CAUSE:
m

TREATMENT:
F

SEE ALSO:

S

EXAMPLE:
1.1 Dendrobates tinctorius 'Matecho'

Once it was determined that simply feeding more with properly supplemented fruit flies was not going to work, they were removed from their vivarium and placed in a 10-gallon aquarium setup. The floor of the tank was lined with paper towels, folded 4 layers thick, and sprayed down with RO water to keep moist. Magnolia leaves and two sets of petri dish + cocohut hide were used for cover. 

Treatment:

For the possible skin infection, silver sulfadiazine was mixed with RO water to create a milky solution and was dropped on their backs and legs with a feeding syringe. This was applied most days for 2 weeks, but since no change was noticed it was assumed an older infection.

For the Hypovitaminosis A symptoms, the male was given drops of dissolved Repashy Vitamin A supplement on his back for a couple of days during the first week until he could eat easier.  

General supplement solution baths of fresh Repashy Calcium Plus were offered fresh daily for them to access. A vitA supplement bath was offered 1x/ week until toes stopped sticking together. These supplement baths were offered in the two petri dishes under the cocohuts and the frogs were directed to go into the dishes to soak. (As an added note, do be careful with vitA supplementing as it is fat-soluble and too much vitA in the body is correlated with hypocalcemia. VitA baths and back-drops should only be used when trying to fix a deficiency - see the Supplements section for more info). 

The male took multiple months before he regained fat coverings and looked healthy. The female regained her weight about a month a head of the male. They remained together as the female's presence brought the male out and eating better than when he was by himself. 

Final Notes:

While this pair will never be top quality examples of their locality due to the permanent skin damage from infection, they nonetheless are a wonderful example of how these frogs can sometimes recover from harsh conditions if given supportive care and patience. Prevention would have been so much better for these Matecho, even still, it's good to see them pull through. 

MORE EXAMPLES

COMPARISONS

Vitamin deficiency is linked with emaciation. If your supplements are older than 6 months or have not been kept in the fridge, replace with new. Make sure supplements are proper for darts- not all have form of vitA that they can uptake.

Dissolve some calcium +D3 supplement in some water and put in a petri dish. Cover dish with a coco hide. Direct frog to go into the hide. Place another petri dish in the open area with the same solution. Replace solution with fresh daily and have the frog get in the solution daily (if he is mobile, you will likely see footprints in the uncovered petri dish in the mornings).

Feed small amounts of supplement-dusted ff multiple times daily. If he cannot pick uo the flies, then that is most likely STS caused by hypovitaminsos A (low vitA in his system). A soak can help remedy if he cannot pick up the ff. Careful to not overdo vitA- it is fat soluble and can build up to toxic levels. Too much vitA has a negative impact on absorption of calcium.

I use Repashy brand for supplements. Good track record.

If using vitA bath, would only do 1x per week until he can eat dusted ff. If he can eat dusted, and shows signs of vitA deficiency, then dust no more than 1x per week until symptoms go away. If not sure, then do it every other week.

I did that for the leuc's swollen conjunctiva, week 6 had them all looking healthy.

Repashy Calcium Plus has some vitA in it already, just not quick to fix a deficiency.

5-10 min or so for a soak should be fine. If they are calm and in the petri dish, they will often stay there for a while with no issues. Try to keep stress low for him.