# Why do wild caught frogs die?



## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

Started off with 8 WC Auratus many months ago. All ate fine. Split them with Brien and kept 5 in my 55 gallon. Slowly one will get skinny and die while the others all do fine. Now collectively 3/8 are still alive. During all of this my vent and Leuc have done fine (both captive bred). Anyone else have this happen to them with WC frogs? I definitely won't be keeping anymore of them!

Noah


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

did you get them checked out? fecals and whatnot


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

No. no fecals were done. Which is probably why, but why do they live so long, then slowly die one by one?


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

did you get a necropsy? If not your guess is good as mine


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## evolvstll (Feb 17, 2007)

Each frog can react externally and internally to the stress of captivity differently. Their immune sytems can also react as such and the parasite load can be affected differently. Not having the frogs tested and treated, I would be worried about bringing them into my frog room with my collection. I would also be worried about the contamination of the tank they are or were in as it is contaminated.


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

Dang. So is there anyway I can kill all the possible bugs in the 55g or should I start over? Can I use dry ice to kill the bad bugs?


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Start over, use the 10% bleach to water to clean the tank


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

Is anything salvageable?


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Yeah the glass tank after it's bleached


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

Can i at least boil the wood and bleach the plants? Don't these parasites require a host to live?


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

No, the most common infect the frog through the substrate cyclically - you also aren't SURE that's what killed them


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

Can a necropsy undoubtedly answer the question of what killed them?


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

If the frogs are preserved and transported correctly, probably


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

How?
Who should I go to for this service?

Thank you for the help, Chris.


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Sure, do an advanced search on it as a keyword and posts by Ed - go through those threads and you'll get an idea on all the info and whether the frogs are still doable etc


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## d.crockett (May 27, 2009)

chinoanoah said:


> No. no fecals were done. Which is probably why, but why do they live so long, then slowly die one by one?


What type of quarantine did you put the frogs through before they went into the 55 gallon? In my dealings with wild caught animals (more geckos than frogs but the same rules apply) I have found the most important thing you can do is set them up in individual quarantine containers. Even if you wait to treat them for parasites or whatever this gives them the chance to recover from the stress of capture and shipping. There is much, much more that goes into this topic, but I would definitely pull them out and set them up individually in very simple set ups, like rubbermaid tubs with sphagnum or paper towels for substrate, and watch them very closely to see they are eating.


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## JoshK (Jan 5, 2009)

If you still have 3 of the 8 left, have fecals run on them, this what you will know what steps to take next. Best of luck!


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Not meaning to point a finger at you or criticize you in any way, but in my opinion, this is why WC animals are best left to those with alot of experience and resources to properly quarantine, treat and acclimate them. 
I'm also not going to say that WC animals are a bad thing either, for that would be going against anything that we are doing in this hobby. All of the frogs in our collections are traced back to wild caught/imported specimens.
In fact, I support the idea of WC animals so long as the collections are organized and proper respect to wild populations are taken into consideration, and that the animals themselves are treated in the best possible manner during the whole process. 
Best of luck with those that you have remaining, Noah. Keep us updated.


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Yeah it's pretty much guaranteed WC frogs have parasites, if you know what you're getting into and possess the right meds and QT/treatment knowledge then it may be worth it - otherwise it's better to buy CB from a board member/sponsor and ask what the frogs' medical and fecals history is, and then it's STILL recommended to QT/get fecals done.


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## PumilioTurkey (Feb 25, 2010)

several possible reasons IMO:

-chytrid
- stress through cathcing and importing them
- already had illness or parasites
- had reached a high natural age already
- the changed enviroment caused too much stress / changed bacteria in the tank


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I don't think I would buy into the changed bacterial population.. most of the bacteria that infect frogs are opportunists that are already present in the substrate... 

A lot of the longer survivial of the imported frogs depends a lot on how they were treated and cared for not only before importation, but post importation. The effects of this treatment can result in immune suppression for weeks post stabilization. If the frog was infected with parasites, this can cause the parasites to begin to overrun the frog. A fecal will go a long way to helping to determine if parasites are a problem. To get a necropsy performed you will need to contact a vet and have them submit the frog to Northwest ZooPath, and the frog cannot have been frozen.... 

A friend of mine doesn't consider any imported frogs to be stable until at least a year after importation... 

Ed


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

I think Auratus suffer the highest dart frog species mortality in import warehouses.

W/C frogs should be housed seperately for at least 6 months to a year, ideally.

3 Fecals should be done.

New hobbyists should acquire CB frogs.


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