Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!
My pac is about 10 months old and is eating well, seems to be healthy and fine. I'm at school right now and he's a great pet for the dorm (everyone is entertained when its feeding time) but when i brought him along on an excursion to a local pet-store one of the workers (who has frogs and had a Pacman Fantasy Breed or something) noticed that the lower half of my pac's stomach, to his rectum, including his back legs and his two front paws (though not his upper belly) was pink.

He said it looked like the start of an infection and that if i went from cleaning my 10 gallon lined with Jungle Mix dirt once a month to once every 2 weeks, I should see an improvement...

the discoloration doesnt seem to bother him, he eats normally, but he doesnt move alot. Not that he ever moved alot in the first place, but maybe it is hurting him?

I'll try to post pictures soon but I was just wondering if anybody ran into this problem or a similar one and how they solved it

thanks!
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)

BlueEyesAtNight,
Is your horned frog an albino specimen? This could explain the pink cloration. (Lack of pigment, more translucet skin). I have also found that some frogs, when sitting in water, seem to develope a pinkish coloration on their underside, this is immediate and fades within an hour or so. You say your frog is still eating, that's a sure sign that he is doing well. As for a lack of activity, all horned frogs are squat, fat, and "lazy". Their idea of a nice life would be to sit wait for food, eat the food, sit some more, poop, and move (then repeate the whole process over again till kingdom come). So don't be concerned by the lack of movement. As for changing the substrate, these frogs eat a lot, and thus produce large amounts of excrement when they deficate. This is hard to miss, and if removed in a timely manner, sums up all the cleaning that needs to be done for them. If you're changing the all the bedding once a month you'll be just fine. Just make sure the water is always clean and fresh. As far as a possible infection goes, if he has had the coloration for a long time (say two weeks or more) it is almost surely not an infection as by this time he would have expired. If you're keeping his cage damp and clean there should be no problem. If it is an infection, more frequent cage cleanings will do little to supplement recovery, as it will most likely not go away on its own. Most amphibian infections are caused by poor husbandry (which doesn't sound like an issue here) and present some kind of small reddish sores on the underside of the frog. You'll have to see a vet who works with amphibians. But again doesn't sound like an illness. If you can, post the picture it will clear up any questions. Best of luck to you and your frog.

EMWhite

is it a problem that he doesnt always move after he poops?

but he's eating fine (had his first hopper yesterday and enjoyed it)

he's not albino, he's green, but his feet have had that pigment for a while and the pink already seems to be fading a bit... i cant get a good picture because of the flash on my camera but its good to know that he's prolly ok

thanks so much!
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)

BlueEyesAtNight,
It's not a problem he doesn't move when he deficates, but if you see it you should still remove it. If the coloration seems to have faded, or if it's so light that it is difficult to remember, then he's almost surely fine. As I said, it's good that he's eating, just don't feed him mice too often (only once every ohter month or so) as they tend to be high in fat and can lead to a host of health problems. Best of luck to you.

EMWhite