# General Topics > General Discussion & News >  Had To Put Down Fire Belly Toad (oriental Bombina)

## James Lewis

My froggy I had for a year had a liver infection and developed dropsy. He kept swelling larger and larger and was constantly shedding. Despite what I was told by the vet before acquiring my frogs, I don't have any near by vets that would take her. I called every vet before I made the purchase and one said that they take frogs and toads all the time. Then I called and they said they don't and never have.  :Mad: 

Anyway, after finding out he had dropsy. I put him (or her I refer to him as both cause I never knew. lol) in a tank by himself. 10 gallon with highly water logged paper towels on the bottom to monitor if he was defecating cause it could have been an impaction and had a small 2.5 or 5 gallon tank with treated water for him to soak and swim occasionally through out the day. After three days he got so large his front legs couldn't touch the ground cause his belly was so big. His back legs didn't have enough strength to move him, no matter how hard he tried. He would basically kick and kick and kick and got no where. So today I reluctantly grabbed some oragel and gently applied it down her spine. She was out soon after. I wish I could have done more, but being inexperienced and having no vets I think I did what I could. 

Good news is, while He was in the other tank my other frogs weren't as livly as they were when I first got them. After cleaning their tank (which is why I believe it was an infection) and removing the infected frog, my other two became more livily and began eating more and has bright red bellies and jump around all the time. They are also more vigorous eaters and love their crickets and occasional meal worms. 

Theres a number of issues as to why he could have gotten sick, 3 toads in a 10 gallon could have been over crowded. Also, I was soo busy for three weeks and their water got pretty dirty. Or it could have been low nutrition. I ran out of calcium dust for the crickets and they had to do without it. Any one of these could have been the cause, it also could have been something else. I'm just glad he's no longer in pain and I'll keep a better eye on these two and not get to busy to clean their water and tank. How many animals have you had? 

- JamesL

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## Jason

Sorry for your loss. Another reason that this could possibly be (not dropsy) is fire bellied toads are diurnal and probably need UVB (5%+) to produce D3 naturally, when supplements are used for this instead you can overdose and it can build up in the kidneys. Too low or inconsistent temperatures could also play a part, you want to kept them around 22-25 during the day ideally during the active period.

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## James Lewis

Here's a picture of Kermit before we put him down. You can see how swole he got. It made me feel uncomfortable keeping him alive.




*EDIT cause I just saw the reply. 

That's true. I do not use a uvb light. I'll have to get one. And I am pretty consistent with their temputure, so I don't think that was it. Could have been the lack of UVB light. Thanks for that! I'll get one soon.

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## Jason

Hmm that does look like dropsy actually. Poor guy.

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## James Lewis

Yeah. It got really bad.

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## Jason

Here's a helpful guide: http://www.exo-terra.com/en/explore/uv_rating_index.php

I kept fire bellied toads before and since putting them on UVB you could see the results, they were more active, brighter and just healthier in general. I would use a 5% UVB above most set ups and supplement them with something like Repashy superfoods calcium plus LoD, myself.

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## James Lewis

I love that site! And what are the benefits or consequences of using somethingore than 5%? Is it desirable to use more than 5%, or forwned upon? I never thought about UVB lights for my fire bellies.

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## Jason

You don't want to use too much and that guide will help. Higher % bulbs can be used on taller set ups to supply the same amount of UVB on set ups where 5% would lose most of it's power by the time it reaches the floor. The thing is, D3 comes from whole foods and not insects and fire bellied toads would mainly feed on insects or other small things that are in the pond but none contain D3 (apart from maybe the odd small fish), so in order for them to get this vitamin they bask in the sun for a short period of time, I've even noticed the ones I cared for basking under the lights. If we were talking about the common pacman frogs, then it's different, as they can eat small mammals and then get their D3 from this. This is why D3 supplements are risky with amphibians that would naturally use the sun for D3. I have my american green tree frogs on UVB for this reason. You still need to use supplements, ofcourse and supplements are very important but you just avoid ones with D3 or use low D3 supplements or add them to the diet every so often (just because artificial light isn't the same as natural)

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## James Lewis

Alright, thanks! I learned so much about feeding and water chemistry, I didn't think about lighting. Appreciate the information!

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Diver

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## Jason

No problem :Smile:  If you're ever wanting to read some good up-to-date information on these guys, download the practical pet keeping app on itunes or get the magazines, they have some care articles on fire bellied toads that I've found to be very useful. A lot of other books are out of date on the care, sadly.

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## James Lewis

Thanks! Will do!

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