Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my bullfrog does not look well...I keep him in an indoor pond...apparently for some time he has not been leaving the water...there is a rock waterfall for him to sit on...but he hasn't used it in quite some time...he just floated all the time or at least that I noticed while home and awake...the other day his tongue was hanging out...he did need a water change and I thought possibly he was becoming ill from absorbing the water...I moved him into a large container with fresh water and plant he could climb onto which he hasn't although he is looking a bit better...he also looked bloated although he always looks somewhat chubby...also which was not noticable in his pond, his front legs look as though they are twisted so that the bottom of his feet face upward...not broken looking, more like they grew that way...he does move around but hasn't climbed the plant so far as I know...I don't know what to do, know of no vets or knowlegable people in my area...
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1.0.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith (R.I.P.)
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo

definitely stay more on top of the cleanliness of the water. if it doesnt look like his front legs are bothering him it probably isnt a problem. you can try just setting him on a hard dry surface and see what he does with them. even if it was some sort of birth defect or growth problem a vet probably wouldnt be able to do anything for it. it could have something to do with not enough calcium. make sure you are giving him enough and the full spectrum light he may be needing to use the calcium.

can you recommend a good brand of calcium??again thanks...
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1.0.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith (R.I.P.)
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo

rep cal, good brand and the most for your money.

When was the last time you reall examined his legs?

Do you ever use a UVB light?

You deffinitely need to start using a calcium supplement. Also go out and get a UVB light ASAP. This helps them process the calcium and digest their food. From what you described it sounds like he's got a case of MBD- metabolic bone disease. I've had experience with this in lizards and frogs, both of which had to end up being put to sleep. So fix him up quick!

how do I administer the calcium?? I'll run out and get some today...can even take him outside for periods since I'm sure natural light is best....
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1.0.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith (R.I.P.)
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo

Calcium comes in a dust- I use Flukers. You just sprinkle some of the dust onto his crickets or whatever you feed him, and when he eats the food he will injest the calcium powder.

My guys spit out their food the first time they had calcium, but they got used to it and soon preffered having it.

To make it easier, you can purchase a cricket duster. It's a few dollars and you put the dust in, then the crickets, then shake it. It coats the crickets and when you're done the calcium settles to the bottom and you can shake the crickets out. It's not necessary though, spinkling it on the food works just as well.

Keep us posted

What I do is put a touch of herpavite(sp?) and the calcium one into the bag that you get when you buy your crickets. Put 3-4 crickets in there each time, shake the bag a bit, gets them coated pretty good, then carefully dump the crickets into the terrarium without spilling the dust.

I dust every 2nd feeding.

I got the calcium yesterday and put it on his red wigglers...he hasn't touched crickets lately so figured the worms he doesn't have to track down would be best for now...is there anything I can do to get hin the calcium if he would not eat since he's not well??I would rather not try and force feed him it since he is allready unwell and I don't want to add more stress...this morning I checked on him and he was on his back with legs sticking in air...thinking he had passsed on I was completely overjoyed to see him move when I went to bury him...he's never done this before...since I placed him in a different set up his color has changed, he is a lot lighter, he also went nuts the other day when he was startled by a noise which he hasn't done for some time...I'm hoping signs he might be feeling better...I will change his water every other day...I've read that placing an anti-bacterial ointment on there skin can help with illness as they absorb it??any thoughts on that?? any suggestions that could help I would really appreciate...I know I'm responsible for the shape he's in, for not being better informed...he's a fighter, made it through the loss of his leg when a tadpole before I got him...I don't want to let him down...thanks
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1.0.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith (R.I.P.)
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo

He sounds like he's been poisoned, or some organ in his body is failing. This is really strange. Sort of reminds me of the poisoned petco tree frog...

This is the time where you stop posting on the forums and take your frog to a herp vet. When my pacman started going on his back, he died two days later.

Please don't medicate him without knowing exactly what's wrong! He's obviously very ill and needs professional care.

Good luck.

You need to get a diagnosis to confirm "MBD". WIth disruptions of calcium metabolism, once it reaches a certain point the frog cannot survive without major intervention with the assistance of a vet. If the bones of the jaw and the tongue have deformed then the frog will need to be assist fed until it recovers enough that a determination can be made to see if the frog will be able to feed itself (often they can learn to lunge at the food item of tweezers).

Ed