[joker555]

Hi, I know I must have heard a bunch of times that begginers should stay clear of buying wc's becuase they require experience to take care of and what not, especially just before the farm-raised pumilio started coming in in decent numbers. I know this is said with good cause, but I would like to know what in particular goes into acclimating a wc frog.

Thanks,
Dustin

 

[rompida]

without sounding like a jerk, I'd first say, "If you have to ask......"

But that said, first and foremost is quarantine. Preferably each new frog to its own enclosure. I quarantine all new frogs for at least a month, WC even longer. I keep them on paper towels which are changed every other day (every day if you have the time), and clean out the enclosure at the same time. I prefer to use sweater boxes for this, as they are easy to move around.

After you have them setup in quarantine....

feeding - keep track of how much (or little) the frog is eating

watch for any behaviors that might be a symptom of disease, like scratching, open sores, gaping mouths, etc.

Be ready to consult a vet at the first signs of illness. In fact, it would be better to do so before you even get them so you can have treatments already on hand. Check with Dr. Frye on this, he can set you up with a battery of meds that WC frogs will likely need.

Anyone else want to add?....

 

[Dunner97074]

I'd just add a definite concern with W/C would be the parisite load. So getting fecal exams soon on all new frogs is a must. As Rompida said having a herp vet already in place is key, and having meds for the most common maladies is helpful but not always necessary as there may be slightly different treatments for different situations.
Mike

 

[joker555]

without sounding like a jerk, I'd first say, "If you have to ask......"

cute :wink: ...

Thank you both for the tips. I actually have the quarantine as well as looking for physical and behavioral abnormalities down as I have kept other wc herps in the past (not darts). I was actually wondering if anyone had any in-depth advice on where to start as far as meds go.

Thanks,
Dustin

 

[bbrock]

I would also add, be prepared to lose your $$. Losses of wc animals tend to be moderate to high even in the most experienced hands so anyone contemplating them should be realistic that it is always a gamble and there is a chance you could end up with nothing to show for your money after a few months. That's just the reality of establishing wc.

 

[markpulawski]

Handling WC

Wild caught frogs can go either way, I have had experience with some where treatment was available and administered and all it seemed to to was quicken the demise of the animals. Things that I have been able to cure in WC animals is as follows'
Nose rubs - neopsporin
Internal parasites (frogs squat and don't eat) - flagyl
In CB inports from Europe I was able to cure Chytrid in one batch that was ID'd with a mycanolozole fungal creme dissolved in warm water.
I also used to use chloromyphenocol on egg feeders from Colombia I got 3-4 times with great success. This is a powerful antibiotic and not recommended as I understand great care should be exercised in it's use.
With WC now I usually do nothing but spray them down a lot to remove toxin and keep them clean and as stress free as I can.

 

[Dane]

I have no idea why a beginner would want to start with WC animals, especially in darts. I have spoken with several people that have had losses of up to 50% in recent importations, and that includes some of the most respected large scale breeders. And when you consider that these people start out with 50-100 frogs...ouch. I would say that quarantine is a definite must with any frog. Unless the breeder has personally treated the animals, I quarantine for a month at least, and even if they have, I still closely monitor them for 1-2 weeks and get fecals done before introducing them to a permanent tank. Also feed/water quarantined frogs after everything else, and use a different dusting cup/spray bottle if possible. Thomas Villegas has some good tips on this issue on his website http://www.pumilo.com. Did you have any particular species in mind?

 

[joker555]

Mark-
thanks for your input. Your list of remedies for specific problems were especially helpful.

Dane-
I'm actually not a begginer (well, maybe by some's standards), I've been keeping darts for 2 years + and have bred all the species I have, although I did not get a chance to raise the fant eggs. I wanted to know how to treat wc frogs for reference if/when the situation ever occurs. I specifically wanted to know about panacur and its proper usage on wc's. The use of it for maintance on already acclimated frogs seems to be fiercly debated, but would everyone agree that its appropriate to use on wc's?

 

[Dane]

2 years? In that case I have no right giving you advice, I've only been keeping darts for 7 months! But as for Panacur treatment, it's supposedly safe enough to give regularly to healthy frogs, but I wouldn't use it unless it was deemed necessary. I've heard of some breeders using it as a shotgun treatment on their stock once or twice a year, but how effective is that in the long run?

 

[joker555]

I've heard of some breeders using it as a shotgun treatment on their stock once or twice a year, but how effective is that in the long run?

Well, I'm assuming if a dart is coming directly from the wild, most likely burdended with roundworms, then the intitial kill off would be quite beneficial. Now combine that with having them in a quarentine tank while you're doing this and then moving them to their permanent enclosure after you can confirm that they are parasite free, then I think you have just guaranteed that at least if the frog dies it wouldn't be from worms. Now maybe this isn't how it really works, but this is how it would ideally happen I think.

Dustin

 

[Dane]

Right, that is the ideal situation, but I was just talking about Fenbendazole use in general to treat an entire collection all at once every 6 months or so.