Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK...this will be an easy one I’m sure! My friend just purchased a frog which I’m pretty sure I correctly identified as Leptopelis uluguruensis at an animal show in Reading PA on March 20th.

It did fine in a container all night and then when she put it in it’s new tank the next day it lasted about 5 minutes before it began to spasm all over and then stretched out and expired. The photo I have included here is of the frog seconds before it began to show signs of illness.

What could have killed it? My guess, when I came over to examine everything, was that it died of toxemia. She had a scented candle right near its tank. I believe that vapors from the candle were absorbed through the frogs skin and killed it. Is this possible?

The only thing that makes me unsure of this theory is the fact that she has a small tree frog that’s lived comfortably with her for over two years in the same, candle filled environment. It’s doing VERY well! Could the Leptopelis just be WAY more delicate? Any additional information would be appreciated. Thank you.

Were they in the same tank when it died?
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BIGHYDRO: There is only 1 frog that I am asking about. I typed "frogs" instead of "frog's" which may have lead to some confusion.

The Leptopelis was in it's own, clean, glass tank that was never exposed to soap or other chemicals.

Across the room in a small aquarium was (and still is) the smaller tree frog (not sure of the species except that it's native to North America)

There are scented candles that are burned regularly in this apartment but maybe the new frog was hypersensitive? It's the only thing I can think of. I thought maybe there was some chlorine in the water but, again, the tree frog has been fine for over 2 years. It's just odd!

Sounds like stress to me, which can be a quick killer to frogs. Between being packed up for the show, then unpacked for display, then handled, then packed back up to go home with the new owner, then moved again to another tank, etc. Those all play a part in their stress level.
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OK...I'll buy that but I've never had anything like this happen with any of my herps. Is it possible that this frog was wild?? We certainly didn't handle it at all.

More than likely it was a wild caught frog. But even captive frogs can stress out as well, though more severe with wild caughts.
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