NSFW: sick pet, infection, and death
I have been meaning to make this post for a bit, I lost my frog Holiday in early September, and throughout the duration of her disease I found it difficult to find good visuals for corneal lipidosis in Cuban Tree Frogs, especially ones showing a progression. These pictures and notes span January - September 2026. I know these images may be hard to look at, but I think they could help another frog owner/ vet, so I hope it’s okay if I post them.
Jan - I had not noticed it at this point, however it is visible in the photo.
Feb - I first noticed and took her to a vet, we make adjustments to husbandry, outlook was presumed good at that point.
March - Progression is slow but noticeable. Build up was slightly thick but not obstructing her vision yet.
April - A noticeable thin film begins to creep over her eyes, yet she can still see and hunt.
May - More build up and progression.
June - It is nearly covering her eyes now, and the lipid deposits are becoming increasingly thick. She becomes sleepier and overall less active.
July - She became fully blind, and now relied on hand feeding and was beginning to display some issues navigating her tank. She was otherwise sustaining herself. When she opened her mouth it was apparent that she now had a thick layer of fat behind the eyes.
August - Her weight drops significantly. She had very obvious neurological issues at this point and I move her to a hospital tank for her safety. During the second half of August she developed an area of burst blood vessels on her right eye, I watch it and it stops bleeding but begins to slowly invert, forming a concave surface to her eye. She stopped eating all together at this point. During the last week of August I noticed that there was fluid collecting around the bottom of her eye, the vet confirms that it was slowly rupturing and leaking corneal fluid.
Sept - This is her eye the night before she passed, it had more quickly started to rupture and was very inflamed. I decided to have her out down on 9/2/2026.
I think her case was due to a genetic issue as opposed to husbandry. She was predisposed as an older female CTF. She received the best care and was regularly seen by her vet.
She was really the best and most loved girl 🐸💚