Help Me! Firebelly Toad is Sick (pics)

Yesterday my husband noticed cloudy whiteness (film? skin issue?) on one of our firebelly toads. He's (she's?) been eating okay - both frogs aren't great eaters - I'm not sure if it is 100% normal, but they don't go all bonkers when we give them their crickets. They mostly wait until a cricket wanders by then snap them up. Sometimes it takes a day for the crickets to get eaten. We go through about 2+ dozen small crickets a week, give or take.

What could this be? Do you think it will clear up on its own, or should we try to do something to help little Kilgore get better?

Here are some photos I took. I'm sorry they're not better, but my phone isn't great and the digital camera isn't working at the moment.

TIA!


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Additional info/better description of his condition: the white/pale patches seem to be an actual loss of pigment. There seems to be some loss of skin texture as well. There's also white/pale areas around his eyes, but not the eyes themselves. It's really odd!

I can't see the photo in the middle, the link appears to be broken.

How often are you changing the water and cleaning that bowl? What are you using to clean it?

Are you using a water conditioner? If so, what type are you using?

Can you take more pictures of the patches? Is this affecting the eyes at all?

What you're describing could be caused by a variety of things including a fungal or bacterial infection. This could warrant a vet visit.

We change out the water about once a week. We don't use any chemical cleaners, just wipe it out well with paper towels and rinse it. We use stress-coat to condition the water. I just took another set of pics - they still aren't great but maybe you can see it a bit better.

ugh, that looks like some kind of fungus or skin problem.

I would separate that guy and just have a bowl of water, a fake plant and some wet paper towels. Clean daily with treated water. See if it clears up. Bump the temps on the QT enclosure to about 75.

Wow that definitely looks like it could be a fungus.

I second Liz (schlegelbagel), you definitely need to quarantine this one.

I would also recommend changing the water more often. FBTs continue to secrete toxins when they soak, which you can see as the rainbow-colored film on the water. Further, they defecate (poo) in the water too. Dirty conditions promote fungal and bacterial growth. I would suggest changing the water in the original dish and the quarantine dish every day. You might also consider cleaning the dishes with a herp safe cleaner (especially the quarantine dish). I use chlorhexidine (Nolvasan). It is not an anti-fungal, but works effectively to disinfect surfaces. Make sure you dilute it even when cleaning and that you rinse well. Make sure the dish you use in the quarantine enclosure is not porous.

if it is a fungus, you can treat it the same way we treat for Chytrid. It's safe for all amphibians.

I agree, the water in the regular tank, if it's not a large filtered area of water, it needs to be changed daily.

Lamisil AT treatment is as follows:

10 squirts into 200ML of water. 200 ml = 0.845350 cup

Soak frog for 5 minutes per day for 10 days, being sure to have solution get onto the entire frog.

Keep frog in clean setup after each treatment as just putting back into the original QT setup will just keep reinfecting the frog. Replace all paper towels, and clean and sterilize all the decor and container with a light bleach solution and RINSE VERY WELL.

Sterilize and redo the original setup before reintroduction of the frog.


It MUST be the Lamisil AT that comes in the pump spray, and NOT aresol.

Wow. A fungus... poor little fella. Tomorrow I'll pick up a critter box for his quarantine and a bottle of Lamisil AT. Am I correct in assuming that you are talking about the same Lamisil spray that is sold for human cases of athlete's foot?

Originally Posted by CrunchyGeek

Wow. A fungus... poor little fella. Tomorrow I'll pick up a critter box for his quarantine and a bottle of Lamisil AT. Am I correct in assuming that you are talking about the same Lamisil spray that is sold for human cases of athlete's foot?

Yep!

You could also use a storage tote. Might be cheaper. Pick up the lamisil at any drug store. In fact, Target sells everything you need. Shallow small dish, paper towels, and medication.