# Please HELP!! D.auratus sudden front leg deformity



## mlou1531 (Dec 22, 2006)

My boyfriend saw her sitting by the water with her front legs behind her and her head facing down, he was going to call me because he thought she was dead, she stayed in that position for over an hour before suddenly jumping away to her hiding spot where she stayed for a day, before we checked on her and decided it was best to quarantine her. Her front toe pads are stuck together and although she can still jump pretty far she tends to land on her head, because she won’t but any weight on her front legs. I have noticed that she does have some movement but she refuses to put weight on them. Other than that she is very healthy has not lost weight and I have been able to get her to eat, she even sits in the water dish. 

I have had the frogs for about a month now and everything has been going great until Friday. I feed the frogs twice a day since they are still young and always dust the food with Rep-Cal and Herptivite. I am extremely worried about her and would love any advice.


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## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

A little more information might help us better get an idea of what is going on.

How old are the frogs? (rough estimates are ok - froglet, juvi, adult)
Where did you acquire them?
How are they housed? (basic description of setup)
How old are the supplements you are using and what are you feeding (FFs, crix, etc)?

Another thing you mentioned was that the frog sometimes sits in the water bowl. Have you had fecals run on them? Frogs with internal parasites will sometimes spend time sitting in the water.

Pulling the frog aside into a quarantine container was a good idea. Just make sure the container offers a bit of security for the frog.


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## mlou1531 (Dec 22, 2006)

The frogs are about five months old. I got them from a respected breeder I talked to him he has no idea what it could be. All four of my frogs seem to enjoy sitting in the water, they have since I first put the water dishes in their cages…I thought that was normal for them (isn’t that how they drink?), I didn’t realize it could mean they were sick. Since they are still young and I am still new at taking care of them they are in sweater boxes The temperature is between 72 and 78 and the humidity is always very high, the lowest I have seen it at was 83% it is normally at 95% Since I live in South Florida where it is very humid we had two tops for each sweater box, one with a screen cut out and the other just the normal top for the box. We would normally put the top with the cut out in it on during the day when the A/C was off, I always come home from lunch and would check to make sure the temperatures where right. Now since the one is sick we are just leaving the A/C on and keeping the boxes closed with out the screen cut outs. I had two in each box, now it is the sick one alone and the other three together. I have gravel at the bottom covered in some spaces with a little moss and a piece of cork bark for them to hid under. The fly cultures are about two weeks old. The ones I am feeding them with just started producing flies. The supplements I dust them with have an expiration date of July 2008.

Butter (the sick frog) only ate about two flies last night and I couldn’t get her to eat this morning, but she has stopped falling on her head and seems to be moving around better. I could actually see all of her right front toe pads spread out and normal this morning but only for a second. When you first look at her it looks like the toe pads are gone and that she just has stubs in the front, but when you get up really close you see that the toe pads are just all stuck together. Some times she moves her front limbs and other times she holds them in a way that resembles the way a mentally challenged person some times does up by their chest. She still doesn’t seem to want to put any weight on the front legs, but I am so happy she is not falling on her head…that was very painful to watch. 

The really sad part is we are getting their permanent cage set up for them to move in, I really want her to be able to move in with the rest of the frogs, but I don’t know if I should wait for her to get better and move them all in at the same time, or if the three healthy ones should go in now, and just add her when she is healthy again. I know her and her tank mate must miss each other, they got along so well we named them Peanut and Butter.


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## mlou1531 (Dec 22, 2006)

I sent a fecal sample to Dr. Frye (who I never would have found if it was not for this site) and it turns out that Butter has lung worms and the extreme stress that she is under is causing her to hold her feet they way she has been, since she is not eating it does not look like she is going to make it, but I am going to try to give her the medication and see how it goes. Thankfully I caught it before the other frogs got as sick as her, and Dr. Frye says that they should take the medication with out any problems. I contacted the breeder and he is having his other frogs checked and said that he will compensate me… (I would still purchase from him, he is a good guy and has been as helpful as possible), which makes me feel a little better but not much…I love my frogs, and this has been very stressful and emotional for me. But I am so thankful to Dendro Board for providing such invaluable information. Dr. Frye even told me to look on the Boards for information on bleaching plants. Hopefully I will be getting all the medications tomorrow, and I will let you guys know how it goes.


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## mlou1531 (Dec 22, 2006)

It has been almost a month now, and Butter is still hanging in there. She has started to eat flies again, and is alot more active. She still isn't using her front legs, and Dr. Frye, says she may never use them again, but she seems to be getting better every day, she even managed to climb on top of her coconut hut! We got the ok to put her back with the other frogs, and things are looking good...


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## SusannahJoy (Jul 3, 2006)

Oh good I'm glad to hear that! It kinda sucks that she wont be able to use her legs again properly, but if she's eating and getting around then I guess she doesn't really need them.


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