Austrailian Whites tree frog has hind leg poralysis and slightly twisted body

Question
QUESTION: we change his water daily, but came home and discovered him upside down in water dish. water looked dirty as if he pooped in it and had been soaking in it for sometime. He can drag himself around on front arms. We lifted him out, changed his water, and put him back. he can hold on to the side of the water dish, has no other physical problems except hind leg paralysis and lack of energy. coloration dark brown, but he use to morph colors daily from bright green to brown.  He normally eats vitamin fortified freeze dried crickets (3 daily)(which we hydrate and vibrate on a dish so he thinks they are alive) He loves them and up to yesterday was completely healthy happy and active.  Lives in 12 gallon terrarium on a 12hr light on light off cycle. light on temp 80 degree light off 72 degrees coco shredded substrate. humidity level moderate to slightly dry.

ANSWER: Hi Nae,

Thank you for providing that additional husbandry information, that is very helpful. Hind leg paralysis can have several origins such as trauma, infection, impaction (unlikely in your case) or even cancer. One of the most common causes with captive amphibians/reptiles is calcium/vitamin D3 deficiency. Vitamin D3 is essential for the affective absorption of dietary calcium from the gut. This deficiency leads to soft spongy or brittle bones as calcium is diverted to maintain the more critical blood-calcium levels. As a further result fractures or deformities, particularly of the spine, jaw and long bones of the legs can occur. These problems seem more prominent in climbing, jumping animals who put more stress on these structures. Hind leg paralysis is common as the spinal chord grows soft and puts pressure on the spinal cord. The condition is known most commonly as MBD or metabolic bone disease. The amount of damage will determine the amount of possible recovery but his ability to defecate seems like a promising sign.

Calcium is usually provided by dusting the insect prey with a powdered supplement formulated for reptiles once or twice a week, depending on age and breeding status. The goal is to bring the calcium:phosphorous ratio in the diet to around 2 : 1.
This ratio is necessary for the proper metabolism and absorption of calcium. Cricket exoskeletons are very high in phosphorous and although gut-loading the crickets with high calcium food does help studies have indicated that it alone cannot correct this ratio.

Are you adding additional calcium to the freeze dried crickets? From your description of the crickets being "fortified" I suspect that this a manufacturer's claim that they are already nutritionally complete. There is little to no regulation in this industry about what manufacturers can claim.  My suspicion is that even though the crickets do have some supplements added to them that they do not have sufficient calcium content to reach the desired CA:P ratio

If he is still able to feed I would suggest dusting his crickets with a good quality calcium/vitamin D3 supplement like MinerAll I or Rep Cal (without phosphorous) at least 3 times per week. Liquid calcium supplements are available at pharmacys and can be dripped into the mouth for animals that have ceased feeding. Try to keep handling to a  bare minimum. You may have to ensure he stays hydrated by moving him manually into a low, shallow water dish.

Of course, a vet is always your best option but finding one that will even agree to see an amphibian and seems competent is a real challenge, Good luck.    



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He still laying in water dish, but not eating and now belly seems a little bloated and purple. He seems now unable to defecate. Any suggestion? We were not dusting the freeze dried crickets daily (only 2-3 times per month). If he survives we will be sure to dust them regularly. If he does not, when we attempt frog parenthood again we will be sure to take your advice. Thanks for caring and sharing...Nae

Answer
Hi Nae,

In my experience, the prognosis does not sound good for your little guy. Discolouration and hanging out in the water for lengthy periods is often what frogs do toward the end. You should not have to to dust the crickets daily for an adult frog, once or twice a week should be fine. Make sure to use a calcium with D3 supplement. The multi-vitamin formulations do not contain enough calcium and run the risk of vitamin overdose. Multi-vitamins can be used 2 or 3 times per month however. White's are a hardy species, let's hope for the best nonetheless.