Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! I'm new here. My local pet store actually suggested that I post here to see if anyone knows what is up with my Chubby Frog. His name is Potato. We have had him for over 7 years.

Basically, he has an eye infection of some sort. It's possible that this is all I'm ever going to know! I've been to the vet, been on other forums (which have been helpful at times) but I want to get as much information as possible. At first, someone told us they thought it was Corneal Lipidosis, but it happened in like two days, so someone else told us that it must NOT be Lipidosis.

We now think it is either fungal or bacterial. We are treating him with antibacterial (Gentamicin) eyedrops. At first he wouldn't eat or dig. He is now eating well and getting stronger every day. He also started shedding a couple of days ago. He is still blind, though. We think his right eye *might* be looking a little better, but we haven't seen any definite response to visual stimulus.

We're keeping him a little warmer than normal (~80F), he's in a smaller container with damp paper towels only (some wadded up in the corner so he could get under them if he wanted... but he hasn't yet.) We also have a low (2.0) UVA/UVB light on him 12 hours a day. As UV light kills bacteria/fungi this could help clear up the infection. We've been treating with the eye drops for a week now, and the vet wants us to go another week with them.

This picture was taken earlier today. The closer eye is the "better" one. You can see how the buildup on the worse one sticks out on the other side. It used to be worse.

We've had suggestions of using antibiotic ointment instead of drops (I think he'll just wipe it off, though) and someone suggested Methylene Blue, which I believe is anti-fungal... but if it's bacterial, then that would be wrong. I guess there is no way to know for sure, but the beauty of the internet is that I can at least get some more opinions!

Ideas? Questions? Comments?
Anything is appreciated!! Thank you!!
~Rebecca

Hi again! Just wondering if anyone has seen anything like this before...?
Do you think it's more likely to be bacterial or fungal?

it might be a cornea problem, i have no idea though. i have a FBT that has something that looks similiar, it's had it for like 2 years. i dont' think it's blind, it eats and hops and stuff and it appears to be healthy, hasn't lost any weight. it doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

Oh, wow really? Potato definitely acts like he can't see anything. He doesn't respond, for example, to food unless it touches him. Then he eats like crazy. But I'm pretty sure he's almost totally blind. Could severe cornea problems do that? And would they come on suddenly? Because his eyes were fine and clear, then cloudy the next day, then like this the very next...
Thanks for your comment!

yeah, i think they can. i'm not a vet or anything so i really don't know. but google that and see what comes up. i think they can come on suddenly. i think for now just make sure he's eating and all. with stuff like that, they don't actually die of the eye problem, they die of the side effects, like not being albe to catch food so they starve. so i don't really think theres' any rush. good luck!

Hmm... I haven't had any luck googling anything related to "cornea" and frogs. What do you mean by "cornea problem"? An infection? A lesion? (He doesn't have any lesions - the vet checked for that.) Something else? Thanks again! I hope you're right about there being no rush. I think there WAS a rush about a week ago because his eyes were a lot more swollen and bulging and the vet thought they might rupture. It has gone down, but they still look really bad, and might rupture, I'm afraid.

He is still eating well, though, and getting stronger. So the only "rush" would be to try and save his eyes. I think he himself might make it now, since he's eating and all. I wish he'd get sight back in at least one eye though.

He now has some sort of whitish spots on his back. It's like his skin is just paler there... it's not something growing ON him or anything. Any clues as to what this means? I could just be more shedding I guess... but I don't know. What could this be a symptom of? Bacterial infection spreading? Fungal?

do you see any mites or anything? if theres white spots it could be the areas where mites are heavy. does the frog seem irritated at all? scratching, staying in the water more than usual...? they could be seperate or they could be linked somehow. as far as the eye thing, maybe it has cataracs? they don't go away though, so it is life long. but as long as you make sure it's eating and moving around it should be fine.

if the frog has shedding problems there is a chance some is still stuck on the eyes, but i think your vet or you would have picked up on that because it's pretty noticable.

is the frog WC or CB? wc frogs often have stuff that is less common in CB species, so you might want to get a book on either herp stuff that can go wrong. or if you have any book about herps usually there is a very small section in the back about stuff that can go wrong. you might want to get a fecal done if you haven't allready, i don't think it has anything to do with the symptoms it's presenting now, but WC stuff usually has a LOT of parasites, usually worms. which are easy to treat w/ panacur. good luck!

I'm really sorry, but I have no clue what WC or CB means. I tried to google it, but I can't seem to figure it out! He is a Chubby Frog, Kaloula pulchra.

The spots definitely aren't mites... it's just skin discoloration, and he doesn't seem bothered by it at all. He's not acting any different. We also have been told to "wash" his eyes with clean, treated water in an eyedropper every day, so I think that would get rid of anything stuck to them. If his back gets wet, by the way, the spots fade and almost can't be seen. Thanks for the tip on the herp books. I'll look into that!

sorry about that, wc=wild caught, and cb=captive bred.

OH! Right, ok. Well, we're not sure, but most Chubby frogs, I think are WC. But since we've had him for over 7 years, wouldn't any problems stemming from that be past now? Or no? Still, I'll check into it. Thanks!

yeah, i think most chubbys are WC. if the animal was under stress parasites can manifest themselves cause stress weakens their immune system. i dont think its parasites though. i really don't know what it is, other than an eye problem.

Does this look like a bacterial infection or anything else you've seen? Thanks for any input!

Ok, so he seems to shedding... I think that might be all that the spots were... possible?

He's probably shedding skin. As for the eye problem, I had the exact same thing with my chubby frog. First one eye, then both. I took him to the vet & they treated him for a bacterial infection. They had us give him a drop of liquid Baytril (antibiotic) once a day orally. Also had 2 types of eye drops. First was (reading from label) Flurbiprofen Sodium 1 drop in each eye twice daily. And ... Tobramycin Opthalmic Solution, 1 drop in each eye 4 times daily.
We stuck to this regimen for 2 weeks. (Plus I completely sterilized his tank) One eye cleared but the other remained clouded. I'm convinced he is blind in that eye. He gets around just fine & I am careful not to change the location of anything in his tank. Had to hand feed him crickets at first but now he is back to his old ways & eating on his own. Doing just fine.
I hope this helps in some way. Good luck & hope your frog is doing okay. He looked good in the pic.
Jeanette