# Um... grey skin?



## Sarkany (Mar 11, 2008)

So, one of my tincs had an unfortunate incident some three weeks back involving an Exo Terra waterfall, two missed meals and a lot of water... Mainly that I had been so sure I had actually covered any and all ways to get into the "pond" area (where the pump is) - seems I hadn't. So she was able to get into the pond area but apparently she wasn't able to get back out... I got worried after she'd missed her second meal (let me tell you, that frog NEVER misses a meal... :roll: ) and so I searched for her a bit. Didn't find her. Quite unusual, since normally she comes to the front of the terrarium as soon as I stand in front of it (well, there could be food). 
I got more worried. Then, quite by accident, as I was once again standing in front of the terrarium (worrying), I happened to hear sounds from the waterfall. Holy moses. The waterfall, it's _alive._
Finally I just put apart the waterfall and there she was, sitting on the pump and submersed into the water almost up to her mouth. :shock: She must have spent like one and a half days in there.

So, the problem: Even though she hopped out of the pond pretty soon after I had taken the damn thing apart and started eating pretty much right away, she had this grey spot on her nose (well, more like a grey ring; you'll see) and at first I thought: "Let's wait this one out, it might go away by itself." Well, it hasn't. In fact, I think it might have spread (there's this little grey spot over one of her eyes). She's been acting and eating normal. Since this is the first time I'm dealing with a possible dart frog health problem, I'm not sure what to expect. What is this? How should I treat it? Should I treat it at all? I should, shouldn't I? (Now I know no one's able to perform a miracle diagnosis just from looking at a picture, but, well, hope does die last :wink: )
By the way, I'm calling her a "she" but I'm not totally sure, since she's like (I don't know exactly) about seven months or so. (Or eight. Or nine. Not sure.)
Pictures attached (as you can see, she's a real sucker for being photographed :wink: ).


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

I'm a little concerned about the frog trying to fight off a fungal infection---hopefully not chytrid---since sometimes the immune system responds defensively by creating a ring of melanin around the spot of infection to prevent its spread. If other spots develop or there's change in behavior or appearance, any other skin abnormalities or it never goes away, I would consult a frogging expert.


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## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

good chance she was pushing with her nose trying to get out, quite possibly nose rub
craig


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## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

How is your little girl doing Sarkany?
Candy


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## Sarkany (Mar 11, 2008)

Thanks guys for your answers. 
Candy, what is confusing me is that she’s acting perfectly normal (not that I’m not happy about that  ). She’s as active as ever and has a good appetite (as always). She also isn’t getting thinner or anything. If there wasn’t the grey “ring”, I’d think she was perfectly all right… It’s strange. Still, this can’t be normal and I’d like it gone before it becomes a huge problem for her…
And the strangest thing: While I was misting the tank a few hours back, I noticed an egg on the leaf of a brom! :shock: First egg… exciting! (Yeah, I know it’s probably going to be bad…) I guess that means that now she’s a proved female. And also that she’s a bit older than I thought…  Still, it surprised me that she’d start breeding now… (And I haven’t heard the male call for the last few days… normally I can hear him pretty good, even when the terrarium’s closed; must be super ears or something. :roll: ) 
Do they breed when they’re, like, actively sick? 

Craig, I’ve been thinking about “nose rub” too, but that there’s a spot in the middle where the skin wouldn’t have rubbed off just seems weird to me. On the other hand, I have never seen “nose rub” on any of my frogs before (which is due largely to the fact I’m relatively new to the hobby) so I’m not yet ready to discard the possibility entirely… Or maybe it is a “nose rub” but it has become infected? 

God I hope not, Susan! Chytrid… that is a nightmare. Doesn’t Chytrid move pretty fast though, after you’ve seen the first symptoms? It’s been some weeks now since she got this grey discoloration, and if that was the first actual symptom, shouldn’t she already be in pretty bad shape (or dead)? Also, would she be breeding then? :| 

So, I thought about taking her to the vet to see what’s up, but I’ve been hesitating so far because our local vet told me he had no actual experience with frogs (and little with amphibians even! Well, we do live rather rural…) the next vet experienced with frogs would be several hours away and I just haven't been sure whether I should expose her to the stress of that long a drive (also, it gets rather warm in our car) or “take my chances” with our local vet.

So, right now I’ve just taken to misting the tank with “oak water” (adding oak extract into the water has often helped me when I had sick fish, supposedly it’s because of the tannin) and been taking care to have all the water in the tank extra clean, but I’m thinking I might have our local vet take a peek at the frog next week. If I can get over my fear of my frog being, essentially, his “guinea pig”… (Not that I’m intending to insult him here, I’m not, I’d trust him any day with my dogs; I just wish he’d have at least a little experience with frogs…) and my fear that the added stress would be enough for her condition to worsen… (well, not that she really appears sick right now, but who knows with that grey skin?)
Guh, I’m confused. If it were to be a bacterial infection, are there any good meds to be recommended? Is silver sulfadiazine the “thing” to choose in this case? And a fungal infection? I’ve read so much now about possible meds, but some recommend some meds, other say not to take it because it’s pretty dangerous for frogs (like Betadine)… 
With thinks like Neosporin, I’d have to have that imported… 
I’m just asking because I’m probably going to be discussing with my vet which meds to take – if he can find out the cause for the grey skin.
There, that was long. :roll: Hope I didn't bore you to death. It's just that she's my favourite and I'm just so concerned about her (not that I'm not concerned about all my frogs - let's make that all my pets :mrgreen: )


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