# escapee losing color/not shedding



## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

I had an escapee about a week ago. She is doing better now, but I see some scrapes on her head from when she squeezed through her escape point that are still red.
Also her color is fading. She is a cobalt and her yellow used to be close to an orange color, now its a pale yellow. Her stomach is still vibrant, but the black and blue on her back and legs are just blah
I also know that after they escape it is normal for them to shed, which has occurred, but the skin on her legs and toes isn't coming off. 

Questions: 
1. what do I do about the color loss? she is still eating and I am giving flukers calcium every other day while also alternating melanogaster and heydii.
2. should I put neosporin on her cuts?
3. how do I aide in the shedding? I used tweezers to pull loose pieces off, but I can't get to close to her toes because I'm afraid of pinching the actual skin or breaking toes.


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## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

I would start giving her vitamins also


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Give it more time. I would not try to do "too much" or assist with the shed. The frog can probably best handle it.

The cut is hard to say....can you get a pic?


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

ok, so now it looks like she wont make it. I suspect she has chytrid or some other type of fungus. Is there any kind of immediate action that can be taken? or is she screwed?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Personally, I would try the Neosporin. I will send you a pm on Frog First Aid from another site. Also, you do not mention any vitamins. Just calcium is not enough. I like to use Repashy ICB plus calcium and rotate that with Repashy Supervit. Are you misting? Substrate looks wet enough but she looks, well, a little dry. Good luck!
Doug


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## cheezus_2007 (Aug 20, 2009)

i would try neosporin too.... dont give up on it  make sure it stays moist....in the picture it looks a lil dry? anyways good luck with it... its a nice looking frog otherwise.


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## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

chytrid would have killed the frog in 48 hours, and all the others in the tank as well.


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

The substrate is wet and she looks pretty moist, it could just be the pic. I originally thought that maybe her habitat was too wet which could have contributed to some of her problems.
I applied neosporin, so how long should I wait before reapplying or is it a 1 time treatment? - also how long should it be before I see improvements (if it worked)

Since neosporin is only and antibacterial and it kind of looks like she has a fungus should I apply lamisil/tinactin?

I am not giving up on her, but I don't want to prolong any pain she could be in. 

as for vitamins I will get some of stuff you mentioned. I had some other brand previously and when I tried to dust the flies it seemed like none of it stuck to them so I stopped using it. Now I just add it to the fly medium when I make cultures...even though I know its pointless, but its better than letting it go to waste.


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## verybadcow (Aug 6, 2010)

I agree its not chytrid, it sounds like a series of issues all being dealt with at once. The wound is no doubt causing a certain level of stress, plus during the escape it could have come in contact with a few things that could cause skin issues, also depending on the length of time, the lack of moisture definitely didnt help. That's adding to the stress also. It has to be pretty traumatizing for the frog to be out in conditions like that, plus with you picking at it probably didnt help. I've had an escape before that exhibited the same thing, the best thing to do is just let it calm down and dont stress it out anymore than you have to, just like most animals and people, the stress can lead to other severe health issues that they may not be able to overcome.

good luck!


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## Gamble (Aug 1, 2010)

I do not know anything about medication doses or anything like that, but when my frogs got a fungus infection on their skin (I had a lot of the same problems u did/did things wrong prior to ... see my old post ... "strange coloration/color loss ... ") ... I just put them in a plastic strelite container, kept the container in a place away from light, fed them well (twice a day), and made sure I used supplements, they healed on their own with no medication or anything. I just made sure that other than feeding them that I didn't bother them at all. Sometimes medication (especially broad-spectrum treatment/guessing) does more harm then good. Maybe let mother nature take a stab at it. Good luck.


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

It has been almost 3 weeks since she escaped and she is still not gaining any color. In fact her colors are still fading. But her scatch is better after neosporin treatment and she is always out in a healthy posture. The colors are only fading on her back, which is weird to me. Is that always the case or is there any significance to that?
here are some updated pics. How long should it take to regain color? (if it will come back at all)

just as a reference there are old pictures. One that was already posted above and one of how she used to look


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

JherperJ said:


> It has been almost 3 weeks since she escaped and she is still not gaining any color. In fact her colors are still fading. But her scatch is better after neosporin treatment and she is always out in a healthy posture. The colors are only fading on her back, which is weird to me. Is that always the case or is there any significance to that?
> here are some updated pics. How long should it take to regain color? (if it will come back at all)
> 
> just as a reference there are old pictures. One that was already posted above and one of how she used to look


Please contact Dr. Frye or Dr. Wright and send pics to them. We are not vets and can only guess at the treatment.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

JherperJ said:


> Questions:
> 1. what do I do about the color loss? she is still eating and I am giving flukers calcium every other day while also alternating melanogaster and heydii.


You are using other vitamin supplements, right, like Repashy Supermin or Calcium plus ICB? Fruit flies aren't nearly enough for a dart frog. They need to have a variety of feeder insects (like phoenix worms, bean beetles, termites and similar higher vitamin insects). Poor nutrition will definitely decrease her ability to fight off any fungal or bacterial infection.


