# First frog death...sudden lethargy/anal protrusion



## PickleBumps (Apr 3, 2016)

Hi everyone,

I've had great luck with keeping a mated pair of Ranitomeya Varadero thumbnails for the past two or so years. They were doing great, even producing three froglets who are currently in a separate grow out tank.

Unfortunately, I had one of the adult frogs suddenly die, and I'd like to see if anyone has any idea what could have happened. The night before the death I had observed both frogs, neither of which were showing any symptoms of illness. Both frogs were eating okay, and I was dusting each feeding. Then, the next morning, I went to check on my frogs. I noticed the male frog on a high up leaf, acting normally, but with a protrusion coming from it's anus. I observed the protrusion closely, and thought that maybe he was just defecating. I left him to do his business in peace.

_Two hours later_, the frog was flat on the ground, unresponsive. In a panic, I added some fruit flies to maybe get his attention. No response. I pulled him out using the leaf that he was laying on, and put him in a small tupperware with some of the substrate from the tank. He became less and less responsive over the course of 3 hours, until he finally stopped breathing and blinking. I let him sit for a full 24 hours while researching what it could be/if he could be saved. (I was unable to post here while it mattered due to not having my account approved to post yet.)

Below are pictures of the frog shortly after death. You can clearly see the protrusion, and at first glance I immediately think "that is the hind end of a bug sticking out of my frogs butt." However, it wasn't moving at all. I would expect a parasite to move a bit. I poked at it a bit, no movement. Tried to pull it gently, wouldn't budge.

*Do you think this is a parasite or undigested fruit fly? Bacterial inflammation?* Never seen anything like it.  The suddenness of it really has me confused and worried for the mama frog (who is doing fine currently).


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## Chtorr280 (Jun 28, 2018)

I'm sorry for your loss. That was a beautiful frog. One of my phyllobates aurotanea had an anal protrusion but it was actually red and swollen looking. This occurred after feeding them Hydei fruit flies for a while (they were probably a little small at the time for these larger flies, but they devoured them like crazy). Thankfully, the injury disappeared the next day (I added sugar water in a small container for the frog to soak in) and I went back to feeding the smaller flies.

Yours looks a lot different, so I hope someone here knows what it is. Maybe the frog was impacted and that's actually part of an internal organ poking out? I raise geckos too and everyone is concerned about impaction but few mention it with frogs.


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## PickleBumps (Apr 3, 2016)

Chtorr280 said:


> I'm sorry for your loss. That was a beautiful frog. One of my phyllobates aurotanea had an anal protrusion but it was actually red and swollen looking. This occurred after feeding them Hydei fruit flies for a while (they were probably a little small at the time for these larger flies, but they devoured them like crazy). Thankfully, the injury disappeared the next day (I added sugar water in a small container for the frog to soak in) and I went back to feeding the smaller flies.
> 
> Yours looks a lot different, so I hope someone here knows what it is. Maybe the frog was impacted and that's actually part of an internal organ poking out? I raise geckos too and everyone is concerned about impaction but few mention it with frogs.


I actually dripped some sugar water over him while he was still barely responsive...seemed to wake him up a bit (opening mouth/blinking), but then it stopped working. Do you know what it is that sugar water does for sick frogs? I've seen it recommended for quite a few different ailments.


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