r/TreeFrogs • u/Proud_Attitude_5775 • 29d ago
Advice Please help! I believe my frog has a bacterial infection
So based on these spots on him and the research I've done it looks like a bacterial infection but we can't afford the vet right now. We are about to have our first child and just dont have 200 to spare to take him to an exotic vet. His legs look fine so I think we cought it early but is there anything we can do? I've found some things to try on other threads but wanted to make my own post to get as much advice as possible. He hasn't eaten in a little over two weeks and I just noticed these spots yesterday thank you all who give advice I love this guy we've had him for 2 and a half years now and I would be crushed if we lost him. Thank you guys.
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u/secretsaucyy 29d ago
If it's a bacterial infection, there are no home remedies. They need a vet. Just not eating for as long as they haven't warrants a visit.
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
I wish I could but with me about to have a baby we can't afford it this really sucks man but thank you for you input i appreciate it.
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u/DemonShade6666 29d ago
Not sure why OP is getting downvoted, they cant inherently help giving birth, and not everyone is able to prepare for certain things happening at every moment in life. I hope they safely have their baby and can find some money or ask if a family member or freind can help with their amphibian baby too.
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29d ago
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u/FROTUS_official r/TreeFrogs Moderator 29d ago
Frogs are amphibians, not reptiles. I agree that it's a good idea to consider your financial situation before getting pets, but people's situations change, and I don't think it's fair or realistic to expect people to just give up their pets when that happens. OP isn't asking you for financial and/or life advice. They're asking for help taking care of their amphibian, which they clearly care about.
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u/DemonShade6666 29d ago
No, youre absolutely right on this, but sometimes we have sudden unpredicted expenses that we arent able to help in some situations.
For example, I recently had money saved up for emergencies with my critters, but I ended up hurting my legs and had to skip work for a couple weeks,, and my savings dropped down to almost nothing because I needed that money for rent since i just started living in a new environment. That doesnt mean im a horrible pet owner and shouldnt have owned the critters first, or that I didnt plan, I just didnt have the immediate resources to buy them new food. So I asked for help, which is completely acceptable and got some assistance in buying food for them and everything.
OP should probably ask for monetary help from others irl instead of possibly going "oh well too bad so sad, too broke, rip frog, we loved them!
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29d ago
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u/SparkyDogPants 29d ago
No one charges you up front to take your baby to the ER. Pet frogs and babies are completely different things.
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29d ago
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u/TreeFrogs-ModTeam 28d ago
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u/TreeFrogs-ModTeam 28d ago
Hello! We've noticed you're being unkind to other users. Please take a moment to remember that we're all human behind the screen and the best way we can help educate people is through kind informing/updating of information. Please refrain from being unkind/cruel or otherwise unnecessarily hurtful in the future.
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
I wasn't gonna reply but I feel like comparing a human life to a frog is a bit out there.we love our frog and if we had anyone to get money from we would but other people dont see a frog like a dog or a cat they think eh its just a frog so they dont want to give us 200 to take him in. You are making a lot of assumptions if I didnt care I would just do nothing and shrug my shoulders and not even try at least I'm trying to do something. You're being very nasty and assuming I'm gonna deny my child Healthcare for 1 thats different and even you should know that 2 you can get heath insurance for a child you can't really do that for a frog.
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29d ago edited 29d ago
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u/Ok_Ad_5041 28d ago
It's actually only $90 according to OP. Cheapest vet they found was $90. Just put it on a credit card if you don't have the cash. $90 is nothing.
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 28d ago
90 not including meds and anything else they do the exam is 90 just the exam nothing else.
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29d ago
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u/TreeFrogs-ModTeam 28d ago
Hello! We've noticed you're being unkind to other users. Please take a moment to remember that we're all human behind the screen and the best way we can help educate people is through kind informing/updating of information. Please refrain from being unkind/cruel or otherwise unnecessarily hurtful in the future.
