# Frogs & Toads > Tree Frogs >  Whites tree frog and worms??

## blaze

I went to go change my frogs tank a couple days ago and when I was about to start flipping the bedding around, I decided to look for some poop as I didn't know what it looked like. It turns out that the poop is the same color as my coco husk bedding. I found this piece of something that to me looked like poop, I squeezed it through my fingers and it felt like almost rubber but not. I looked at it and dropped it when I discovered a bunch of little white worms in it. I picked it back up with a paper towel to examine it. I really do not know if this could be contagious to my other reptiles in the room. He is in a 30 gal tank by him self, but I have my male crested gecko right next to his cage, and I have 3 baby crested geckos along with my mother crested and my single female leopard gecko. I don't want them to get sick. I called a petlovers and asked what I should do. They told me that the vet has a medication that you give to their crickets witch will then get rid of the worms. Since then I took him out of his tank, I threw every piece of bedding out, I soaked his perch and his vines in boiling hot water with sunlight dish soap. I rinsed everything really good and washed the tank out as well. I lined the bottom of his tank with paper towel and soaked it the best I could with my mister. I have been misting more since I put the paper towel in and the humidity is staying up. But I wanted to know, does this medicine work? Will it make him sick? If I was doing his treatment with the crickets, would it be safe as well to do all my geckos with it? I suspect my male has had worms or pesticides for a while, due to him eating properly but not gaining weight and staying slim. His poop is also runny and smells back, But the frogs poop is a turd, does not smell bad, and is all intact. It was the same exact color as his bedding witch is why I didn't notice sooner? He hasn't pooped yet since the cleaning, could it be possible that the worms didn't come from Cas and formed from something rotting in the tank??? I have had him for 3-4 months max, and purchased him from the Reptile Expo in abbotsford. Please, Any information or help would be great!

----------


## Ryan

Hi Castiel. it looks like your frog has worms  :Frown:  You've  done a good job setting him up in quarantine. Try getting your crickets from somewhere else and we have a page on the Frog Forum - Basic Frog First Aid Ive been to Petlovers before and i wasnt really impressed with how they keep their reptiles and phibs.

----------


## blaze

Yeah, The thing is. The area I live in, the Petlovers is the closest pet store I have. Petcetera is no better and often don't have crickets. What causes worms? He is fussy, I have tried to feed him mealworms several different ways, and each time refuses them. Tried leaving some in the tank and he doesn't eat them. I don't know what els I could get that he would like and is a safe supplement for food.

----------


## Ryan

Usually the worms is caused by a food item infected with parasites. I feed my frogs within a separate container except within my vivariums. That eway teh frog is in close contact with the food item. Nightcrawlers are usually a good food, as soon as your tree frog notices teh worm. he should eat it up  :Smile:

----------


## demon amphibians

I keep hearing more and more about this parasite problem i am currently treating 17 of my frogs and toads for parasites that they caught from crickets. I know it is coming from crickets because the frogs i do not feed crickets to are fine. I normally staple dubia but i decided to give them a variety which is why i bought crickets. The eggs in the poop are a dead give away. Anyone who uses crickets should keep a close eye on there frogs because these reports i keep hearing about are coming from different areas not just one individual area. not to mention the crickets are coming from different stores as well.

----------


## blaze

> Nightcrawlers are usually a good food, as soon as your tree frog notices teh worm. he should eat it up


Were would I find some night crawlers or even horn worms in abbotsforD?? I have other reptiles. I have 5 crested geckos and a leopard gecko. I was wondering what about them. Do I stop feeding them crickets as well?? I don't know if it could have an impact on it but I keep my crickets in their cricket keeper, outside because they are loud LOL. And roughly how much would the nightcrawlers and or horn worms be?

----------


## Ryan

Usually you an find nightcrawlers underneath rocks and logs in the garden or you can buy them at fishing stores as bait. Only stop feeding crickets to your other animals if they chow symptoms of wormy poo. What do you feed your crickets?

----------


## blaze

Well, I don't know the name of it, because my friend gave me a fairly big bag of the cricket food. It looks kinda like a grain, and its yellowish gold. I am sure its by flukers. And I also give them the blue gel water stuff LOL. I would not feel safe giving my critters outside bugs. That could cause a lot more problems LOL I herd you can buy NightCrawlers from fishing bait stops.

----------


## Ryan

As long as you are gut loading your crickets properly, you should be good. Earthworms are
 pretty healthy and i have never had any problems with them before. Keep him in quarantine
untill you get positive stool samples without the worms.

----------


## blaze

Is it at all possible to get rid of the worms without having to use meds???

----------


## Carlos

Hello Castiel!  Read your posts and I'm still a bit unclear about what's going on with your White's frog and a male Gecko.  Since I know nothing about the last, will discuss issue with frog.

