# Help with Ringers Solution.



## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

I have some questions regarding ringer solution. I believe my cuban tree frog got a bacteria infection recently. I have been waking him up every night and putting him in distilled water. He has not eaten anything in a week or 2. He will not eat, I put wax worms next to his mouth and he just opens and closes his mouth slightly.

He was a wild frog that hitched a ride from NY from FL. in February and we took him in. On one had I question whether he is trying to hibernate since he appears in a deep sleep every day even though I doubt it, he was wild so I have no idea what he is use to doing.

I just found out about this ringers solution yesterday while doing research. Nobody sells it locally so I have bought some unflavored plain pedialyte. I plan on giving him that bath tonight in hopes it stimulates an appetite. I guess the main difference is pedialyte lacks calcium. Could I just add some of my calcium + d3 powder into the bath?

To answer some basic questions. Age unknown, Terrarium is a 36x18x18. Using a daytime 100w heat light, 60w nighttime heat light. Temp around 85 at top of terrarrium and 72 at bottom, house temp is 73. Gets fed crickets, that's all. Every other day dusting with calcium +D3. Humidity is a hard one, getting over 70 is extremely difficult. I have an automatic mister set up for 15 seconds every 3 hours during the day on an automatic shut off timer for night. So about 5 times a day starting at 7am roughly. I use distilled water, pool water gets changed usually every day. No other frogs. Cage has cork board backing, fake bamboo, vines, and plants. Coconut fiber substrate.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I doubt that species hibernates.

If it has a bacterial infection, it needs a vet. Ringers won't help fight an infection.

If your supplement only contains Ca and D3 (that is, it is not a complete multivitamin supplement) the frog likely has a vitamin deficiency. With coco fiber substrate, impaction from ingestion may be a cause of the failure to feed. 

Any of these three issues (infection, hypovitaminosis, impaction) needs a vet to diagnose and treat. You can search for a qualified exotics vet here:

ARAV search


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

I wouldn't use distilled water for the soak either, use dechlorinated water or Spring water for a soak.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

Sadly it appears the internet is full of many different opinions on care. I read soaking will remove the bacterial infection. As far as vitamin deficiency what vitamins am I missing? The local pet stores did not even tell me I needed the calcium and d3 I found that out on my own. Now I am told not to use distilled water. I use to use filtered water but people told me to use distilled water and now I am being told that is wrong.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

you can easily 'do too much' and kill these animals. Do not soak in distilled water. Frogs are highly suspectable to stress. Holding them = stress. I would never hand feed even under the most dire circumstance. You may have 15 or more other issue and problems and not a bacterial infection. I would start with the hobby questionare that's floating around here somehwere - go down the list and answer a bunch of husbandry questions first.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

icemanxp300 said:


> Sadly it appears the internet is full of many different opinions on care. I read soaking will remove the bacterial infection. As far as vitamin deficiency what vitamins am I missing? The local pet stores did not even tell me I needed the calcium and d3 I found that out on my own. Now I am told not to use distilled water. I use to use filtered water but people told me to use distilled water and now I am being told that is wrong.


Ringers solutions is really just part of a treatment plant - it allows the amphibian, in this case, to use energy healing whatever ailment they may have rather than using it to fight diffusion (the loss of salts and minerals to the environment). It doesn't cure anything, but can help aid the amphibian in helping itself by freeing up needed energy.

As for distilled water - it isn't good for a pure soak, as it will actually draw the ions out of the animal. It is fine to use as a spray, or through a mister, as it very quickly reconstitutes itself from the environment. In a soak, it will just cause more stress on the amphibians kidneys, I would imagine. Worse if the frog is sick already. RO water is similar.

As for vitamins, using an all in one supplement like Repashy Calcium Plus will be your best bet - it has everything your amphibian will need, including not just calcium and D3, but an assortment of other essential vitamins and minerals. Supplement on EVERY feeding.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

I'll use my fridges filtered water tonight. I still want to do the pedialyte so I will mix another batch with my filtered water. As far as a vet goes that link only shows one in my area and they don't appear to be a herpetologist. I tried calling around last week and nobody around here deals with amphibians. I had one place tell me they do look at them but only if they were purchased from a pet store and since I rescued this frog from the freezing NY weather he doesn't qualify.

Right now I want to stimulate his appetite. My initial bacteria thought was based on the fact that he had something which I assumed was poop that was very liquid almost white phlegm looking. Then a few days later I seen a softer poop which was brown.