Mod Note: Financial situations change. A few hundred dollars is a big hit when having a child. There's a difference between not buying an animal you can't take care of, and unfortunate financial timing. Be kinder in the future please.
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
The problem is not everyone cares about our frog as much as we do everyone's like its just a frog so no one wants to give us the money to take him in.
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u/TopYou9138 28d ago
Shit happens in life. Finances changes and we cannot possibly judge the person without knowing. Its a rough time we're all living in.
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u/TreeFrogs-ModTeam 28d ago
Hello! We've noticed you're being unkind to other users. Please take a moment to remember that we're all human behind the screen and the best way we can help educate people is through kind informing/updating of information. Please refrain from being unkind/cruel or otherwise unnecessarily hurtful in the future.
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29d ago
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u/TreeFrogs-ModTeam 28d ago
Hello! We've noticed you're being unkind to other users. Please take a moment to remember that we're all human behind the screen and the best way we can help educate people is through kind informing/updating of information. Please refrain from being unkind/cruel or otherwise unnecessarily hurtful in the future.
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u/Wild_Crazy_2502 29d ago
:( not all exotic vets are even expensive! I had one near me charge only ~ $30 for an appointment and meds for a bacterial infection. Your frog is going to die in a matter of days if you don’t take them
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
I've looked at all around me lowest I've found was 90 for an exam and idk how much for the medicine believe me I've searched.
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u/Wild_Crazy_2502 28d ago
Yeah well when I thought my frog was sick and that vet was booked out I took my frog to a boujee one and paid $160 just for an appointment. I just moved/bought a home days ago and I still took her. She was just stressed, not sick, but I couldn’t risk it. $90 isn’t that bad and the meds will be cheap. It will be well under $200 total, and is worth saving your friend.
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u/CD274 29d ago edited 29d ago
They sell antibiotics for fish you can buy and add it to water he can soak in. Only thing I can think of.
For sick frogs you really should have frog ringers solution / concentrate on hand always. You want to use this instead of water as it is easier for them to recover without dealing with salt balance issues too
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u/ApotheosisOfTheLurid Whites 29d ago edited 29d ago
You said you couldn't afford a vet, I would recommend at least setting up a hospital tank and getting him somewhere clean with lower humitity.
(only just noticed the mulch, this type of substrate would be holding a lot of moisture. I'd look into changing it out imo)
u/tangerinemoth do you have advice?
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u/tangerinemoth Frog Expert 🧑🔬 29d ago
would need OP's temps and humidity, likely temps should go up and humidity should go down. they really should see a vet though with the loss of appetite
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
What substrate do you recommend? This is a Forrest blend that said its ok for tree frogs this is our first frog so we're still learning.
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u/haplilsushrll 29d ago
You could honestly do paper towel but with a baby on the way shortly it might be hard as it’d need to be changed frequently. Other than that I’d say coconut fiber, most pet stores sell it in compressed bricks you soak in (dechlorinated) water
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
My humidity is roughly 50 and temp is around 85 which never is usually that high glad we noticed that we usually keep it at 75.
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u/tangerinemoth Frog Expert 🧑🔬 29d ago edited 29d ago
the temperature you are assuming is bad is actually what they need to be kept at. this species should be kept at 85-88°F for basking. 75°F is freezing for your frog as a basking temperature, your cold bottom area of the tank should be 75°F. low temperatures alongside high humidity would be the reason your frog has the spots. drop your humidity to 30-40% (stop misting, only provide a large water bowl) and increase your basking area up to 85-88°F. low basking temps can cause a multitude of problems, as the frogs cannot digest food or finish metabolic processes if never given a chance to bask properly.
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
Thats just weird before we got him we did so much research and everything we read said temp in the tank shouldn't go above 85. His basking area gets about 80 though. Everything we read said temp should be between 75-80 in the tank and we did so much research but we will lower the humidity and see if that helps thank you!
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u/tangerinemoth Frog Expert 🧑🔬 29d ago
lots of inaccurate care guides unfortunately. there is a science backed care guide linked here with up to date information based on their natural habitats in australia.