Until you have a herp veterinary examine frog or conduct a fecal test (or both) there is no telling if frog has parasites or not.  Those little white worms you mention could be detritivores feeding off frog poop.  Frog anti-parasite medications come in various forms and strengths and should be administered by a veterinary after weighting frog to ensure it's safety and treatment success.

For gut loading crickets, use fresh carrots and lettuce, cereals like oat or cherrios, and veggie type fish food flakes.  If buying canadian night crawlers ensure they are free of dyes or chemical fish attractants.

Please read this article if you haven't done so and ensure your frog's enclosure meets all the recommended parameters.  Good luck  :Smile:  !

----------


## Lija

> Is it at all possible to get rid of the worms without having to use meds???


 no it is not possible.

 Carlos is right, what you need to do is to get fecal test done for everyone. in order to do so you need to find a vet  who specialize in reptiles and exotics and get samples of fresh poop to the clinic. Only then you can start treating accordingly to the vet instructions. never ever give meds without these tests done. because you don't know if you even need it, meds are administered accordingly to animal weight, so the dosage for your frogs is gonna be different from such for your geckos if needed of course.
 if anyone is infected it is not always easy to get rid of parasites.

 on the other note - don't use any chemicals for frogs, such as sunlight dish washing liquid that you used. it does nothing in terms of disinfection, but it is close to impossible to wash it of without any residue, no matter how well you wash it. use special disinfection liquids.

----------


## blaze

Here are a couple pictures of the tank Cast is in right now LOL. As well, I know that it is a defense thing, but when I hold him he tends to turn away from me until he sprays me with his water. I would like to know if it would be worth trying to handle him every once in a while until he becomes tame? Or would it not work and would he continue to just spray? I asked the breeder I bought him from if he had held him or how often he would hold him. He told me that he didn't hold them because frogs aren't meant to be held. I understand that, but it has been shown that these frogs do well with being handled with the right requirements, like washing hands without soap, and then washing them with soap after handling. I have done my research on the Whites tree frog. What is the best bedding to use? When I first bought him I bought Coco Husk bedding. But then again, his poop is the same color as the bedding. This makes it hard for cleaning.

----------


## blaze

Update on Castiel's worms. Since the quarantine, I have been looking for poop every day. Feed him 6-8 crickets in this past week. Today, I found a poop finally!! I grabbed a paper towel to pick it up, and I kinda squashed the poop a little bit so it would break apart in the paper towel. I saw some of a cricket's wing, head. I also noticed some of the bedding I was using was in the poop. So I don't think I will use that kind of bedding anymore. I am happy to say, that those white worms I saw are definitely not present.! Here are some pictures of the poop LOL! Please give me your thoughts.?

----------


## Ryan

That's great blaze! No Worms either  :Smile:   It looks like he had a difficult time digesting the food, how warm do you keep him? 
The safest bedding you can use for whites is cocoanut husk, its usually under the brand of plantation soil, eco earth or beda-beast

----------


## blaze

> how warm do you keep him? The safest bedding you can use for whites is cocoanut husk,


That is what I was using. For one I don't like it because his poop is the exact same color as the bedding. And for two as you can tell from his poop, there is Coco husk bedding into the poop. 

I have him right by my window, (The window is closed) But I believe his temperature stay between 75-80 degrees. Like I said, at the moment he is in quarantine, so his bedding at the moment in time is papertowels. 
I do know though, a couple years ago, I had gotten this natural moss substance and you just wet it in the bow like the coco husk, and then you put it in. I was using it in my crested geckos tanks, but they were eating it literally. Like taking mouth fulls just because. So I stopped using it. I think I will use this in my frogs tank due to the pieces at least being more soft, bendable, and healthier? Let me know what you think.

----------


## blaze

So, I was looking at the pictures of the poop, and tell me what this looks like, because I am completely thoughtless as to what it could be? :Frog Surprise:

----------


## Carlos

> That is what I was using. For one I don't like it because his poop is the exact same color as the bedding. And for two as you can tell from his poop, there is Coco husk bedding into the poop.  I have him right by my window, (The window is closed) But I believe his temperature stay between 75-80 degrees...


Can use a small glass bowl (around 2 in. tall) to place insects inside.  They won't get out and frog will eat no substrate that way.  If you read the care article myself linked before, will see White's require 85F during day with around 75F at night.  You need to get an accurate digital thermometer to know your frog's enclosure temperature and adjust the heating to meet it's parameters  :Smile:  .

----------


## blaze

I will put my thermometer in there today, And I will record the temperatures both in the day, and at night. I would put the insects inside a bowl, If they didn't have to be crickets..... If you read my posts earlier it would have saved me from having to repeat. He is a fussy prick, and he has no interest at all in mealworms. He loves his crickets though. He will not eat crickets unless he is in his tank. He loves to get them in there so he feels wild I guess. He does not like being held much as When ever I try and do so, not long after I get sprayed.

----------