I want to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated so I have been either taking the dish he sleeps in and waking him up and having him jump in the water or putting gloves on and letting him climb in my hands and then letting him jump in the water. I don't force him to stay there. I started doing this a few days ago because he sat up top in the heat and was looking extremely dehydrated and almost dead looking. After he was in the water he looked much better.

He will be somewhat active at night jumping around and clinging to the glass a little but he is not eating at all. I think if I can get him to eat it will help him get over what is going on. I even tried calling the zoo but they will not look at him. At this point even if I find a Vet who says they will see him unless they are a herpetologist I feel like I would just be getting someones non expert opinion and don't feel they are qualified to properly diagnose my frog.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

icemanxp300 said:


> At this point even if I find a Vet who says they will see him unless they are a herpetologist I feel like I would just be getting someones non expert opinion and don't feel they are qualified to properly diagnose my frog.


A vet, whether they specialize in Herps or not, is better than trying to guess at the problem yourself, or asking random strangers on the internet for answers. Even non-specialized vets have access to information that they can utilize to help in many instances.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> I'll use my fridges filtered water tonight. I still want to do the pedialyte so I will mix another batch with my filtered water. As far as a vet goes that link only shows one in my area and they don't appear to be a herpetologist. I tried calling around last week and nobody around here deals with amphibians. I had one place tell me they do look at them but only if they were purchased from a pet store and since I rescued this frog from the freezing NY weather he doesn't qualify.
> 
> Right now I want to stimulate his appetite. My initial bacteria thought was based on the fact that he had something which I assumed was poop that was very liquid almost white phlegm looking. Then a few days later I seen a softer poop which was brown.
> 
> ...


Can you share pictures? You say he's not eating, are you sure? How/what are you feeding him? How big is he/does he look malnourished? Have you examined his stools? looked for signs of parasites'?.

Are you certain that the "white phlegm looking" stuff was not shedded skin? I would describe frog shed as being white phlegm looking. 

What's his tank like? can you share a picture?


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

Here is a picture I snapped on my phone of what I initially seen that made me worry. He definitely has not eaten anything in a week. We put in crickets and he does not eat them.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

These are pictures I took right now of him and the cage.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> These are pictures I took right now of him and the cage.
> View attachment 303960
> 
> View attachment 303958
> ...


Setup looks ok can I see a picture of his figure? Crickets should be no larger than length of the distance between his eyes. If you are concerned about his eating and want to ensure he eats I recommend putting into a smaller enclosure temporarily with a cricket and misting it then turning off the lights. What's that thing hanging on the side of the tank?


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

I will note that a few weeks ago we had power go off for about 18 hrs and it got down to 62 in the house. I woke up in the morning and started my gas stove manually and then I rolled his terrarium out to the kitchen to get it warmed back up that way but his cage was pretty cold for a good 10 hrs before that. Then again at night his cage temp is only about 73 anyhow so not sure 10 degrees for a few hrs would have done much to him.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> What's that thing hanging on the side of the tank?


That is the automatic mister. It runs for 15 seconds every 3 hrs. (during the day, none at night) It's on an automatic timer that turns on at around 7 am and of about 7:30 pm.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> Here is a picture I snapped on my phone of what I initially seen that made me worry. He definitely has not eaten anything in a week. We put in crickets and he does not eat them.
> View attachment 303954


The phlegm in the picture looks like it could be shed. It is not uncommon for my treefrogs to leave shed laying around. If you see a turd please share a picture of it with me. Regardless I would not assume that the frog has an infection without farther evidence after all you described the later poop as being more well shaped.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> The phlegm in the picture looks like it could be shed. It is not uncommon for my treefrogs to leave shed laying around. If you see a turd please share a picture of it with me. Regardless I would not assume that the frog has an infection without farther evidence after all you described the later poop as being more well shaped.


Hmmm I am not familiar with shedding at all. Now you are making me think I have been overly paranoid and his skin looked weird and dried out because he was shedding. I thought it was like a white discharge. I thought the white stuff in the pool water was nasty puss type stuff. Then when I seen his actual poop that looked soft was likely because he was in the dish and the mister sprayed water on it.

Now you have me thinking he is not eating because I am stressing him out by thinking something is wrong with him and handling him every night. Maybe I will just leave him alone and see what he does on his own.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> Hmmm I am not familiar with shedding at all. Now you are making me think I have been overly paranoid and his skin looked weird and dried out because he was shedding. I thought it was like a white discharge. I thought the white stuff in the pool water was nasty puss type stuff. Then when I seen his actual poop that looked soft was likely because he was in the dish and the mister sprayed water on it.
> 
> Now you have me thinking he is not eating because I am stressing him out by thinking something is wrong with him and handling him every night. Maybe I will just leave him alone and see what he does on his own.


