# Red ant attack



## bmvazquez (Apr 30, 2009)

I'm a bio teacher and I took my 3 frogs to school on 9/6. I had a red-eyed tree frog, a green mantella, and an azureus. On Friday, 9/10, I was late to class and my genius kids decided to feed the frogs. They could not find my FFs so they went outside, found a red ant pile, and dumped 100s of ants into the cages. I got there just when the azureus was jumping away in obvious fear and stress. I took her out of the cage, put her into a tupperware, and brushed the 3 ants who were sticking to her off with a tiny paintbrush. I put her back in the cage after killing as many ants as possible. The guys at Blackjungle told me to get rid of ALL of the ants so I took her out again and emptied the cage. I had to get rid of her favorite log/hiding spot and "redocorate" the enclosure. Since she went back in, she has been climbing to the top of the cage and I have not seen her eat. She was quite plump to begin with but I'm very worried. It's been 9 days. The morning after, she was covered in thick mucous and her legs/arms were stuck to her body. I thought she was going to die for sure. But I watched as the mucous slowly began to clear. Every day I expect to wake up to a dead frog but she is still alive (but skinny now). She started using the new hides 3 days ago. I think I've seen her eat 3 flies since last Friday. I've watched for at least an hour this morning. She is climbing to the top again but seems to just ignore the flies. She was in crouch position about half an hour ago and she may have eaten 1 fly. She usually eats tons and tons of flies. There are no ants in the cage. Is there anything I can do?? How long can she go on like this? Do frogs who stop eating ever start again? The little mantella was dead the next morning after the ant attack. The red-eyed tree frog is fine.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

bmvazquez said:


> I'm a bio teacher and I took my 3 frogs to school on 9/6. I had a red-eyed tree frog, a green mantella, and an azureus. On Friday, 9/10, I was late to class and my genius kids decided to feed the frogs. They could not find my FFs so they went outside, found a red ant pile, and dumped 100s of ants into the cages. I got there just when the azureus was jumping away in obvious fear and stress. I took her out of the cage, put her into a tupperware, and brushed the 3 ants who were sticking to her off with a tiny paintbrush. I put her back in the cage after killing as many ants as possible. The guys at Blackjungle told me to get rid of ALL of the ants so I took her out again and emptied the cage. I had to get rid of her favorite log/hiding spot and "redocorate" the enclosure. Since she went back in, she has been climbing to the top of the cage and I have not seen her eat. She was quite plump to begin with but I'm very worried. It's been 9 days. The morning after, she was covered in thick mucous and her legs/arms were stuck to her body. I thought she was going to die for sure. But I watched as the mucous slowly began to clear. Every day I expect to wake up to a dead frog but she is still alive (but skinny now). She started using the new hides 3 days ago. I think I've seen her eat 3 flies since last Friday. I've watched for at least an hour this morning. She is climbing to the top again but seems to just ignore the flies. She was in crouch position about half an hour ago and she may have eaten 1 fly. She usually eats tons and tons of flies. There are no ants in the cage. Is there anything I can do?? How long can she go on like this? Do frogs who stop eating ever start again? The little mantella was dead the next morning after the ant attack. The red-eyed tree frog is fine.


First off, those kids are idiots, you should dump red ants on them and see how it makes them feel. If the Azureus seems to be healing up, let him be, he will eventually want food again. Also, are these frogs all in one tank? Mixing is generally frowned upon on this forum, just as a heads up.


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## guppygal (Aug 23, 2007)

it appears that the frogs were in separate cages, if you read carefully -

I hope the best for your Azureus - I know how ant poison affects me, and it can't be any better for the frogs. Folks around here mention Dr. Frye a lot, so you might want to locate his email and drop him a line.

good luck!!


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## Vermfly (Jun 6, 2010)

His contact info can be found here: Frye Brothers' Frogs


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## bmvazquez (Apr 30, 2009)

Thanks. You give me some hope. Yes, the frogs were in different tanks. The azureus got the most ants, though. I took them home immediately and put them in a very quiet room. 
I got bit by the ants as I got the frog out of the tank to help her and it hurt me! I can't imagine what a little frog must have felt. I've been expecting the worst every day. But maybe the bite effects are wearing off?
I dropped flies one at a time about two inches in front of her about an hour ago. She ate two!! Then she hopped off to her hiding spot but is now peeking her head out. I check through the crack between the door and the wall since she seems terribly gun-shy since it happened. My husband, son and I avoid going in there since she appeared so stressed. 
I noticed there might be something wrong with her mouth. Maybe she got bit there. I'll leave her alone until tomorrow. Can she survive on such few flies?


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## bmvazquez (Apr 30, 2009)

Also, was the thick, sticky mucous a form of shedding?


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## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

Just an FYI...all the tank rearranging and moving to different areas can also account for shy behavior/reduced feeding. I'm not saying you reacted wrong in moving things about, just that it will cause much of the "new" behavior.


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## guppygal (Aug 23, 2007)

The fact that she's eating and is expressing some interest in her surroundings is very encouraging. Odds are that she did get bit in or on the mouth - she might've thought they were food. How does her skin look now since the mucous came off? You may be correct - it might be a form of shedding. 

Keep us posted, okay?


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## bmvazquez (Apr 30, 2009)

I was worried to move things around since I knew she was already stressed but I had to get every ant out. I think you are right, she must have eaten a red ant and gotten stung on the tongue or something. If she survives this, she is a tough little frog. I'm going to make the students join some of the contests at savethefrogs as a form of "making up" for what happened. They do feel really bad.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

I think I remember reading that PDF's may be able to produce a portion of their toxin if fed fire ants, hopefully someone can clarify... but if she did eat any, I'd be extra careful about hand washing and avoiding handling for a little while.


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## bmvazquez (Apr 30, 2009)

It's been 10 days and she is still alive, albeit thinner. I can get her to eat 1-2 flies if I drop them slowly in front of her. She is still climbing the walls of her tank; she never did that before. My hope is starting to grow.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Hi

You may want to try and fatten her up a bit with FF larvae. 

See what she thinks of those. Our frogs love them. 

Best of luck.


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## guppygal (Aug 23, 2007)

Also, termites are yummy and easy to find. Don't worry - the subterranean termites in your neck o' the woods have to have high humidity to survive, so any escapees will die. My frogs LOVE 'em ~

If you do decide to feed her termites, I found that serving them up on several layers of damp cardboard works out well. The leftover termites will hide between the layers, and it's also a great food source for them. What this means is that they won't be crawling all over your stressed-out Azureus. I'm thinking that once she has to start hunting for her food again, she'll ease up on the wall climbing.

I'm so glad she still hanging in there -


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

I bet those kids feel terrible. That's a quick biology lesson that they will probably never forget.

Great job stepping up to the emergency. Keep us posted.


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## bmvazquez (Apr 30, 2009)

Thanks to the advice I received. The frog seems to be doing better everyday. I found her on top of her hideout this morning, that's where the flies tend to hang out. I also found fecal matter in the cage. She is not eating nowhere near as much as before but it looks good, I'm not too anxious anymore. I think she will survive this ant attack.


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## guppygal (Aug 23, 2007)

I am so happy to hear that. My husband actually asked about your frog today - he'll be tickled to know that she's making frog-logs, and that's a GOOD thing.

thanks for the update - sweet!!

kristi


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that things are looking up! Great job by the way.


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