# froglet missing front legs



## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

just had 2 tads morph with no front legs at all. they were from the same clutch and the other 6 morphed with no sls or any signes of health problems. just wondreing how rare this was. i have yet to see a post about this. the back legs are developed and one has no tail left and the other still has a small nub. i checked with a flashlight from underneath and there are no front legs under the skin. ill try to get some pics up later today. later josh


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## RGB (Jan 15, 2006)

That sucks, any chance other tads could have done this to them?


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

no signs of injury.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I don't think that it's terribly rare, but it usually occurs more often to pairs that produce frequent SLS froglets.


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## kleinhanz (Oct 18, 2004)

Dane is right, I have had this happen several times and I attribute it to SLS


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

How weird! How are they moving around? What are you going to do with them?


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## kleinhanz (Oct 18, 2004)

euthanize


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

yes they will be put down before they starve to death. 

back2eight-they sort of hop around with their back legs. by no means imobile.


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

What do you do, put them in the freezer or what?


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

yes i will put them in the freezer. really sucks after all the time it takes to raise the little guys.


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## Guest (May 6, 2006)

I forgot the thread that talks about this, but isnt freezing really painful?


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

here is a link to acceptable forms of euthanasia. http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/euthanasia.html

here is some better info. aparently oragel is acceptable and works well.

Amphibians
Preferred methods
Chemical means are the preferred method of euthanasia in amphibians, but these methods should always be followed by double pithing (with or without decapitation) or freezing below -10°C to ensure death.

Barbiturates
Sodium pentobarbital is effective at a dose of 60 to 100 mg/kg. The intravenous route is recommended where possible, especially when using concentrated euthanasia solutions. Otherwise the i.p. route may be used using the 60mg/ml solution usually used for anesthetic purposes.

Dermally absorbed anesthetics
Animals can be placed in a 2-3 mm deep anesthetic solution, which is then absorbed through the ventral skin. Commonly used anesthetics are:

Chloral hydrate – For frogs and toads, a 3% solution of chloral hydrate is generally effective. 
MS-222 (tricaine methane sulphonate) – A 0.1% (1 g/L) solution of MS-222 is effective in most amphibian species. MS-222 is acidic, and the solution should be kept at pH 7.0-7.5 by adding sodium bicarbonate (typically at 2 g per gram of MS-222). 
Benzocaine hydrochloride – Effects are similar to MS-222, and like MS-222 solutions should be brought to neutral pH with sodium bicarbonate. Commercially available preparations (e.g. Orajel®) of both 7.5% and 20% have proved effective when applied to the animal's ventral surface and do not need buffering. Note that benzocaine (not the hydrochloride) is not water soluble and is not recommended. 
Conditionally acceptable methods 
Physical methods
Decapitation alone is not considered an acceptable means of euthanasia in amphibians because of the high tolerance of nervous tissue to hypoxia. Double pithing, or decapitation followed by double pithing, is required to ensure brain death. Ideally these methods should follow anesthesia, but stunning prior to decapitation or pithing is acceptable when the operator is well-trained and when scientific justification is provided. Pithing may not be performed on conscious animals.

Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide can be used for euthanasia in amphibians, but care must be taken due to the relatively high tolerance of some species to hypoxia and hypercapnia. Loss of consciousness usually develops rapidly, but exposure times required for euthanasia are prolonged. As with anesthetics, pithing or freezing should be used to ensure euthanasia. 

Adjunctive methods 
Perfusion with fixative may be used to bring about death in anesthetized animals when scientifically justified.

Cooling may be used to decrease activity in animals prior to euthanasia, but the temperature must be no lower than that normally experienced by the species. Freezing a conscious animal is not permissible, except when small animals are flash frozen in liquid nitrogen.


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

i used Anbesol, 20% benzocain. they stoped moving after about 15 seconds and the heart beat apperared to stop after about 1 min. pretty peaceful yet still sad.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Someone mentioned in a related thread that when they used Ambasol, the frog appeared very irritate and in great discomfort, did yours exhibit that behavior? I'm just curious.


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

no they tried to hop away but i think that was just from me tring to pick them up and hold them still. after application they were immobile very quickly. also though these were small newly morphed froglets, maybe a larger frog would express some irritation. all in all i think it was peaceful, quick and probably painless.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

ETOH can also be used to euthanize amphibians. 
See http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/euthanasia.shtml

It is SLS and can be a random occurance or a frequent occurance within and between clutches.

Ed


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## punctata (Jan 31, 2011)

Just had to put a froglet down myself because of this


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