As long as he doesn't look malnourished I would just leave him alone and keep watch. It would also make sense that the shed was in the pool, that's where my frogs go when they shed. My Frogs shed weekly although they usually eat their shed. I would lightly mist before turning off the lights and feeding. Does he have a night light? Treefrogs need some light in order to have night vision, a pitch black tank wont do.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> Does he have a night light? Treefrogs need some light in order to have night vision, a pitch black tank wont do.


Yes the top light is a dual day and night combo. They are hooked up to a timer so around 8am the daylight turns on and night light turns off and then around 8pm the day light goes off and night light turns on. We generally change the pool water around 7pm-8pm and then toss a few crickets in the cage and he hunts them during the night. If we notice he still has live crickets the next day we don't add more.

I am under the impression he was eating less than we assumed since I have recently realized the crickets were getting out of this cage, it was an upgrade I got him back in June. the front door has a gap where it closes, so that's what that white strip going around the outside on the front is for. It's window seal stuff I stuck there to stop the crickets from escaping.

I may just go back to buying smaller crickets and see if he eats them better than the larger ones. I usually don't buy really big ones but try to find like a medium size.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

So how long do tree frogs take to shed and do they eat less live food during that time because they eat their skin? Getting back to this ringers solution, is this something that should be done on a regular basis or only if the frog gets sick?


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> So how long do tree frogs take to shed and do they eat less live food during that time because they eat their skin? Getting back to this ringers solution, is this something that should be done on a regular basis or only if the frog gets sick?


Frogs shed weekly, mine takes under 30 minutes to shed, shedding has no effect on how much food they consume. I would not use any sort of soak unless a vet prescribes it. Treatments should only be done when the frog is unwell. Frogs are difficult animals to medicate, the best treatment is prevention. 

Speaking of prevention... I would cover the perimeter of the screen lid with something such as tape or replace it with a finer mesh. My mossy frog busted his nose up real bad on one of those zoomed lids. See > Frog with sore nose... How can I help it heal? (3 week...


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Way too dry. Fake plants are not good to use. Real plants are needed to hold in moisture and keep humidity up. Tall enclosure and heat bulbs contribute to dryness. Hand spray this enclosure 2-3 times a day - early morning ect. There should be sections of the glass that almost constantly have droplets on it - that's how you can visually tell it's holding it's humidity.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

ditch the humidty guage - they are garbage and inaccurate.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

Philsuma said:


> Way too dry. Fake plants are not good to use. Real plants are needed to hold in moisture and keep humidity up. Tall enclosure and heat bulbs contribute to dryness. Hand spray this enclosure 2-3 times a day - early morning ect. There should be sections of the glass that almost constantly have droplets on it - that's how you can visually tell it's holding it's humidity.


Strangely enough parts of the glass does have moisture and the humidity gauge says over 70% in the picture I took above. First off I want to address that from my experience more water does not = more humidity. When I first rescued this frog I sprayed so much water trying to get the junk humidity gauge up that the bottom of the terrarium had so much water in it the frog stopped burying himself in the substrate.He did that initially I think because he was not use to the new environment and because the original set-up was small and not much in it. I did not plan on getting a frog so I kind of learned as I went.

The more water I add the more mold that builds on the substrate and the cork board. So how do you add more water and prevent it all from sitting on the bottom of the set-up and creating mold everywhere? How often do you clean your set-ups? What live plants would you recommend? Can they be potted? This current set-up seems to work well because the automatic mister has lots of the water run off the fake plants into the center into the pool, which eliminates the mold build up. I do hand spray as well to keep the fake plants more moist.

On a side note I left him alone last night and he was up and about on his own and at one point about 5 hrs ago I seen the fresh cricket I put in last night laying on it's back and I assumed it died. I just went back and it was not there so I wonder if it was playing dead. I did not know crickets did that. I was going to take it out just now but it's not dead. I see it on the corkboard now. My frog was sitting on a vine staring in the direction of the cricket when I seen it on it's back.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

Those humidity gauges are next to useless, I wouldn't rely on their accuracy at all. The more you spray, the higher the humidity will go, up until it hits 100% of course. There is no debating that. Standing water in the tank doesn't always impact humidity the way some may think though.

