Some Common Illness of a Pacman Frog

Pacman frogs or Horned frogs are becoming a common choice pf pets for those who love amphibians. The frogs are from the rainforest of Africa and live in generally moist ad humid habitat. In general, Pacman frogs are quite healthy. They also live for a long time. A Pacman can easily live for 15 years in captivity. Some frogs even live for a few more years.

But, you need to provide your pet with proper care. A Pacman frog needs a suitable habitat, food, and enough water to live a healthy life. That means you need to maintain their habitat with the substrate, moisture, and humid environment. You also need to provide them with regular meals of crickets, dubia roaches, or mice and small rats. Furthermore, you need to offer them water to soak and get hydration.

But, Pacman frogs can also become unwell or gravely ill. Here is a small guide about their common illness and essential home treatments-

• Dehydration

Pacman frogs often suffer from dehydration. It happens when they do not get enough water. If you see that your frig is not moving or is lying still, it is probably dehydrated. So, you need to rehydrate the frog as soon as possible. You can spray some mist on them directly. Otherwise, you can also give them a soak inside a medium-deep water bowl. Please make sure that your pet does not drown. Pacman frogs are not great swimmers and can easily drown. The frog will start to move after it gets proper rehydration.

If it is moving, examine it for some time. Then, you can place it back inside the aquarium. You might see your pet shedding its outer skin and eating that. It is entirely reasonable, and they grow back their outer surface after some time.

• Bacterial infection

As they live in a moist and humid environment, frogs are always out in the open with bacteria. They have a robust immune system to counter the bacterial infection. But your pet can get a bacterial infection if it is stressed or has a depressed immunity. Factors like polluted water, hot weather, lack of water, improper temperature range, etc. can make a frog depressed and vulnerable to bacterial infection.

The clinical signs of this disease are listlessness, cloudy eyes, loss of appetite, red skin underbelly, and on things. Additionally, some frogs also shed their skin on an excessive rate and release the skin in their water bowl. If you come across any of these signs, take immediate action. Your frogs may get a severe disease like neurological dysfunction etc. It also spreads rapidly and can quickly kill your pet.

You need to contact a vet as soon as possible. Doctors usually prescribe antibiotics with tetracyclic baths. But, tetracyclic both can be stressful for frogs and me be ineffective in case of severe bacterial infection.

The best way is to prevent this disease. Hence, you need to keep the habitat cleaned to ensure your pet is not stressed.

• Fungal infection

Fungal infection can happen if your pet is injured. The fungus invades its body through cuts and scrapes. You can quickly treat the fungal infection of your pet at home. For this take a cotton ball or cotton bud and dip it in a topical solution of mercurochrome, malachite green, or hydrogen peroxide. Dab the cotton ball or bud in the cut and bruised portion of your pet. It will heal gradually.

• Metabolic bone disease

It is another common disease in amphibians. The metabolic bone disease causes their bone to become soft and also creates deformed Skelton. It happens due to the low dose of calcium or vitamin +D3. Some of the clinical symptoms are listlessness, muscle twitching, improper tongue function, droopy lower jaw, etc. You need to provide your pet calcium and multivitamin supplements though gut-loading or dusting their feeder insects and animals.

If you feel the frig is gravely ill or needs medical attention, it is better to call the vet and get an appointment for your pet. Always make sure to provide them with proper habitat and food to ensure they are free of diseases.