HELP!!!

What are the signs of Dropsy? and how easily is it cured? Not sure but I think my Green Tree Frog may have it. He barely moves in the tank, stays on the bottom, kinda jerks around when going after food (but does manage to eat), have held him and he is very cool. Let him sit in a warm window but didn't seem to help. Have now moved him to a 2-gal iso tank with paper towels, a small branch, a plastic container w/ damp moss, and a cork bark log. Not sure what else to do. Completely tore apart his other tank and am currently washing with Repti Safe cleaner and air drying (over a furnace vent).

Thanks for all the help, will try to get pictures soon.

Hey! I'm no expert but I recently had a toad with dropsy (see "toad with dropsy" thread) and did a ton of research to save the little guy on a few common diseases beyond dropsy as well, I might not be able to help you fully but hopefully it can help you with your own research.

The main sign of Dropsy that I observed is an edema, a full body bloating with the abdomen being the most ballooned part. You didn't mention a bloating so i'm hesitant to suggest a dropsy treatment plan straight off...amphibians and especaially tree frogs are very sensitive (which is why we declorinate) and a treatment of any kind really stresses em out. to do the wrong treatment would be worse than just keeping him in an extremly clean isolation cage with all his requirements ment...of course doing the right treatment would be best .

In my particular case of Dropsy the toad was unable to move in a corrdinated way and it almost looked like his legs were broken and he jerked his body around in a horrible way to move, he was exceptionally ballooned and looked like a tennis ball. when a light was held to the other side of his body I could see through his tightly stretched skin to the point of being able to see exactly where the massive fluid buildup stopped and the organs started. In my particular case the toad didn't lose its appitite all together but was in too much pain and too immobile to eat food at first until I started treatment. Dropsy is often hard to detect because sometimes the symptoms are not so obvious, but i'd say since your little guy is still eating it is a good sign overall no matter what disease it is. In my case the dropsy was bacterial. I was told that dropsy can also be a metabolism thing caused by failing kindneys and liver and other organs that process the expell of water from the amphibians body. I feel that as you didn't mention massive bloating your little guy either doesn't have dropsy, or it is just in preatty early stages and your in good shape. Not always does dropsy have massive bloating, but in my case the bloating was the main obvious sign, I wouldn't rule out any other diseases just based on the description you gave. Also Dropsy is usually fatal.

Be aware that if your toad looks somewhat bloated and is displaying signs of lethargy it may just be a bowel impaction, in which case a luke-warm water soak will help him expell.

If you could show us some pictures we would really be able to help, but you could identify it also prob with a little google image search of all the common amphibian diseases.

Is your Green Tree Frog really puffy and bloated with its skin stretched and balloon like? Is there any red discoloration anywhere on your frogs body, particularly on the underbelly and back of legs? Is there discoloration of any kind that is different that normal? Has this been progressing slowly or did it set on rapidly? Is your frog yawning or doing anything abnormal with his mouth?

Start with: Xenopus Disease Frog (and other amphibian) illnesses and diseases
http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/doctor/bloat1.jpg -picture of dropsy

Good luck! Please post more and pictures if you can.

Here are some pictures that I just took. Hope they are clear enough. I don't see any redness in his legs or extreme swelling of the abdomen.

Attached Images

	IMAG0001.JPG (16.7 KB, 9 views)
	IMAG0002.jpg (14.5 KB, 7 views)
	IMAG0003.JPG (17.7 KB, 7 views)
	IMAG0004.JPG (9.8 KB, 8 views)
	IMAG0005.JPG (17.4 KB, 7 views)

I thought I might be able to help when I heard dropsy, but it doesn't look anything like dropsy I've experienced. In fact I don't really see anything indicating an infection of any kind. I've never experienced anything like this. I hope someone is able to help soon, the little guy is very cute!

Besides behavior, does he look different than normal?

He looks a little plump for an American green tree frog, but not bad, although it does look like he has some snout damage. It's possible it's just the beginning stages of dropsy, which still isn't good, but it may be easier to treat. However, I wouldn't treat for dropsy until you know for sure that's what it is.

Other than that, it could be a neurological problem, or a nutrition problem. Could you give a rundown of what his habitat is like and what sort of cleaners you're using?

__________________
+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

There is a chance it is fungal. Lately on my frog board, they have been treating for the Chytrid fungus with really great results and it doesn't hurt to try. What the fungus does is clogs up their pores and their skin can't breathe.

I'm not saying this is what it is, but its worth a shot.

The Lamisil AT treatment is as follows: 10 squirts into 200ML of water. 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 setup will just keep reinfecting the frog. Sterilize and redo the original setup before reintroduction of the frog.

You can find the whole thread here:
Chytrid...the fungus among us - talk to the frog

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Personally I agree with Furryscaly somewhat and am a tiny bit nervous to treat for either bacterial or fungal infections unless it is certain just because of the possible stress. Lamisil AT is pretty mild for people, but I am overly paranoid when it comes to amphibians. Then again Schlegelbagel is correct and tons of people have done this to amphibians with no noticeable harmful effects at all, so it should be fine. Plus the pictures don't show it, but the way you describe your tree frog's condition suggests that it is nervous system damage which can be caused by late stages of chytrid...

But if you have the cash and a worthwhile Vet, maybe you could take him to a Vet and they could say for sure if this is a bacterial infection, fungal infection or something else.


Also check out this site:

How to Treat Chytrid Fungus in Captivity and the Backyard

How to Recognise Chytrid Fungus

He is in a 10 g and with a mix of Fir and Sphagnum peat moss topped off with Flukers moss, a few fake branches and plants for color, climbs, and hides, and a water dish. Since this has been happening, however, I have him in a 2.5-gal iso tank with paper towels, a terra cotta water dish, a piece of cork bark and a plastic carry out container (the ones pet stores use to send home critters in) filled with moss. He doesn't seem interested in anything to eat. The same 2 crickets are still in the cage since Saturday afternoon. (I will be removing them after this post.) I'm keeping the iso tank in a darker area of the room, also a little warmer in that corner. I'll try and post a pic of the iso tank, just in case I wasn't clear in the description. Was handling him a little bit (with food safe gloves -- not vinyl or latex) earlier and he seemed to actually enjoy the warmth of my hand. He started to move and look around a little. Thinking maybe a change in size of crickets may be in order. Trying to feed mediums, may be too big but I have seen him eat them before.

Attached Images

	IMAG0001.jpg (13.6 KB, 9 views)
	IMAG0002.jpg (14.1 KB, 10 views)

Forgot to mention that the darker spot in the second picture behind the water dish is him. Doesn't look happy

I use primarily decholored water and a very, very small amount of white vinegar to clean the glass and Repti Safe cage cleaner for everything else. I change the entire substrate out every few months. I clean all the decorations about 2x a month. (I think I have finally answered all the questions) Oy!! Hope it all helps and thanks to all for helping me with the little guy. (His name is Jake, BTW) Also, went to the pet store this weekend and all their green tree frogs are much smaller than Jake. Only about 1 - 1 1/4 inches. Jake is approx 2" long. ???