# Metronidazole administration



## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

Just got back from the vet who wants me to treat my poor sick pacifics for protozoans which were found in high numbers. Have 30 or 40 left from over 100 frogs. The med is metronidazole 1 mg per ml. It is 5 mg/ml x 2 ml in 8 ml sterile water. He wants me to give each frog .1 ml of the med liquid daily orally for 14 days but i dont think physically i can do that. Plus .1 mg for the frogs is a gigantic amount of liquid to administer when some are truly tiny. Any suggestions? No other tests have shown a reason for the deaths, which are still happening at a rapid rate. My other thread about sick pacifics recounts the history, test results, and treatments tried. Toxicity tests showed nothing unusual exceppt for one test showing 7 ppm of lead. Am ready to give up on frogs. My eight yr old and and 18 year old pacific frogs in other tanks are still doing fine however. Only the 2 yr olds are getting sick and dying. Have whites and two new pacman frogs too who are not affected or sick in any way. Is there a way to administer an antiprotozal more easily to so many frogs, or a different dilution i should request? Could try just medicating the nine sick frogs who are in three hospital tanks first, but they range from skinny and really tiny to really severely bloated to the point that i may be unable to open their mouths. I dont want to drown the poor things.


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## Eloquentidiot (Feb 28, 2013)

Metronidazole can also be compounded into a powder. While it would be less accurate, this could then be used to dust food items to give to your frogs in a far less stressful manner. Might require some fancy math on your part to try to figure out how many metro-dusted fruit flies to give each frog per day but it has a safer safety margin than many other antibiotics out there. Worth a try anyway if they're dying off in droves as it is.


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## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

Will ask the vet about getting powder. Or is it available online? Thanks for the suggestion. Powder might work. Just dont have the energy for four more hours per day of frogging to medicate 40 frogs one at a time orally with liquid meds as i already work full time and take care of pets 5-6 hours per day including 2-3 hours of cleaning and feeding frogs and i even get up every hour or two,all night to right sick frogs who flip onto their backs. Am reaching my limit trying to help them. It breaks my heart losing more every day.


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## Eloquentidiot (Feb 28, 2013)

Your vet will have to order it. There are a number of compounding pharmacies who will likely be able to make it in powder form, I usually use Wedgewood but your vet may use another depending on preference, region, etc. 
I wish you luck. I know how hard it is to lose one pet let alone a large percentage of a group of them.


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## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

Will ask the vet to order some. Thank you for the information.


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## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

Still no answer from the vet about getting metronidazole compounded in a tiny treefrog dose. Is there anywhere i can purchase powder online without a prescription? Still losing frogs and finding new sick ones every day...found two just tonight, disoriented, unable to right themselves.


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## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

The frogs who are sick turn in a circle and seem very agitated. They also felt dry. Put them in extremely shallow lids with water because otherwise they dont hold their heads up,high enough not to,drown. They seem better after soaking plus being force fed a tiny cricket. Have four small hospital tanks going now with 1 to four frogs per tank. Dont know how much longer i can sustain this. It really saddens me.


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## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

Finally got some full strength metronidazole from the vet today. Am to give .02 ml rather than .1 ml which is more doable. Any precautions before imgive itbto the sick frogs?


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## cwebster (Mar 5, 2016)

Started two of the sick frogs on .02 ml of full strength metronidazole. Hope it doesnt harm them.


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