# leucomela under weight.



## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

I have a colony of six banded leucomela's. I have one male that is very under weight. these frogs are about six yrs old. Fecal test were done at the time of purchase. Recently I had a extended hospital stay which resulted in starving frogs. My wife did her best but the frogs still suffered. They are all eating strong and vigorously . have any of you had any luck feeding something to the frogs that might have more calories. Does it just take lots of time to fatten them back up. The skinny male is not badgered by his tank mates and he is always a the feeding station getting his fill. I use repashy vitamins to dust all fruit flies. I feed them springtails twice a week. Sorry for the long story. Thank you.


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## FrogTim (Oct 1, 2015)

I am not an expert, but I will chime in.

In this hobby we are used to our chubby (fat) frogs. If the frog appears healthy, active, eating readily and isn't bothered by tankmates I wouldn't worry too much. Observe him while feeding to make sure if he is eating as much as his tankmates and isn't hanging back/not eating as much.

In the wild the PDFs I observed seemed so tiny compared with our fat little guys. As long as he's not a skeleton like the ones I've seen at Petco I think he will be fine. 

If you are really concerned you could isolate him in a cheap sterilite container and feed him daily til he plumps up. Pinhead crickets are an option but they are costly, tend to run amok in your tank and if they hide long enough and get too big could pose a hazard to your frogs.

Just my .02cents Hope he gets well soon.


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## Jjl (Feb 2, 2014)

I'd also like to add that you don't necessarily have to see overt aggression for there to be tank mate-related stress. (I'm not saying that's the case here either, since it sounds like he was fine before your absence, and is eating a lot now. I just wanted to share my $0.02 on the anxiety issue). 

When you say that you feed them springtails a couple of times a week, do you mean that you put some in just to boost the microfauna population/vary their diet? If your tank has a well-established springtail population, I don't think you would need to add them at that frequency. I hope he gets better soon!


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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

Thank you for the replies. I do add the extra springtails to try to boost the micro fauna. The frogs are constantly rooting through the leaf litter and I rarely see any springs. I tried isolating him and he stopped eating, I even wrapped some butcher paper around the container hoping it might help. I think I will try the crickets, thanks for the idea. I wish someone local had bean beetles, I thought someone once did a write up on their nutritional value but I cant get the search engine to find the article. Thanks again.


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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

FrogTim. It must be pretty cool to see PDF's in their natural habitat. I envy you and others who are able to experience that. I had a Nurse from South America point at my dart frogs and shiver in disgust, She said that at certain times of the year they would cover her house when she was a child. I thought I would be in heaven.


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## FrogTim (Oct 1, 2015)

Darrell S said:


> FrogTim. It must be pretty cool to see PDF's in their natural habitat. I envy you and others who are able to experience that. I had a Nurse from South America point at my dart frogs and shiver in disgust, She said that at certain times of the year they would cover her house when she was a child. I thought I would be in heaven.


I went to Costa Rica thinking I would have to look hard to find them. On the Pacific side the Green & Black auratus loved hanging out next to the hiking trails and if you got within 5 yards they would hop away like mad. 

On the Carribean side the strawberry dart frogs were EVERYWHERE! 

It was an amazing experience.


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## FrogTim (Oct 1, 2015)

Darrell S said:


> Thank you for the replies. I do add the extra springtails to try to boost the micro fauna. The frogs are constantly rooting through the leaf litter and I rarely see any springs. I tried isolating him and he stopped eating, I even wrapped some butcher paper around the container hoping it might help. I think I will try the crickets, thanks for the idea. I wish someone local had bean beetles, I thought someone once did a write up on their nutritional value but I cant get the search engine to find the article. Thanks again.


As far as isolation goes. How long was he seperated for? Many frogs need a day or two to get used to their surroundings. Pretty traumatic being captured and dumped into a new home. Probably the reason for his refusal to eat.


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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

I gave him a week in isolation, and I had counted his fruit flies, I am now feeding small quantities in the main tank everyday and watching him eat several. I am just kinda panicky about underweight frogs. After reading other people's horror stories I get the impression they can fade away real fast and with the articles ED has posted I don't feel real good about how much nutrition the flies have once they shake the dust off.


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## mppp (Feb 5, 2014)

How's the Leuc doing now Darrell?


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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

His back legs are getting thicker. I had expected to see him with a round belly but he just looks a little more filled out. When they get to thin and regain weight it must come back differently than I expected. I fed them some dusted orange isopods and he caught several.


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## Aldross (Dec 30, 2013)

Didn't bother to read through all the other replies.
Here's my opinion though.
Leucomelas are prone to obesity so what you consider normal may or may not be. 
If they are truly underweight they you can feed FF larva every other day until they reach a suitable size. If you can put up some pictures of the under weight frogs that would explain more.


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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

Feeding the fly larva did the trick. He hardly ever leaves the feeding station. Thank you.


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## Imperialterrib (Sep 3, 2013)

To be on the safe side, dust the leucomeles food source with panacur about once a month and that way you would never have to worry about parasitic worms


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## Reef_Haven (Jan 19, 2011)

Imperialterrib said:


> To be on the safe side, dust the leucomeles food source with panacur about once a month and that way you would never have to worry about parasitic worms


Routine treatment is NOT recommended. Even when some nematodes are found in fecals, treatment is not always indicated.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-health-disease-treatment/61798-truth-about-panacur-2-0-a.html

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-health-disease-treatment/9555-regular-treatment-parasites.html


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

My Salt Creek male, said "the immortal", he lost weight because of the stress caused by works in its tank (it was detached the main wood to the cork background and it was hanging at the risk of ending up against the glasses). I have put the frog in a temp tank, I fed him with massive doses of springtails and melanos and in two weeks he's back chubby as before.
For sure the size is different, but I hope this helps.


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