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## DJboston (Oct 25, 2008)

Did you say you keep the enclosure constantly wet at all times? Just curious.

I always follow the rule that dart frogs love the humidity you can't see..but not actually wet. I mist once a day pretty good but even though my tanks are extremely high humidity, they luckily seem to dry because of good drainage and temps. I guess I care more about it being wet for the plants anyway. I used to always rot plants before when I misted like crazy and had very bad drainage.

Sorry to see the frog is losing colors. I would just give it more and more time. If the wound is healing that is a good sign that his immune system is good and not compromised.


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

I am Dusting with Rep-Cal + D3 now and I do see her eating spring tails every now and then, but I do not have any of the other food sources you listed. I will look into getting them. 
Also I had emailed Dr Frye. about a week after it had happened and he said she should be fine. So I left it at that.
However, I just emailed him with an update and he says she has an infection in her skin. So here is a little bit for anyone else this is happening to. 
- he says to treat her with silver sulfadiazene and baytril - 
silver sulfadiazene is a topical antibacterial/antifungal
- I tried a home remedy of this with neosporin (antibacterial) and lamisil (antifungal) but the active ingredients are different and I guess the overall action of the drugs are different too because there was no luck.
So I am going to try this and hope for the best. 
thanks for all of your input thus far


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

DJboston said:


> Did you say you keep the enclosure constantly wet at all times? Just curious.
> 
> I always follow the rule that dart frogs love the humidity you can't see..but not actually wet. I mist once a day pretty good but even though my tanks are extremely high humidity, they luckily seem to dry because of good drainage and temps. I guess I care more about it being wet for the plants anyway. I used to always rot plants before when I misted like crazy and had very bad drainage.
> 
> Sorry to see the frog is losing colors. I would just give it more and more time. If the wound is healing that is a good sign that his immune system is good and not compromised.


I forgot to address this in my last post. I have moved her out of her original enclosure to a quarantine (not because of other frogs (there weren't any), but because I wanted to try to get her away from any fungus or bacteria that was in the tank) 
In her old tank I never misted. I used a fogger every now and then. But the soil was always wet (bad set-up, it was my first viv) and the humidity was always above 80% and there was a pond area with a waterfall so I didn't feel that it was necessary. None of my plants rotted though and in fact they are all growing like crazy. But she is out of there now and I have a new one all set for her once she gets better.


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

After treatment with Dr. Frye's suggestions she now looks like this. Hopefully on the right road to recovery.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Glad she seems to be recovering! Do you dust with vitamins in addition to the calcium?


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

I hope she pulls through fine. Since a vector for bacterial infection in frogs is their skin, keeping it healthy with vitamin supplements is vital for their health and longetivity. Nutrients and vitamins are the building blocks for a body to keep itself in shape. Specifically, vitamin A builds strong tissues that do not crack easily or let infection in. 

Just for instance, I had an escapee a few weeks ago. My 2-year old picked him up and it tore his skin a bit on his back. He healed up on his own with no event, no infection. I attribute this to proper nutrition and husbandry (I have since put locks on those tanks BTW).

If you have not ordered the Repashy Supermin and Repashy Calcium Plus ICB, they are available from many sponsors on this site. I suggest you do it ASAP to help her pull through this. 

Personally, I stopped using the 'other stuff' a long time ago.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Dude, You have GOT to get those vitamins! I guarantee you every frog in your collection will die soon enough if you don't address the complete lack of vitamins. I don't mean to harsh you, but vitamins are crucial.
Doug


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

I guess I will be ordering those now then. I have to appologize, I thought the Rep-cal + D3 was a vitamin/calcium dust. But mainly I have yet to pick it up because the meds I had to buy and I had to buy new tires for my car..took a big bite out of my budget.
thanks though
Jay


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Jay, If you can't pick any up right away, then please PM me. We've all got budgets! I will be glad to put a small amount in an envelope and mail it off to get you by for a couple of weeks. I use Repashy Calcium plus ICB. This is an all in one. I also rotate it with Repashy SuperVit. These are generally considered better formulated and a finer powder than other, older suppliments. Seriously, you could have her all dosed up by Friday!
Doug


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## JherperJ (Jun 23, 2010)

I ordered some from a sponsor. It should only be a couple days. And I will most likely have it by the weekend. I purchesed both of those repashy supplements. What is the rfecommended way to use them? Together? Or one one day the other the next

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Good to hear it! You are going to hear both methods. I prefer to alternate days. Many others will tell you they mix.
Doug


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

JherperJ said:


> I ordered some from a sponsor. It should only be a couple days. And I will most likely have it by the weekend. I purchesed both of those repashy supplements. What is the rfecommended way to use them? Together? Or one one day the other the next
> 
> Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk


If you choose to use them half and half like I do, only use a tiny pinch of each. Do NOT mix the two supplements into each other---i.e., pour one bag into the other. They are separate so they'll be more stable. 

To keep them fresh, I like to put a silica pack in each pouch (the little white packs that say DO NOT EAT in many over-the counter vitamin bottles) to absorb excess moisture. Keep them in the fridge and get new supplements every 6 months.


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