Kiwi needs your help please

[Wolfus_305]

ok, so Kiwi is my boyfriend's RETF. he is fairly young, he was purchased in September and has been doing well until now.
Yesterday Ashby (my boyfriend) noticed white spots on kiwi, first only a few and now more. he made an appointment with a vet who said they dealt with frogs, gets all the way there and finds out they actually don't deal with frogs, the person who said that made a mistake.
That place gave him the number for another place that DOES deal with frogs and that appointment is either sunday or monday (i can't remember)

Ashby managed to get my this picture. What do you guys think it is?

[Shmoges]

My only experience with frogs is catching them as a kid and more recently we have a few white lipped tree frogs. The skin on ours will change in color and texture quite frequently and to be honest we thought at first that they had mold or something on them but there skin changes a lot to suit there mood. Other factors like age, and stress affect it aswell. After doing some research our concerns were appeased and sure enough they would get bright green and slimy looking in a few days.

How is the frog behaving? is it still eating and active? Is it wild caught or captive bred? what does it eat? More pics too plz :D

[Wolfus_305]

that basically sums up my experience with frogs, except I own kiwi vicariously through Ashby.

Ashby says that kiwi is acting normally, eating and captive bred

I have a couple photos of kiwi in a different thread in the amphibian section, apparently he's quite difficult to get pictures of because he's still so tiny

[Shmoges]

I am curious about the progression of the spots. They could just be blemishes or maybe dirty enclosure irritation? Our froggies will get rub marks on there noses some times that will discolor from the rest of there body and slowly heal. We try to combat fecal matter in our frogs tank naturally with adding spring tail bugs to it once and awhile ( they eat poo). Eventually though we do have to do water changes.

[Wolfus_305]

Hmm, I know Ashby cleans the enclosure quite frequently, but recently learned how to handle kiwi and is having trouble resisting his cuteness :P perhaps it's just stress?

[Shmoges]

Or contamination from human skin. Our own skin oils or chemicals on our hands can irritate or kill amphibians.

[jarich]

Though I havent raised RETFs, they do develop spots naturally, and they are white, so it may just be that he is maturing. If he is eating well and all other signs are good I dont think I would worry too much. There is a really good forum specifically for frogs (not sure if Im allowed to mention other forums, but its a frog forum on the net... can you get where Im going here?) there are a number of reputable breeders on that site that are full of great information

[Shmoges]

Yeah even though frogs are more fragile you don't need to rush to the vet asap. We had two prolapsed cloaca's on our frogs (bubblegum butt) when we first got them and after a sugar bath and some regretful lubed quetips they re-cooperated with counseling.....

[Wolfus_305]

thank you so much everybody for all your advice :) last i talked to Ashby he said that the spots were going away :)

[Jenn_06]

might want to try some frog forums they will know way more about whats going on.

[alessia55]

I know nothing about frogs but he sure is cute! :yes: I'm glad those spots have gone away, and hopefully so have your worries :)

[ZARADOZIA]

I don't want to scare you, but I did find this about spots on them:


Oodinium
Oodinium is a common illness among captive red-eyed tree frogs and manifests as small whitish or gray spots all over the frog's lime green skin. This condition is usually caused by dirty habitats, but it can be caused by one of many other conditions, such as red leg disease. If caught early enough, oodinium can be treated by placing the frog into distilled water and cleaning the habitat thoroughly. It is imperative to keep your red-eyed tree frog's habitat pristine.

Red Eyed Tree Frog Diseases | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/about_5376107_red-eyed-tree-frog-diseases.html)


Oodinium:

The signs of this disease are very small white dots on the skin of the Red Eye Tree frog. You should be careful when diagnosing this as red eyes will often have small white specks due to their skin colour. An easy way to make certain that it is oodinium is to remove your frog from its current housing and place it in a separate container of shallow water and some chamomile, whilst this is happening you should thoroughly clean the whole of the frog’s tank to ensure they are living in a healthy, clean environment. If the problem persists after this you should see you veterinary surgeon immediately.

Frog Healthcare (http://www.reptiles-info.co.uk/frog-healthcare.html)
Tree frog disease | Oodinium


This is one of the more common tree frog diseases that occur at home when your frogs are kept in unsanitary conditions. Small white dots will start to appear on the red eyed tree frog. Dont jump to conclusion here when diagnosing however as the red eyed tree frog naturally has small white pigmentations anyway. In order to get rid of the white spots try placing your frog in a solution of water and chamomile. You will also need to deal with the root of the problem and that is your vivarium. Give it a thorough clean out before placing you frog back.

Tree Frog Care Secrets Resources (http://www.treefrogcenter.com/tree-frog-disease.html)

Fish also suffer from this, it contaminates their water supply and they have to be quarantined as well as given completely changed out and fresh water. *Change his water*

http://www.fishvet.com/Oodinium.pdf

[Wolfus_305]

mhmmm, I read about that and sent it to Ashby. Ashby tried the distilled water thing and said that he thinks it helped. Last I heard kiwi was doing well :)

here is a video of the little guy: My Red Eyed Tree Frog (Kiwi) Shedding (or yawning?) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iT0mni7ytc&feature=player_embedded)

[snake man12]

I don't think frogs shed

[Wolfus_305]

hmm so I did a bit more reading, it says that before they shed they can get white, raised spots on them...

[ZARADOZIA]

Hope for the best (shedding) but be prepared for the worst (sick). I don't know about frogs, but when fish suffer from Oodinium they gasp for breath. He could be yawning, stretching skin for shed, or gasping for breath...I am clueless. I see no harm in treating him for Oodinium though. Mark on calendar the dates of discoloration and then watch for it to reappear.

[Wolfus_305]

Definitely! Thank you for your help/advice/support. Ashby is saying that he is looking much better now, still eating and behaving normally :)