Most people here use a clean up crew, with isopods and springtails, which usually take care of the mold in quick order. The mold itself is part of the cycle of the tank. Most people will use a false bottom or a drainage layer, to collect the excess water. Using real plants will help hold the humidity as well. You can use potted plants, just make sure they don't have fertilizer/perlite/vermiculite in them for the frogs sake.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

First of all, recognize that you are on a Dart Frog forum. There are many facets of Tree Frog husbandry, chiefly prey insects, that are completely different than what we discuss here. There are several excellent FB pages for Tree Frog care I believe, and you would get better help there. What is universal husbandry care for frogs? Minimize stress. Stress kills. Incorrect humidity, temp, food items, superfine supplements all kill frogs. Frequent handling is a killer. Not being able to hide in the enclosure = huge stress. That enclosure does not have enough 'standing' humidity. You can spray all you want but the water runs right off the fake plants and the majority of the living space in the enclosure is more dry than not. Pothos and other thicc and large leafed plants forming a DENSE middle canopy is what I would recommend. That will provide good hides and visual barriers and hold humidity up.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

Chris S said:


> The more you spray, the higher the humidity will go, up until it hits 100% of course. There is no debating that. Standing water in the tank doesn't always impact humidity the way some may think though.


What I was getting at is spraying so much that all the water does is trickle down forming standing water on the bottom is in that sense not increasing the humidity as you just said. Once you are only creating standing water by spraying, that spraying is not adding to humidity, it's simply flooding the enclosure and creating mold.

I can obviously spray the glass more and keep everything more moist but I am purposely trying to keep the bottom dryer. Some sections of the substrate get really wet (from the automatic mister) while other stay dry. The dry sections help to absorb water from the really wet sections. I actually just decided I am likely better off mixing the dry and wet substrate around to help keep a more balanced ratio.

Do you have recommendations on which live plants to use. Ones that are safe and such. I am not opposed to adding some live plants, in fact I have thought about it but was not sure on what to get or if they could be potted. Right now we are cleaning the set-up every 3 weeks because we don't want mold to build up and get the frog sick, so we need stuff we can remove easily on a regular basis.

I know you have mentioned coconut fiber substrate is not good due to impaction and I have read that. I do feel for my set-up I need a little to counter the water that builds up on the bottom. I only put down about an inch. I have thought about adding the leaf litter over top but I don't think that would allow the moisture to escape the bottom and I would be stuck with the mold problem again.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)




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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

I just called my local garden center and they said they have the green and yellow pothos. Will that work? She said there are 3 different kinds.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> I just called my local garden center and they said they have the green and yellow pothos. Will that work? She said there are 3 different kinds.


Both will work. I would select green pothos as it grows faster.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

I grabbed this today for $5. It's in soil but they said I should be able to just rinse the soil off. I might even be able to split what I have. They sold bigger ones for $17 but it wasn't longer, just looked like 4-5 plants potted so I decided the smaller one was likely fine and if it dies i'm only out $5. I'll put this in the set-up tomorrow.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> I grabbed this today for $5. It's in soil but they said I should be able to just rinse the soil off. I might even be able to split what I have. They sold bigger ones for $17 but it wasn't longer, just looked like 4-5 plants potted so I decided the smaller one was likely fine and if it dies i'm only out $5. I'll put this in the set-up tomorrow.
> View attachment 303994
> View attachment 303995


Rinse off all the dirt and I would recommend a bleach dip (take it from someone who is constantly battling pests) don't worry, the pothos can handle it. Plentily of information on bleach dips on this forum. Also molding is not an issue, springtails make quick work of it 

Any plant is frog safe unless... It has been subject to pesticides recently, has spines, sharp hairs or produces noxious chemicals. also as this is a treefrog you will want plants that can withstand being climbed on. For now just buy what is cheap/plants you like the look of that the frog can use. You can keep the plants in pots if you so desire. Frogs have a habit of eating straight eco earth so I would cover it with something, leaves, coco fiber mat etc...

Did he eat last night? I still want to see a better picture of his physique.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> Frogs have a habit of eating straight eco earth


_Eating_, or accidental ingestion? If the former, I'd be interested to know details.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> _Eating_, or accidental ingestion? If the former, I'd be interested to know details.


I meant accidental ingestion, sorry for the confusion.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> Did he eat last night? I still want to see a better picture of his physique.


