# Frogs dying off



## Dannyboy402 (Aug 2, 2016)

Hey guys i'm new to keeping dart frogs. I've kept other frogs before so i'm not a total noob. So I bought 4 D.T. Green Sipalwini's last month at a show in town. The frogs were doing ok for a few weeks and eating good. Temps and humidity are always kept in check. One frog died 3 weeks ago and two died the other day. The frogs get melanogasters dusted with rep-cal calcium with d3 and herbivite. So today I went to wipe off the front glass and the one frog I have left was eating springtails in front of me. I look away to grab my glass top to put back on and I look down the tank to see that the frog is sprawled out on the floor of the viv. I looked to see if he was breathing and picked him up and he was lifeless. I saw that his heart was still beating so I put him in a shaded spot of the viv and he eventually gets up and acts like nothing happened. I don't know what's going on  Why are my frogs dying??? Posted pics of the viv for reference.


----------



## tongo (Jul 29, 2007)

You will also need to add a usable form of vitamin A to the dusting regime.

I've never used the rep cal but the majority of us use repashy vitamins.

My regime for dusting is: Repashy Calcium Plus every feeding, Repashy vitamin A once every two weeks.


----------



## Dannyboy402 (Aug 2, 2016)

I think the rep-cal herptivite is acceptable bc this is what they say about vitamin A, "HERPTIVITE is the first reptile vitamin without Vitamin A. Instead we use Beta Carotene which is an anti-oxidant that is converted into Vitamin A in a regulated way, so there is no threat of Vitamin A toxicity."


----------



## MasterOogway (Mar 22, 2011)

Dannyboy402 said:


> I think the rep-cal herptivite is acceptable bc this is what they say about vitamin A, "HERPTIVITE is the first reptile vitamin without Vitamin A. Instead we use Beta Carotene which is an anti-oxidant that is converted into Vitamin A in a regulated way, so there is no threat of Vitamin A toxicity."


I'm pretty sure Beta carotene is not converted to vitamin a in adult frogs. Repashy contains a much greater variety of carotenoids that are actually usable to the frog as precursors to vitamin A.


----------



## tongo (Jul 29, 2007)

The next sentences are "Unfortunately, recent research suggests many animals, especially amphibians, may not be able to derive needed vitamin A from beta carotene. Repashy Calcium Plus (and Repashy Vitamin A Plus) provides vitamin A in a retinol form, which is more readily available for use by amphibians."


----------



## Dannyboy402 (Aug 2, 2016)

Gotcha i'll order that right now to see if I can see a difference in the frog that I have. It just makes me sad because I had their viv set up for months before putting them in and spent a lot of time doing my homework. I keep a nice reef tank but I can't seem to grasp keeping dart frogs right now.


----------



## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Sorry, man. I know that feeling. It's awful. Just don't let it get you down. You are doing your best to correct it. It sure sounds like it could be a nutrient issue, but is there any chance you used something toxic in the build?

Also, when you get the Repashy Calcium Plus and Vitamin A, be sure to keep them in the fridge and discard any unused portion after 6 months. Otherwise, they aren't nearly as effective.

Mark


----------



## Bighorn (May 12, 2016)

Aren't you same guy who posted a few weeks ago that your brand new viv was off gassing and killing the plants because the silicon wasn't cured? You put your frogs in there anyway as I recall. 

Don't you think these things are related? 

Check his post on October 3.


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

> So update. I guess the silicone was still giving off some gas and the bromiliads didn't like it and they're kind of turning white :/. The frogs are ok and acting normal.





> Update. Plants did not like the silicone gassing off. This silicone took forever to cure. I put in a new order for the following plants! I'll post pictures when I get them in the tank


This was taken from your tank build post. How did you go about applying the silicone, and which type did you use? Also, where in the viv did you use it, and what was your timeline? Any and all silicone should be completely cured before adding any plants or animals. It sounds like you already had the plants and even frogs in the viv while there was still some silicone curing? That could be the issue with the frogs dying. 

Not trying to attack you, just thinking this could explain the problem with the frogs. We all mess up, and anyone who tells you they haven't isn't fooling anyone  Chalk up the uncured silicone in an inhabited viv as a learning experience.


----------



## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

Frogs dying within three weeks seem extremely unlikely to be related to vitamin deficiency on the buyer's end.

It sounds like to me you have something toxic in your tank. I would take your frog out and put it in a plastic shoebox like container with wet sphagnum moss and some clean magnolia leaves (or clean oak leaves). And check your viv out for contaminants. 

good luck and sorry about your losses.
Mike


----------



## RasecEsp (Jan 7, 2016)

You also mentioned on your build tank post the dart connection as the source of your frogs, I've read some bad things about their frogs so you never know. The day I picked up my froglets, they were the only other pdf vendor at the convention. I really wanted Tinctorius Oyapock as my first frogs, which they had, but steered away from them because of what I'd read before about them. I know this is not helping you solve what's happening to your frogs but hopefully it'll help in the future.


----------



## spawn (Jan 2, 2007)

Did the frogs turn a weird color? Anything going on with their eyes?


----------



## Dannyboy402 (Aug 2, 2016)

Thanks for the replies guys! I used GS and GE Sillicon I for the background and those are the only chemicals I put in the tank. All the plants I put in were stripped of all soil on the roots before putting them in. As for the tank I let it sit out in my garage to let cure for about a week bc I knew the smell would be bad for the frogs bc it stung my nose if I even tried to breath around it. I planted and added substrate after that week and added the frogs at the same time. It didn't smell bad when I was setting it up. It started to give off that ammonia smell after the viv got a good misting. I left the top glass cracked with a small fan sucking out the gassy air to help with the ammonia smell. The frogs did not look any different as when I got them when they passed. Anyone have any suggestions as to what to do now?


----------



## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

Could have been uncured construction materials, or an undiscovered pathogen, either way I would strip it, sterilize it, and start over with materials and animals from proven sources. Be very cautious about the silicone that you use, as not every tube has the correct composition, or cure rate. Additionally, some tubes are just bad.


----------



## sminarski (Oct 21, 2014)

If possible I'd do a fecal exam at your vet, then I'd still switch the remaining frogs over to a sterile viv, (No foam or silicon products, etc. just glass and substrate/plants). Cut feeding to every other day and be careful not to overfeed. Some may disagree but I would also only dust your feeders every other feeding for a while. 

These are precautions I take with my sick frogs and may not work for you.


----------

