# Frogs & Toads > Aquatic Clawed Frogs >  African Clawed Frog - Illness Bloating - Suggestions Please

## Micky

African Clawed Frog - Illness Bloating - Suggestions Please      African clawed frog 13 years old and I have had him the entire time.      20 gallon long tank      no substrate      filter      Fed Reptomin every other day. Left over food removed from tank.      Water changes 1/4 weekly with filter cleaned monthly      Temperature is 68 in winter and about 78 in summer      No problems, behavior normal until a day ago except for more frequent shedding of skin.      total body bloat      I have read bacterial or environmental causes? Is this an old clawed frog? Is there a treatment? Is there a way to euthanize at home, not that I want to do that

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## Necromencer

Read this thread:


http://www.frogforum.net/aquatic-cla...g-bloated.html


Very good advice. 

On the euthanasia, I've heard that clove oil + vodka is the quickest way. The clove oil will knock the frog out, then the vodka will kill it while it is put to sleep by the oil. If you search around, I'm sure people will tell you how to do it properly. 

Let's hope it doesn't come to that though!

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## Michael

This is from Terry (tgampper) back in 2010 and is about as sound advice as you are going to get. I would treat this frog as described below and I do hope he recovers. That being said 13 years is a pretty good age for these frogs though they certainly _can_ live longer (5-15 years is average, some make it 20+ years and the longest life on record, is 30 years!).

1) "Hard" bloated frog appears all of a sudden at the surface of the water. If this is the case, you will need to quarantine yor frog. This condition is usually caused by an internal bacterial infection and in nearly all cases it is fatal. There is some success using a product called Maracyn along with a salt bath. Maracyn is a gram-positive antibiotic found in stores that sell tropical fish supplies. Your vet will be able to advise you on a treatment plan.

2) "Soft, squishy bloat", sometimes known as the "Michelin man syndrome" or hydrops in older amphibian literature, is caused by an excessive amount of fluid accumulation in the body and limbs. Untreated, this can cause liver and kidney damage. Although, frogs can live a long period of time with this condition, it will eventually lead to death. This condition is not associated with any particular pathogen, but it does occur with poor husbandry conditions. Since aquatic frogs live in water, their skin acts as an way for fluids to enter and exit the body (osmosis). When this process is interrupted, the frog begins to swell. The two leading causes of this swelling is poor water conditions and poor diet. Repto-Min is a perfect diet for your clawed frogs. ACFs are both predator and scavenger, so they do not require live foods like other frogs. I have been keeping clawed frogs for over 30 years and only feed Repto-Min. The only other problem could be the water. Make sure you use a good water conditioner, I recommend Stress-Coat. Keep the water clean and siphon any uneaten particles or waste. I would talk to the vet again about draining the fluid, the frog will probably recover without the additional stress. Also, continue the salt bath, ACFs are very salt tolerant and this would reduce the bloat. 

Treatment: The easiest way to treat the frog is to put him in a plastic container (like Rubbermaid) about 3 gallons in size. Put a gallon of conditioned water with about a half-teaspoon of epsom salts. Water temperature should be about 72 degrees. Dissolve the salt before putting the frog in. Don't put anything else in the container. Punch some small holes in the lid for ventilation. Leave the frog in the bath for 1 hour each day until the bloat is clear. Replace fresh water and salts each day. If the bloat isn't cleared within 10 days, then there isn't much more you can do. Don't feed live food. I suggest Tetra's Repto-Min frog pellets.

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## Micky

> This is from Terry (tgampper) back in 2010 and is about as sound advice as you are going to get. I would treat this frog as described below and I do hope he recovers. That being said 13 years is a pretty good age for these frogs though they certainly _can_ live longer (5-15 years is average, some make it 20+ years and the longest life on record, is 30 years!).
> 
> 1) "Hard" bloated frog appears all of a sudden at the surface of the water. If this is the case, you will need to quarantine yor frog. This condition is usually caused by an internal bacterial infection and in nearly all cases it is fatal. There is some success using a product called Maracyn along with a salt bath. Maracyn is a gram-positive antibiotic found in stores that sell tropical fish supplies. Your vet will be able to advise you on a treatment plan.
> 
> 2) "Soft, squishy bloat", sometimes known as the "Michelin man syndrome" or hydrops in older amphibian literature, is caused by an excessive amount of fluid accumulation in the body and limbs. Untreated, this can cause liver and kidney damage. Although, frogs can live a long period of time with this condition, it will eventually lead to death. This condition is not associated with any particular pathogen, but it does occur with poor husbandry conditions. Since aquatic frogs live in water, their skin acts as an way for fluids to enter and exit the body (osmosis). When this process is interrupted, the frog begins to swell. The two leading causes of this swelling is poor water conditions and poor diet. Repto-Min is a perfect diet for your clawed frogs. ACFs are both predator and scavenger, so they do not require live foods like other frogs. I have been keeping clawed frogs for over 30 years and only feed Repto-Min. The only other problem could be the water. Make sure you use a good water conditioner, I recommend Stress-Coat. Keep the water clean and siphon any uneaten particles or waste. I would talk to the vet again about draining the fluid, the frog will probably recover without the additional stress. Also, continue the salt bath, ACFs are very salt tolerant and this would reduce the bloat. 
> 
> Treatment: The easiest way to treat the frog is to put him in a plastic container (like Rubbermaid) about 3 gallons in size. Put a gallon of conditioned water with about a half-teaspoon of epsom salts. Water temperature should be about 72 degrees. Dissolve the salt before putting the frog in. Don't put anything else in the container. Punch some small holes in the lid for ventilation. Leave the frog in the bath for 1 hour each day until the bloat is clear. Replace fresh water and salts each day. If the bloat isn't cleared within 10 days, then there isn't much more you can do. Don't feed live food. I suggest Tetra's Repto-Min frog pellets.


i took the frog to a vet with experience with herps.. Don't use Epsom salts.

To help with bloating some fluid was removed, don't do this unless you really know what you are doing

Once a week - remove one quarter of tank water. For me with a 20 gallon, I would add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt to get him gradually adjusted to increased salt.

although there was no determinant sign of infection, the frog was treated a hour a day with tetracycline for 10 days.

he is still eating and is less bloated... Hope this helps

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## Michael

That is great you found a vet with experience with herps. Xenopus are quite salt tolerant so I hope he recovers.

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