He did not but that cricket was playing dead last night. We have two bigger crickets and a small one in there right now. This is the first time I purchased wax worms but he does not appear to be interested in them. I have them in a small dish but he ignores them. I will try and get a picture of him tonight. he seemed every active last night so I think I was wrong and he was just shedding and not in need of help. Unfortunately I stressed him out so that's likely why he has not been eating. I have high hopes tonight though as I didn't mess with him at all last night and he looked like he was trying to get that cricket that flopped down and played dead LOL.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

Ok here is a picture I just snapped of him. If you notice he changes color with his background. It's crazy. Like in the green dish his color is very pale green. Now on the cork his color is more bark color. He looks like he is hunting. Of course that cricket is playing dead again on the bottom but at least there are two more in there. I'll check in the morning to see if he eats any of them.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> Ok here is a picture I just snapped of him. If you notice he changes color with his background. It's crazy. Like in the green dish his color is very pale green. Now on the cork his color is more bark color. He looks like he is hunting. Of course that cricket is playing dead again on the bottom but at least there are two more in there. I'll check in the morning to see if he eats any of them.
> View attachment 304007


It looks to be an ok girth and does not seem to be malnourished. I would recommend putting a dish somewhere in the canopy and putting dusted crickets in there, that it how I fed my gray treefrogs, they learned to come to the dish when I opened the tank, I would also hand feed them sometimes... If the crickets can jump out of the dish remove the back legs.


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## icemanxp300 (Dec 26, 2021)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> If the crickets can jump out of the dish remove the back legs.


I'm not that cruel, sorry, plus he came from the wild and I think it's better for him to have to "work" for his food. I believe he ate a cricket last night. The two big ones in there are likely too big now for him to eat. I'll put 3 of the smaller ones in tonight.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> I'm not that cruel, sorry, plus he came from the wild and I think it's better for him to have to "work" for his food. I believe he ate a cricket last night. The two big ones in there are likely too big now for him to eat. I'll put 3 of the smaller ones in tonight.


Why I generally agree that it is beneficial for a frog to "hunt for" it's prey after all allowing natural behavior in captive animals is almost always a good thing, I was just offering that if you are concerned about the frog eating this is how to help ensure it does so.

As for pulling legs off crickets being cruel, I've never considered it such, after all insect legs are in sense "made to come off" as morbid as that sounds it's true. Arthropod appendages are made to sperate at the joints after which they close up immediately. Of course I can understand thinking such a thing is gross, Perhaps I've spent far too much of my life in the company of entomologists.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> As for pulling legs off crickets being cruel, I've never considered it such, after all insect legs are in sense "made to come off" as morbid as that sounds it's true. Arthropod appendages are made to sperate at the joints after which they close up immediately. Of course I can understand thinking such a thing is gross, Perhaps I've spent far too much of my life in the company of entomologists.











Insects feel persistent pain after injury, evidence suggests


Scientists have known insects experience something like pain, but new research provides compelling evidence suggesting that insects also experience chronic pain that lasts long after an initial injury has healed.



www.sciencedaily.com





Causing unnecessary pain to any animal is cruel, feeder or not. I'm not sure any frogs that would eat crickets would have any issues catching them, with or without hind legs. The frogs should come equipped with all the skills needed to catch their prey, we just have to ensure they are of the correct size.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

While I do agree that arthropods can feel pain I want to stress that the type of operation I am referring to should cause the insect any lasting pain, In the experiment the amputation was not made at the joint, but instead at the _*middle *_of the femur (the place arthropod legs have not evolved to detach). I also want to mention that removing the legs of crickets is not something I make a habit of doing, the only time I have done so regularly was when helping to take care of a classmates rescued leopard gecko who was malnourished and blind in one eye for a few months before it passed. The other time being when I feed small whipspiders who have a hard time catching crickets, and can't have crickets left with them, less the crickets decide to eat them while they molt.


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## ninagrace117 (Dec 29, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> Sadly it appears the internet is full of many different opinions on care. I read soaking will remove the bacterial infection. As far as vitamin deficiency what vitamins am I missing? The local pet stores did not even tell me I needed the calcium and d3 I found that out on my own. Now I am told not to use distilled water. I use to use filtered water but people told me to use distilled water and now I am being told that is wrong.


For additional supplements, try Dendrocare. It has Vitamins A, D3, E, B1, B2, B6, K, pantothenic acid, nicotinamide, iron, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and zinc as well as protein, fat, and a touch of fiber. It's formulated for dart frogs but is beneficial and suitable for other frogs species. You can order it online.

