# Could Ivy plant or new water bottle hurt frogs?



## catfish (Mar 28, 2008)

Could the plastic in a new spray water bottle or an ivy plant kill my two auratus frogs? Hard to say if they died on the same day, since I hardly ever saw them to begin with. The pair was housed in a 30 gal viv, with hydroton covered with Eco Earth for substrate. Temperature was fairly constant at 70-73 degrees. I have lots of plants and a large piece of mopani wood, so there were lots of places to hide. A couple months ago I added a small Ivy terrarium plant from the local nursery. I also purchased a new plastic water spray bottle. Could either of those new additions killed them? I have a plastic container of tads still in the viv. One actually morphed out yesterday and I just transfered it to it's own container out of the viv.


----------



## dwdragon (Aug 14, 2008)

From everything I have read it is possible the Ivy had been treated with insecticides which can kill any kind of frog.

Other than that I'm not sure. I haven't read of the plastic spray bottles being an issue as I think alot of people use them. The main problem with anything is making sure that it doesn't have any chemicals on it either pesticides or fertilizers.


----------



## bobberly1 (Jul 16, 2008)

Funny I've been suspicious of spray bottles for a while too. They always have a smell that seems... particular.


----------



## dwdragon (Aug 14, 2008)

Well, not to get too off topic but there is scientifical evidence that various levels of recycled plastics emit a certain amount of detrimental chemicals after prolonged use.

I think it was anything above a #3 or 5 can't remember recycled plastic.


----------



## gold3nku5h (Jul 24, 2008)

Yeah, i heard that too.. I thought it was like something that started with an A, and harmed babies drinking from microwavable milking bottles. It had to do with the scratches in the plastic then exposed to the radiation and did a chemical reaction. anyways check to see if the bottle is scratched then if not it should be 100%. I have an atomizer that has a wierd grease around the top, its finally dissapearing, but then i only use it for plants, and only RO, so its goin pretty good.


----------



## Jason (Oct 14, 2004)

The chemical in question is Bisphenol A (BPA).



> BPA has raised concerns because it appears to mimic the effects of estrogen, interfering with hormone levels and cell signaling systems. Previous studies have shown that people exposed to high levels of BPA have a greater risk of developing uterine fibroids, breast cancer, decreased sperm counts, and prostate cancer.


----------



## catfish (Mar 28, 2008)

I'm planning on throwing away all the plants and the substrate, but how about the wood in the tank? Anyone know where to get a glass spray bottle?


----------



## Jason (Oct 14, 2004)

catfish said:


> I'm planning on throwing away all the plants and the substrate, but how about the wood in the tank? Anyone know where to get a glass spray bottle?


Do you have any frogs left? If so you should get a fecal done. BPA is a long term issue and I don't think it killed your frogs. More than likely there was something else going on. 

Improper husbandry is often times the catalyst that causes sick or dead frogs. What was the humidity level? How often did you feed? What did you use to dust the fruit flies? What was the substrate made of? Are temps fairly stable?

A fecal sample may tell you what you need to know. If there was a parasite or bacterial infection you will have to strip the tank bare and disinfect. Mostly everything should be thrown out.


----------



## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

If there are tads in the tank that are alive it wouldn`t be anything concerning an ivy plant or spray bottle as I imagine the spray got the tads too and if it were fertilizer or insecticide it would be in w/ the tads.
Just because a frog has parasites, it doesn`t mean they will kill them. There is almost always another catalyst as hi temps or lo temps or bad vit/min, insufficient nutrition or impaction, etc.
Between 70-73 I`d check for chytrid as that is lethal temps for chytrid. Bacterial or viral issues would have probably taken the tads also. 
That said, I returned a spray bottle which had already been returned as it had, probably glyphosate, some chemical salty/oily precipitate on the lip and in the bottle. Always watch what you buy.


----------



## catfish (Mar 28, 2008)

Thank you so much for all of this great information! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I only had the two frogs, so there are none left to test. However, I do have one froglet that just morphed and was transfered to a large critter container on Sunday. There are probably 6 more tads of various sizes still in the viv. Obviously, something killed the two adult frogs and I would like to find out, so if it was something I did, I won't do again. I fed them fruit flies everyday dusted with calcium one day, and vits the next. Tried to keep the humidity in the 90 range, but I was using a spray bottle, so it would dip below several times a day. Temperature stayed fairly constant between 70-73 because I have a small reptile heat pad attached to one end of the viv with a thermostat that keep the temp from dipping below 69. The house is air conditioned, so the tank never gets above 75 in the summer. Could I have gotten a bad bunch of fruit flies? Could my calcium or vitamins be contaminated? Can I get a fecal done on the baby? He/she is only two days out of the water? Where does one get a fecal done? And not to get off the topic, but will the froglet eat on its own? It looks so pathetic hiding under a leaf. The Eco Earth was seeded a few weeks ago with springtails and last night I put in a few dusted small fruit flies. Should he be on a wet paper towel insead of Eco Earth with leaves? I don't want to lose him.


----------



## catfish (Mar 28, 2008)

I just thought of something else that was new before the frogs died. I bought springtails. I bought a kit that included a tupperware container with charcoal. Twice a week I poured a few ounces of that water with the springtails into the substrate in the viv. Was I suppose to drain the water? Could the charcoal in the substrate have killed the frogs?


----------

