I've been so worried about my fire-bellied toad for some time, because I don't know what's wrong with him. His name is Sos, and he is 2 years old. (Well, that's how long I've had him. I don't know his true age.) Anyway, about a year ago he got some kind of fungal infection and I had to "give him a bath" every once in a while to get his skin clean or he would suffocate. He was younger then, and now he's having the same symptoms, but there's nothing on his skin! He's 2 years old now, and his once bright red belly is turning yellow, his bright green skin is turning a really brownish color, and he has trouble breathing. Is he sick or is he just getting old??? People have been making fun of me for worrying so much about my frog, but he is, like, so special to me. I don't know what I'd do if he died and I could've fixed it.
Can you tell us a little more about your setup and his behavior? Here's some questions that would be helpful for you to answer: About his setup: 1.) What size tank is he in? 2.) What are the ambient and water temperatures in the tank? 3.) Do you have a filter in the water area? When was the last time you did a water change? Have you had the water tested for nitrites and ammonia? About his behavior: 1.) When was the last time he ate and what and how much did he eat? 2.) When you say he has difficulty breathing, what do you mean by that? Is he taking long, deep, shuddering breaths? Is he gasping for air? 3.) Is he sitting up with his eyes open or is he laying lethargically with his head down and eyes closed? 4.) When you go to touch him, does he hop away, or does he kind of just take a step foreward? 5.) Is there any abnormal redness or swelling around the bottom of the back legs? 6.) Can you see any mucous coming from the nose or mouth? 7.) Are there any black or white or otherwise abnormal spots on the skin? I know you said it doesn't look like the fungal infection he had in the past. Could it possibly be a bacterial issue? If you have any pictures of him and his setup, that might help too. Try to get back to me on these questions and we'll see what we can do.
Setup: 1) 10 gallon tank 2) Ambient??? The current temp. is 76 degrees 3) Yes I have a water filter. The last change was April 17, because I always do it on a 17th. I have not had the water tested. behavior: 1) The last time he ate was 2 days ago and 2 crickets. I've put in more since then, but he didn't eat them. I think he might have eaten one today. 2) He breaths normally for a few seconds, and then looks as if he's choking. He'll take deep shuddering breaths and his skin will twitch. Then it will go back to normal and the process will be repeated. 3) He hates going over by the filter and prefers sitting half-in, half-out of the water. But now he's huddling under the filter and won't come out. He'll sit with his eyes stickingout of the water. 4) He always hops away when I touch him, but now he huddles deeper under the filter. 5) No redness or swelling, his once bright red belly turned a sickly pale orange color and he seems to be actually almost getting smaller. 6) He's wet all over, but nothing like mucus. 7) It may be a bacterial issue, but I'm not sure what that looks like. He's having the same symptoms as he had last time, but then there was stuff growing on his skin that I could get a towel and gently brush it off and he'll go back to normal for a while. But now there's nothing to brush off. Today I made sure he ate a cricket, and he turned bright green again, but he still can't breathe and his belly's still orange. I don't know how to get pics on here, but I might be able to get one. My camera broke, but I have pictures on here of when he was healthy. Half of his tank is water and the other half land, and back on one side (where he is sitting) is deeper than he can stand. There's a bridge going half-in, half-out of the water for him to sit under for privacy, and a little tree. The filter is in the deep part of the water. There are small pebbles there, but I don't think they're small enough to swallow, because he's never swallowed them before. I know I probably sound obsessed and I'm sorry if I do, but I"m just worried about him. thanks for your time.
You don't sound obsessed, no worries, you just care about your pet. Potential problems: 1.) Impaction. This is when a piece of something gets stuck in his digestive tract, commonly pebbles or something of the like. This is why it is a bad idea to keep amphibians on pebbles/bark/etc. Is the frog bloated at all? If so, does he feel liquid or air filled if you squeeze him a bit? (obviously not hard enough to hurt him). 2.) Bacterial infection. These are relatively common to amphibians in captivity, and are potentially life threatening. Typical symptoms are discoloration, bloating, trouble breathing, and passing stool. When was the last time you found some feces in his tank? My suggestion at this point is to get the frog to a herp vet as soon as possible, either of these two problems requires immediate vet care. http://www.Herpvetconnection.com is a great site for finding herp vets local to you. Good luck, and keep us posted!
Badger711: Thank you so very much. For some reason, the bacterial infection thing doesn't scare me as much as impaction. I don't know why. There is a herp vet really close to me, and if he doesn't improve in a bit I will definately take him. Cammy: I've never seen him shed before; although, I did find a black-dotted substance sticking to his skin a few months ago. Is that shedding? I don't know what shedding looks like.
Shedding basically looks like the frog opening and closing his mouth a lot, and rubbing his face a lot, to get the old skin off. Also, I'd take him ASAP, both impaction and bacterial infection can kill the frog in a matter of 3 days, or less.
