# Leuc Passed Away



## Frog723 (Apr 1, 2005)

Not really sure if this belongs here or in advanced or the health topic, please move if necessary. I have a 42 gal hex with two leucs. They were both doing fine up until Saturday. On Saturday I noticed one of the leucs looking a little "sick," it wasn't moving around much and didn't react to anything. I decided to leave it be for a little bit to see if maybe I was just overreacting. I was placing it in its hospital bed later in the day, dish of pedialyte, when I realized that I was not overreacting and it had passed away. I'm not really sure what happened and at this point I'm not sure I'll ever find out. How does something turn that quick? 

Both frogs are over a year old. The one that passed was about 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the other. It had always been a runt. I never noticed any aggression between the two and both always got their fair share of food. I fed 3 to 4 times a week and dusted about 75% of the time. I think my vitamins are partially to blame. I've been reading that they should be tossed every 6 months, mine are definitely older than this. But if that is the case then why was only one affected so much?

Then come the questions on how to move forward. One leuc in a 42 gal seems a little overkill and I'd like to get a couple more. But I've read that you shouldn't add frogs to a tank where there are already adults established. Plus, do I need to tear the tank down and sterilize everything? I rather not I like the way it is looking at the moment. Should I move the leuc to a smaller tank and get new frogs for the 42? Also, can leucs live alone or do the prefer some friends?

Sorry for the long post, just a lot of questions running through my head at the moment. Thanks for reading, Chris.


----------



## Guest (Aug 22, 2006)

im sorry to hear about your frogs. My experience has varied when it comes to your questions so id rather not answer. But i have been in your situation before and it has been a difficult call.

I ended up tanking down my after 2deaths and re-doing it. Has been good since... fingers crossed.


----------



## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your loss. Well you can always get a fecal done on the remaining frog to see if anything obviously pathogenic is present...a clean frog does not guarantee that the viv is totally clean but it's a good sign.

Assuming that the frog is clean or I suppose if you just want to take the risk without doing a fecal, I would suggest obtaining 3-4 juvenile/subadult leucs....basically frogs that are at least 1/2 the size of the adult and add them as a group to the viv. The adult will be too large to be bullied by the newcomers although it might be a bit weirded out by the appearance of so many room mates and it's less likely that the adult will single out any one of the newcomers for harassment.

Bill

P.S. I have actually run a version of this mixing experiment with leucs where I placed a subadult leuc together with 3 juveniles in a 10 gallon viv for a couple of months. Everyone has done well and the big guy/gal seems to have gotten along fine with the roomies.


----------



## Frog723 (Apr 1, 2005)

I'll probably get a fecal done just so I know whether or not anything else has to be done. Can anyone suggest a vet in the Seattle area that will do it? So 3 sub adult frogs would be a good number? What is sub adult, 6 months out of water? Thanks, for the help.


----------



## Frog723 (Apr 1, 2005)

I think I found a vet in the seattle area I'll get a fecal done at. But I'm still trying to find out what defines sub adult. Anybody? Thanks.


----------



## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

While various individuals use the term 'subadult' differently, I think most would agree that frogs ranging from 75-100% of adult size but not yet capable of breeding fall into that category. Age is not necessarily the best indicator of the degree of maturity as factors such as nutrition, housing conditions, etc. can impact overall growth.

Since you know what your adults look like, this gives you a reasonable basis to assess the degree of maturity of any younger frogs....of course keeping in mind the normal variation in size that occurs across a frog population. In leucs that variability is small but still noticeable.

Good luck.

Bill


----------

