Albino Frog

Question
I am trying to cure my frog that has bloat. I saw on a web site to use a little salt and stress coat formula. I don't know what the stress coat formula is...do you know what it is actually called and where I could find some?

Answer
Hi Christina
Stress Coat is a brand name of a product.  It's really a dechlorinator, and it also contains aloe.  So, people tend to think because it has aloe in it, it's a "cure all".  Granted, aloe does have some curing properties to it, but dropsy/bloat is usually going to be a bacterial infection, so it'll need an antibiotic for treatment.  Don't bother with the Stress Coat, it won't help.  For the salt, I did some checking, I was always under the assumption salt was bad for frogs.  One site I have for reference says a small amount of salt is safe to use with them(it's probably teh same site you were looking at lol).  However, I don't know a safe dosage to use and none's mentioned on the site.    Again, the salt won't help with a bacterial infection, and really you don't want to use regular salt when treating for dropsy, because salt tends to retain water.  For fish with dropsy, I recommend using epsom salts-which helps to draw fluids out-but again, I don't know a safe dosage amount to use with frogs, so I won't recommend it.

I have an African dwarf frog, and knock on wood, never had any problems with him.  So, I'm not real familiar with frogs-aside from general info, but I do know they are prone to some similar diseases and such that fish are-like fungus and dropsy(bloat).  And also like fish, they need to have good water quality/frequent water changes done, because ammonia and nitrites will affect them as well.

The best thing to do, would be an immediate partial water change.  An antibacterial food would be the best way to get the antibiotics inside the frog.  Not sure what you're feeding your frog, if he's eating fish flakes/fish pellet food, they do sell an antibacterial fish food.  If he's eating bloodworms, or frog bites, you can buy some meds and soak his food in the meds in a bowl for about 20-30 minutes before feeding him.  If he's eating live foods like feeders or ghost shrimp, you can "gut load" those by feeding them antibacterial foods before feeding to the frog.  You may also need to try an antibiotic for the water, I believe Maracyn Two would be safe for the frog.  It contains a tetracycline (Minocycline) based antibiotic.  If you can't find the antibacterial fish food, you can use that Maracyn Two(or if you can find tetracycline for fish) to soak the food in.

Most pet stores will sell those meds.  Here's a link though in case you can't find it:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113021

I've ordered lots of stuff from them over the years, they're good and reliable.  But, you really need to start a treatment asap.  The quicker you can treat, the more likely he is to recover.

Also, again not sure what you're feeding, but I'd recommend varying his diet if you're not so he can get all the different vitamins.

Hope that helps and good luck!  Let me know if you have more questions!

Christy