# Frog scratches back



## Engeli (Oct 3, 2014)

Hello frogfriends,

My new pair of Tinctorius Azureus moved in 2 days ago. The male is a bit shy yet but he is eating very well and sometimes walking around. 

Yesterday evening right after the rain I noticed that he scratched his back with the backlegs for quite a while. Nothing visible was there.
Could it be the transportation stress or anything more harmful for the frog?


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## PumilioTurkey (Feb 25, 2010)

my Tinctorius showed that kind of behavior when they had a skin infection which turned they're colors greyish shortly after.


you might want to check on that.


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## Hayden (Feb 4, 2007)

Sounds like normal shedding behavior to me.


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## Tazman (May 26, 2013)

Does he have a container of water to soak in? In a newer viv set up mite numbers can be high for a while and crawl over everything. I had the same thing happen with my Azureus in a newer tank. They would swipe the mites off their back with their hind feet. Soaking in a water dish would float the mites off.


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## vachyner (Aug 10, 2013)

mine do that a lot but its just shedding. normally I only see it in the morning right as the lights turn on. look to see if he has a weird goo coming off and if he keeps opening up his mouth while hes scratching. the first time I saw one of my leucs shedding I thought he was dying or something - real awkward looking.


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## Engeli (Oct 3, 2014)

Thank you all for your answers!

I observed him the whole morning but he did not do the scratching anymore. He shows very normal behavior: jumping around, eating very well, sometimes taking a short bath.

I also think it might be eighter 
a) shedding or 
b) wiping away mites or springtails. 

The tank is new and a huge population of springtails evolved during the almost 2 months before the frogs moved in. It was just nothing visible on him (no skin, no springtails) as he did the scratching. The first time I saw him open the mouth as well.

Is shedding always happening in the morning? I could observe him doing the scratching again yesterday evening after the rain (like the first time). He seems to only do this in the evening. Maybe he's a bit confused after the move 
The girl never showed it.


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