help sick mantella

corbe · 07-07-04, 04:14 AM

i have a painted mantella about week and a half ago she started to bloat then a day later i found her on her back i took her to the vet $57.00 later they had no idea what was wrong with her. (this vet was sapost to know about exotic herps) they gave her an anti pairsite drug but that has not done any thing i've bin bathing her in rep cal and antibotics as well as a salt salusion but shes getting worst she not eating. i find her on her back almost every hour . the vivarium is a 10gal tank with a 50/50 srew in pc there are some pothos and ivy and a fern as well as a cork bark log and a coonut hut. the ground cover is eco-coonut fiber with a 2cm of large gravel as drange. pls help..

Mark Pepper · 07-07-04, 06:56 AM

In many cases bloating is caused by an impaction, usually the result of ingesting foreign matierial it cannot digest. The frog begins to bloat because it can no longer paste waste materials out of its system and these materials build up slowly poising the frog. Their are other causes of bloating as well, such as ovaries rupturing, and organ failure which could be due to a variety of causes, but the most common is an impaction.

Set the frog up in a tupper ware with moist papertowels, a few cuttings from a pothos or philodendron type plant and watch for any fecal matter. If you dont see any within a day you can be nearly certain it is an impaction.

Treating is very difficult on a frog as small as a painted matella, but the frog will have to pass whatever is blocking it or it will die. A mild laxitive such as mineral oil will need to be adminstered orally. You can also try genly massaging the lower abdominal region with moist hands, you have to be vary gently, your goal here is to hopefully cause whatever is causing the blockage to shift and hopfully thus allowing it to pass.

If it does pass then the frog should be fine.

Of course bloating could also be caused by a bacterial infection?

How bloated is the frog? Did the vet run any bacterial cultures?

I am not a vet, these are just some ideas/tricks i have used to treat bloating with a variety of frogs in the past, with success, and with failure, use at your discretion.

good luck

corbe · 07-07-04, 10:51 AM

no the vet did not run any bacterial cultures they siad that they did not see any signs of impaction. thanks for the quick repy will try i got to do some thing. for her.

corbe · 07-07-04, 07:54 PM

miss piggy has passed she pass around 8 pm est time i'm going to send her remaninds to the vet to see what the cause of death was. in hopes that this can be avoided with any future frogs thanks for all the replys

Mark Pepper · 07-08-04, 06:35 AM

I am sorry to hear that. Please let us know what the vet determines was the cause of death, it may be useful info for all of us.

take care,
Mark

corbe · 07-09-04, 04:11 AM

the vet couldn't do much as in way of test be cause i foze her should have just stuck her in the frig. so not much could be got from the decsed. live and learn. well i'm going to start over what
should i do with the tank to make sure no contamits are tansmited to new frog . like boiling the eco fiber and cork bark.
any advice i'm thinking of getting some darts next like Dendrobates azureus, Dendrobates leucomelas or Dendrobates tinctorius.

PDDM · 07-09-04, 06:14 AM

I dont know much on Amphibians crobe,But im Very Sorry for Your Loss

corbe · 07-09-04, 03:15 PM

thxs i was so carefull to make sure i did every thing right i reseach i bought a book and read it 5 times to make sure i had the enviorment right. fed her the right foods just make me sad and a little mad. to have lost her... i'm not going to let it discouge me. :grab: when life hands you lemons make lemonade