# Frog Leg Deformaties



## REDDEV1L (Nov 27, 2008)

As some of you know, I've been raising a few eggs through to froglets...6 are doing fine, 1 still hasn't grown its front legs yet, but two are worrying me.
They appear to have deformed back legs (one has both, the other has one)










I originally thought that their legs would 'click' into their normal position within a few days of walking around....however they've been on land for over a week and have showed no change.

I did some research and it appears it could be caused by fertilisers getting into the water, causing parasites to bloom, which then attack/attach to their legs. However, I've had these since they were (approx) 3 day old eggs...so unless the eggs were attacked by the parasites, or I brought some of the trematode parasites in with the pond water, then maybe its something else.

nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Nutrient Pollution Drives Frog Deformities by Ramping Up Infections - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Has anyone ever seen anything like this ?? 
Is there any hope of them surviving ?? 
(One is eating ok, but the one with two dodgy legs hasn't eaten yet!!)


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## Joe1507 (Aug 11, 2008)

Hmm, Ive never heard of anything like this, it looks quite bad, try emailing andrew from pollywog he will probably know what to do.


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

bad water conditions can stunt growth and cause deformities in limbs when they develop, just as fish fry can get spinal deformities etc.


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## kizzy21_uk (Sep 6, 2008)

hey dont no if its kinda the same but i have a whites tree frog wiv an xtra back leg.


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

kizzy21_uk said:


> hey dont no if its kinda the same but i have a whites tree frog wiv an xtra back leg.


 there are certain bacteria/parasite which are known to do this though i thought they only occured in warmer countries

the extra legs make the frogs more vulnerable, thus they are eaten by herons etc then excreted in the droppings which often land in water, where they infect tadpoles


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## Mrs dirtydozen (Sep 5, 2008)

Spindly leg? (sp)
My mate had this problem with his darts, he overcome the problem by giving the growing tads a blast for so many mins everyday with a mega ray bulb


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

It´s spindly leg syndrome, which is arguably caused by all manner of things (but certainly easily by poor water quality), check out dartfrog forums for more info on peoples experiences and theories on the subject.

The animals really won´t have a good quality of life and I personally would certainly have them humanely euthenased.

Sorry!
Lotte


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## pepsirat (Feb 5, 2009)

Poor little frogs. When we had a pond we had a frog with a leg missing. He lasted a while but didnt see him again the following year.


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

I used to find them in my primary school next to a farm, often with missing and extra legs, not just warm countries.


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## Pipkin28 (Oct 6, 2007)

Last year when my FBT's went mad breeding, I raised over 260 toadlets. Of these, only one of them had deformed back legs. 

Surely it's one of those things that can just happen, just as with any creature? Frogs and toads produce so many young because they have so many natural predators and the transformation process from tadpole to toadlet is also very stressful and with those numbers, the odd deformity here and there will occur. It's nature, after all.

My little toadlet wasn't as agile as the rest but it lived for several months and it ate well but I got home from work one day to find that it had died.


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## knighty (Feb 27, 2008)

Are you using U.V and dusting with a calcium supplyment? Although U.V has not been proven in adult frogs it is highly recomended when raising from tads. Supplymenting the foods are also very important as just offering foods does not compensate for the vitamins that would be injested in the wild.

Water conditions can also be a factor in deformities, check the water parameters and make sure all the water is dechlorinated before water changes.

Good luck.


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

When I was younger and at school in the US, we made a thing in science...it was a 3L coke bottle, with the top bit cut of, then inverted, a hole in the lid and secured into the bottom...bottom had a little gravel, luke warm water, an air plant and...a bullfrog tadpole! Yep. The idea was that you water the plant that was planted in the top, and the water would drip into the bottom and feed the tadpoles. No other food was provided and water was never changed just topped up by watering...guess what...it worked and I along with the rest of my class ended up with healthy froglets..sometimes too much fuss is as bad as not enough...just a thought.

It is nature, I am sure you have not done anything wrong...just one of those things. : victory:


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## kizzy21_uk (Sep 6, 2008)

when i first got my whites he was a baby just a bit bigger then a 50p now hes and adult and doing well i did think mayb the leg would fall of like dry up but i guess the leg still has blood and viens and stuff becoz its living still not atall dry and growing at the same rate as the frog.

hes my special boy he does spend more time lower down than the pther whites but he has a nice live fiscus that he lives in and hes fine catches crickets fine too.xxx

all my frogs have uv and dusted food.x


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## jennlovesfrogs (Jan 22, 2009)

aww bless him, got any pics?


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## REDDEV1L (Nov 27, 2008)

It seems everything I try and raise has problems 

However, as the pond I got the eggs from was only about 100ft away from the pond where I rescued my one eyed from last year (and the lake he was found next to contained the fish I raised last year which turned out to be infested with parasites) it would seem that the water quality in the area isn't very good, or is being polluted by something !!! (I did a standard test on the lake water last year and found it to be ok with regards Amm, Ni, Na & pH)
Where I got the eggs however, frequently seems to have an oily film (sometimes cream froth) on the surface.

The egg/tadpole water was changed every 2-3 days and was filtered using a matured filter and was changed for tesco bottled water so I can't see how anything I did there contributed.

Currently the froglets have UV and im feeding on a 'vit dust, calc dust, no dust' 3 day cycle.

Luckily the one pictured above who has two deformed legs has been eating since I posted, and although not being as agile he still manages to hop around the tank and climb the sides etc

Been decorating the living room for the past few days so haven't been able to research what can be done to give them a hand, but as the carpet fitters are coming tomorrow, and the room is finished, I shall be doing it asap.


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## kizzy21_uk (Sep 6, 2008)

hey jenny got these one from when he was a baby and i first got him i dont have ne from now i must take some.


























hes just bigger now.x


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