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African gnome frogs are normally low - maintenance pets , but they are still living brute who can get a overplus of disease . Dropsy , or bloat , is one of those disease that most often sham African dwarf frogs . Dropsy can also affect many other salientian species that are kept as pets .
The word hydrops is technically another word for edema . If your exotics veteran refers to frog dropsy as hydrops , hydropsy , bloat , or ascites , they are believably referencing the same affair .
Credit:Deborah Pendell / Getty Images
What Is Dropsy?
Dropsy ( also known as dropsy , hydropsy , ascites , or bloat ) presents as severe bloat in yourpet salientian . Your African midget frog may look like a balloon that will just float away if give the opportunity , but they are not filled with strain . The rationality why your toad frog is so bloated is due to all the fluid that has built up inside its slight torso . This fluid may even have seemed to come out overnight , and it makes your Gaul very uncomfortable .
Causes
The disease unconscious process of frog dropsy is n’t amply understood , mean we do n’t really hump what makes a frog get dropsy , but we do know that this edema is due to the lymphatic organization .
In the case of frog dropsy , lymph , the fluid substance that mobilise in the lymphatic system , fills the lymph nodes , does not drain the right way , builds up outside of the normal tissues it usually stay in , and fills the abdominal bodily cavity of a frog , thus induce the dropsy .
Diagnosis
Of course , never strike your frog has dropsy without first consulting an exotics veteran . There may be another reason why your toad frog is swollen . Sometimes frogs eat things that should n’t be part oftheir dieting , like gravel and rocks from the inclosure , and are really impact , not bloated from dropsy .
A toad frog with dropsy normally come out to be inflated . An X - ray may rule out ingestion of a foreign object but oftentimes simple palpation and inserting a phonograph needle into the frog ’s abdomen is enough to determine whether or not a frog has it .
Effects
Just like the pressure that mobile build - up put on an eyeball with glaucoma , lymph fluid causes utmost pressure on almost all of the national organs in a Gaul with oedema . The kidneys , liver , spleen , and other electric organ suddenly have an extreme amount of press put on them . guess a urine balloon , occupy to the upper limit and about to burst with water . If you overfill it , it will pop , rendering the balloon unable to do its chore of holding water . Similarly , if so much fluid is pushing on an organ , it is so stressed that it can not do its designate chore . As you’re able to imagine , and as anyone with glaucoma can bear witness , this extreme pressure is painful . It may cause your toad frog to be very unenrgetic and stop eating due to the discomfort and nuisance ( and manifestly a frog can not survive without eating ) .
Treatment
Since we do n’t know on the nose what have dropsy we can not exactly cure it . But we can unquestionably treat the symptoms . This often includes your exotics veterinary surgeon drain your African dwarf frog ’s belly of excessive fluid . This will alleviate the pressure put on the electric organ and definitely make your toad frog sense considerably almost in a flash .
Warning
Some people recommend adding salt to your fresh water enclosure to help a toad frog with dropsy , but this is very severe . More often than not the salinity kills your frog . The idea behind the salt is that it help to draw some of the excess fluid out of your salientian , but since African dwarf frogs are not seawater amphibians , they usually die from the addition of the salt .
unluckily , there is nothing you may safely do at home to facilitate a frog with dropsy . If you add salt to their enclosure you start the risk of make a dreadful end to their life . If you sample to drain the fluid yourself , you could puncture something that ca n’t be fasten . Therefore , this is a disease that necessitate some expertness . Euthanasia , unluckily , may be an option discussed with your vet if they do not find as though there is much hope for your frog .
Prevention
Since we do n’t know what on the dot causes frog dropsy it is gruelling to say how to prevent a frog from getting it . We do know that it is not contagious and some persuasion has been organize towards the electrolyte balance of the water make the upset . Regardless , it is never a unsound idea to keep your water as sportsmanlike as potential , remove the chlorine from the H2O , and trial thewater pHto sustain a neutral level ( 7.0 to 7.2 ) .