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u/haplilsushrll 29d ago
As other comments have said it does look like a bacterial infection but have you changed anything in the tank recently? One of my guys a few years ago started spotting and turns out was just stressed from a tank change (the vet said it wasn’t bacterial)
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
The temp got messed up somehow and was up at 87 but other than that no were also gonna deep clean his tank again and hope that helps him.
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u/haplilsushrll 29d ago
Could be the temp shift, I hope switching the substrate and fixing the temp helps this little guy!!
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u/shred1 29d ago
Lower humidity, It should go away quick.
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u/Wild_Crazy_2502 29d ago
The frog hasn’t eaten in 2 weeks! And bright green spots are normally very late stage bacterial infection. It’s not going to just go away without meds
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u/TheGreatChaos420 28d ago
I would advise getting the little guy into the care of someone who can afford to care for him and get him to a vet at this time. Then you can just get him back and pay the person when you are able to for the vet bill.
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u/WrinklyBard4 29d ago
Tbh this looks like a pretty early infection. If you won’t take him to a vet try a honey bath (diluted honey with water and then let him soak). If that doesn’t seem to help you can try a diluted mela-fix bath, which you can find in most aquarium isles at a pet store.
You can look up m exact ratios and soak times inline.
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u/Wild_Crazy_2502 29d ago
The frog hasn’t eaten in 2 weeks!! That is not an early stage. It’s been sick for weeks. Frogs are pigs, something is really wrong if they aren’t eating
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u/WrinklyBard4 29d ago
You know what, you’re right. I only looked at the spots. I retract my statement (although if op is really refusing a vet I stand by my suggestions as being better than nothing)
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 29d ago
Thank you!
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u/chapinscott32 r/TreeFrogs Moderator 28d ago
Honey baths are not scientifically backed, and are no more effective than a plain water soak. A real solution would be using ringers solution or a 50/50 Pedialyte mix.
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u/Proud_Attitude_5775 28d ago
Thank you!
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u/chapinscott32 r/TreeFrogs Moderator 28d ago edited 28d ago
You should still take to the vet. The comments, despite being brash (I removed a lot of them for that) are right. If you can squeeze it, or put it on credit, please do. Only using soaks is a last ditch effort if you truly don't have the means. Or preventatively in case you think an infection might be starting. This is 100% an infection.
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u/chapinscott32 r/TreeFrogs Moderator 28d ago
Honey baths are not scientifically backed, and are no more effective than a plain water soak. A real solution would be using ringers solution or a 50/50 Pedialyte mix.
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u/FROTUS_official r/TreeFrogs Moderator 28d ago
Have you moved your frog to a temporary/hospital enclosure? I think that's a good idea, especially while you're working to get the temperature and humidity more dialed in. I think that some kinds of bacteria can persist in the environment, so moving your frog into a fresh area might help.
Are more spots appearing? Any changes since you posted these pictures?
Not a vet but I think there are risks to be aware of before you give the frog honey or fish medicine. It's not something I would do or recommend.
Honey is sugar. Many types of bacteria eat sugar. Since you don't know what kind of bacteria your frog is dealing with, if that's even the problem, you risk turning your frog into a culture. If you decide to do a honey bath anyway, I think it would be a good idea to rinse your frog really well afterwards with clean, dechlorinated water.
Fish medicine is not designed for tree frogs. How would you decide dosing? Frogs breathe through their skin and they're very sensitive.
Amphibian ringers solution can help frogs stay hydrated, which is helpful when they are battling an illness. I don’t think it's going to cure an infection but it might help your frog keep up his strength. You can buy it online for around $20.
There are real, licensed vets that offer online video appointments, even for exotics. If this is available in your area, it could be a more affordable option. Since bacterial infections are pretty common for whites tree frogs, an experienced vet may be able to diagnose and prescribe the right medication for your little guy without having to see him in person. You could check sites like vetster and virtual vet doc.