# My Amazon milk frog isn't growing?



## sophie89 (Apr 4, 2011)

Hiya, I'm new to this forum but joined so I could get some advice.
I have a baby amazon milk frog that I got about 10 months ago as a birthday present. There was two but one died within a week of me having them.
The frogs were about the size of a 5 pence piece when I got them and although he eats really well he hasn't grown very much, if at all!
I've done loads of research about habitat and food and I'm sure the set up is right but I just can't figure out why he is still so small!

I have had whites tree frogs for years now also hatched my own beardies, raised tarantulas from spiderlings and kept all sorts of animals for years.
I have books on tree frogs and have searched the net but can't find anything thats helpful....please help me! I dont want him to die.


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## Jazzy B Bunny (Jun 21, 2007)

Hi and :welcome:

Have you had his poo tested for worms? this could be a cause. what is he feeding on and how often are you dusting the food?


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## sophie89 (Apr 4, 2011)

No I havn't had his poo tested, would he still be alive if he has had them since I got him?
How could I get it tested?
I rarely dust his food if I'm honest, could this be a cause?
How big should he be at a year old?
My whites grew massive in months, hense why I am so concerned!
Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for your help.


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## sophie89 (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh and he eats small crickets, just the size up from pinheads cos the medium are way too big for him.


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## Jazzy B Bunny (Jun 21, 2007)

sophie89 said:


> No I havn't had his poo tested, would he still be alive if he has had them since I got him?
> How could I get it tested?
> I rarely dust his food if I'm honest, could this be a cause?
> How big should he be at a year old?
> ...


He might well have worms, sucking up all the nurients in his food. You can take a sample to the vets or google PALS and send it to them. 
You should be dusting his food with calcium/vitamins at everyother feed, this could also be a cause of poor growth.
Mine are a year old and they are around 3 inches give or take. Mine have not grown as fast as my whites though.
Do you have a pic of him?


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## sophie89 (Apr 4, 2011)

I dust my beardies food but never knew it was important for frogs.
I have got to go babysit for a bit but when I get back in an hour or so I will take a photo of him and upload it. Everyone who sees him is shocked by how small he is for his age!
Thanks again for your help and I will hopefully chat to you in a bit


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## Jazzy B Bunny (Jun 21, 2007)

sophie89 said:


> I dust my beardies food but never knew it was important for frogs.
> I have got to go babysit for a bit but when I get back in an hour or so I will take a photo of him and upload it. Everyone who sees him is shocked by how small he is for his age!
> Thanks again for your help and I will hopefully chat to you in a bit


No worries 

It is just as important for frogs to have dusted food as they to have bones that need to develop  Might be a good idea to start dusting his food on a regular basis. 
Although i'm not sure if he will grow a lot now as he could be stunted?


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## hereces (Nov 2, 2010)

I also have a milk for that hasn't grown much, I bought 2 back in early December. One is 2 1/12 - 3 inches (male) and has grown normally, The other is 1 - 1 1/2 inches (suspected female) and has grown very slowly, Both frogs came from the same batch of spawn.
I keep the smaller one in a tank on his own so that it doesn't get eaten by the other frog, I don't think it'll ever be big enough to join it's sibling in the larger naturally planted viv.
The smaller frogs colours are a lot paler and it doesn't eat that often either, I'm sure it would have probably died by now if it wasn't for my persistence at feeding time.

I picked up another baby 5 weeks ago, It was 1/2 inch when I got it and has already doubled in size, It eats like a piggy and will soon overtake the small frog.

I wonder if these very slow growing frogs maybe missed out on something early on in life? or if they are just genetically predetermined to be small?


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

After years of keeping frogs sometimes you get runts.
Usually it is something far more obvious though.Are you keeping it in a too large vivarium?Whilst it may look good for the human eye to keep a 1" frog in a 24" vivarium for example,its not good for the frog.If you keep them in too large a vivarium they will not find the food,conversely if it is in too small a vivarium it will not grow,much like the goldfish in a bowl.
Pinhead crickets seem very small even for a small Milkfrog,the ones that I kept grew quite quickly.How often are you feeding it ?
Personally I would look at these first before you go down the feacal route as its often environmental.


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## andaroo (Nov 14, 2008)

colinm said:


> After years of keeping frogs sometimes you get runts.
> Usually it is something far more obvious though.Are you keeping it in a too large vivarium?Whilst it may look good for the human eye to keep a 1" frog in a 24" vivarium for example,its not good for the frog.If you keep them in too large a vivarium they will not find the food,conversely if it is in too small a vivarium it will not grow,much like the goldfish in a bowl.
> Pinhead crickets seem very small even for a small Milkfrog,the ones that I kept grew quite quickly.How often are you feeding it ?
> Personally I would look at these first before you go down the feacal route as its often environmental.


Very good theory. I kept mine when they were babies in a 30x30x30cm exo terra they ate plenty but grew very little. It wasn't until I moved them into a 45x45x60 live planted tank and got them to tong feed medium locusts (which were almost as big as them) and kept giving them waxworms that i saw that they started to grow alot faster also I switched from heat mats to a thermostatic heater in my room so the tank was properly heated to 28 degrees. In the small one with a heat mat it would reach about 23. I had one that was smaller than the other but it has now almost caught up but isnt as fat even though it eats the same. They are both male and are about 65mm


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## sophie89 (Apr 4, 2011)

I feed him roughly every 3 days and it's not on pinhead crickets but small crickets which are quite a bit bigger. 
I did try feeding it medium sized ones which I also feed my baby beardie but I kept finding dead ones in the tank so have had to go back down a size. 
He lives in a 30x30x30 exo terra tank. It looks small compared to my other frog tanks but like I said, he is barely bigger than a 5 pence piece so it is massive compared him!!
He has a heatmat underneath the tank which helps keep the humidity up and I have sphagnum moss as substrate.
Because I have never kept milk frogs I have no comparison to anything! Can only go by what I read and am told!


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## sophie89 (Apr 4, 2011)

Also I've tried feeding him waxworms but he has never ever taken one! All my other animals love them! It's so frustrating, I just want him to grow a tiny bit to stop me worrying!


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