For water, you can set up an R/O filter and use R/O water. Some units are pretty expensive, but a simple one will be about $60-$70. It sounds like a lot, but eventually you'll spend that on distilled or spring water anyway.


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## ninagrace117 (Dec 29, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> Sadly it appears the internet is full of many different opinions on care. I read soaking will remove the bacterial infection. As far as vitamin deficiency what vitamins am I missing? The local pet stores did not even tell me I needed the calcium and d3 I found that out on my own. Now I am told not to use distilled water. I use to use filtered water but people told me to use distilled water and now I am being told that is wrong.


A few things I left out. One is regarding the Dendrocare supplement I suggested - I use it with my 3 RETFs as well as my dart frogs and they're doing great.

Another thing which may sound kooky, but hear me out. In the wild, the forest is full of critters making noises all the time. Crickets, birds, etc. The only time it's quiet is when a predator is nearby. It doesn't matter if a frog is CB, "field collected" (which is just a euphemism for wild caught), or hitched a ride on some produce. This is instinct. To help put your frog ar ease, have some nature sounds playing as background noise. This will indicate to your frog that all is well and safe. No predators lurking nearby.


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## ninagrace117 (Dec 29, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> He did not but that cricket was playing dead last night. We have two bigger crickets and a small one in there right now. This is the first time I purchased wax worms but he does not appear to be interested in them. I have them in a small dish but he ignores them. I will try and get a picture of him tonight. he seemed every active last night so I think I was wrong and he was just shedding and not in need of help. Unfortunately I stressed him out so that's likely why he has not been eating. I have high hopes tonight though as I didn't mess with him at all last night and he looked like he was trying to get that cricket that flopped down and played dead LOL.


Waxworms may not move enough to get his attention. My White's tree frogs eat them because let's face it, they'll eat anything that fits in their mouth, but my red eyed tree frogs (RETFs) won't touch them. Frogs hunt by movement. They don't hunt by scent. Their sense of smell isn't great so the prey has to move enough for them to take notice.

(I'm new to this site, but not new to frog husbandry. I've been doing this for about 15 years.)


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

ninagrace117 said:


> For additional supplements, try Dendrocare. It has Vitamins A, D3, E, B1, B2, B6, K, pantothenic acid, nicotinamide, iron, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and zinc as well as protein, fat, and a touch of fiber. It's formulated for dart frogs but is beneficial and suitable for other frogs species. You can order it online.


That's another suitable supplement, but many people will recommend Repashy Calcium Plus as it has all that, and a range of carotenoids (which are absent from Dendrocare). It also seems to be about the most palatable (for many species) complete supplement available. Also, there's a great amount of discussion of the product development between Allen Repashy and DB members here in the archives.

It is true that Dendrocare is a decent alternative if Ca+ isn't available for some reason.


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## ninagrace117 (Dec 29, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> That's another suitable supplement, but many people will recommend Repashy Calcium Plus as it has all that, and a range of carotenoids (which are absent from Dendrocare). It also seems to be about the most palatable (for many species) complete supplement available. Also, there's a great amount of discussion of the product development between Allen Repashy and DB members here in the archives.
> 
> It is true that Dendrocare is a decent alternative if Ca+ isn't available for some reason.


That's good to know! I'll have to check that out. I use Repashy crested gecko powder daily (and Pangea twice a week) for my gargoyle gecko and I like it very much. So does he. He is 7 years old now. Repashy has been very good for him. .


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## StephanieInSaintPaul (Oct 13, 2021)

icemanxp300 said:


> I have some questions regarding ringer solution. I believe my cuban tree frog got a bacteria infection recently. I have been waking him up every night and putting him in distilled water. He has not eaten anything in a week or 2. He will not eat, I put wax worms next to his mouth and he just opens and closes his mouth slightly.
> 
> He was a wild frog that hitched a ride from NY from FL. in February and we took him in. On one had I question whether he is trying to hibernate since he appears in a deep sleep every day even though I doubt it, he was wild so I have no idea what he is use to doing.
> 
> ...


Pedialyte contains sugars and will be harmful. Ringers is simply an isotonic saline solution and not appropriate. Incidentally you can make your own ringers. 1 tsp salt (iodine free and not sea salt) and 1 litre of water. The sugars in pedialyte my be deadly though.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

StephanieInSaintPaul said:


> Pedialyte contains sugars and will be harmful.


I believe you, but could you say a bit about why this is?


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