflating now, i guess a decent analogy would be what happens after you pop a pimple... only slower. I live outside of DC and there are several great, but costly, exotic vets in my area. Rather then schedualing a $70 check up with the vet i use for my snake im guess im just going to go to the national zoo and ask them about it, since someone else at least thinks its worth it. I am a little short on time so a vet visit is not an immediate reality. Ive gone to the keepers at the zoo's Amazonia exhibit before(they have a MASSIVE dart collection, almost as large at the one not in display at the baltimore aquarium) and have recieved excellent advice about breeding (it worked).
Thanks again for the second opinion. Ill post their diagnostic to help anyone else who has similare problems.

What kind of advice did you receive about breeding? I'm alway looking for little tricks to kick-start my cobalt's!
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Randy
Lawrence, Kansas
1.1 Azureus
1.1 Cobalt
1.1 Fantasticus
2.2 Bastimentos Pumilio

I just had another thought that should have been an obvious first suggestion. You've probably already done this.--If not, it would be a good idea to quarantine your frog for the time in a separate critter keeper or other small tank just in case there is a bacterial, viral or the off chance of some parasitic element here, especially if it appears to have broken like a pimple or is exuding anything.

Do let us know what you find out.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)

I finally got a chance to go to the National Zoo and their diagnostic was... a benign tumor caused by scar tissue build up(so not really a tumor, just a funky scar). We believe that the initial wound (either a cut or a fractured nose)was inflicted at the breeder's since when the frog first came to me the tumor thingy was already there and the frog was skittish (for a CB frog, she would hit the glass and stuff the first few weeks). The change could be several things: #1 healing(i have my fingers crossed) #2 new infection #3 bacterial related to a new infection. Treatment for me will consist of watching the frog closely and, if the condition worsens, going to a vet to get a penicillin proscribed (if bacterial).
Breeding tips that worked for me(courtesy Amazonia Staff): Luecs have a short dry season in nature so I cut back the photoperiod, food, and misting for a few weeks and waited for a T-Storm. I broke the dry sdeason when it hit and opened the windows in their room and started HEAVY misting(never directly mist your frogs though). The next day I took a mp3 of a luecs call (off some german site) and played it next to their tank for over 7 hours. # days later I found eggs. Hope that that helps... dont remeber if tincs are from as far south as Luecs though, but i definatly thought that the advice I was given helped, especially the call... man was the male ticked off, jumping all over the cage and calling from on top of their hide.

Thanks for sharing the follow up advice from the zoo, as well as the breeding tips. They should come in handy.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)