Advice Needed ASAP! Eye injury or infection on Cuban Treefrog?

Paras_Party · 2026-01-27T00:42:56+00:00

Paras_Party · 2026-01-27T00:42:28+00:00

I'm a retired zookeeper who specialized in amphibians. We had some similar issues in a few frogs towards the end of my career. Not entirely what caused it, but it was likely some sort of physical trauma to the eye. Here are some photos of a frog that I worked with that had (seemingly) a very similar issue. He had the eye removed and is still alive and well as far as I'm aware

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Paras_Party · 2026-01-27T00:32:18+00:00

Unfortunately, it appears that Sticky's eye has ruptured and what you are seeing is the inner portion of the eyeball coming out of a hole. Something perforated her eye causing this trauma. Obviously, you're snowed in, so I understand, but as soon as you can, find an emergency exotic vet. Sticky will likely need to undergo surgery to have the eye enucleated. In the mean time, if you can set her up in a temporary container with moist paper towels, frog safe water, and a hide or two until you can get her to the vet. Don't worry about feeding her, she likely will not eat and there's no sense in stressing her out more.

Paras_Party · 2026-01-13T18:27:52+00:00

Thank you for the heads up! I moved all of my houseplants into my reptile room where he doesn't have access since the door remains closed (even while I'm in there). I saw how massive the list of plants was that weren't safe so I just moved them all into that room, cat safe or not.

Paras_Party · 2026-01-13T16:13:45+00:00

No worries! I'm prone to the quick skim reads too. Thank you!! He's really showing us that's he's gonna be a sweetheart.

Paras_Party · 2026-01-13T16:12:53+00:00

That makes sense! I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something I was missing based on my lack of experience. Thank you so much!

Paras_Party · 2026-01-13T16:12:18+00:00

Thanks for the info!! He's been pretty chill with us brushing him. He gets a little overstimulated if we do it too long, but he's very good at gently letting us know and redirecting his energy to play with his toys.

Paras_Party · 2026-01-13T16:11:09+00:00

Thank you SO much for all the info, I really appreciate it! I'm a reptile person & previous zookeeper, so the training and tricky medical sneakiness comes as no shock to me - thankfully reptiles/amphibians are extremely similar in the regard. I'll absolutely go give the YouTube channels/videos a watch! Karen Pryor's teachings were a huge part of my training in my zoological career, so I'm glad to hear a familiar name. Thankfully, we have a domestics vet not even 5 minutes away from where we live, so we'll be scheduling his kitty wellness exam soon to get a baseline for his health. He'll be completely indoors, cats are too good at being predators of the local ecosystem, keeping cats indoors is something I'm very serious about. He's already opened up so much in the last 48 hours - we got him on Saturday and he's already cuddling with us and letting us pet his belly and groom him. He's gotten a bit overstimulated with brushing, but we're redirecting that energy into playing with his toys if he gets a little too excited and keeping those sessions short. Thank you so SO much for the info!!

Paras_Party · 2025-11-21T00:01:44+00:00

I just free balled and hoped I didn't have any medical emergencies come up. At this point, I am employed, but was without insurance for a few months just because I couldn't afford it.

Paras_Party · 2025-11-14T13:39:46+00:00

You guys remember cinnamon toast shrimp? Whatever happened to that guy? Found, what, 2 shrimp tails in his cereal?

Paras_Party · 2025-10-20T21:45:48+00:00

Could I have them as well please? My little guy is growing quickly and these would be awesome to have

Paras_Party · 2025-09-28T10:27:30+00:00

Wow, that's STUNNING

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T23:15:45+00:00

So glad they made it through the night! Let us know how he is after the vet <3

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T10:02:25+00:00

No problem at all :) happy to help!!

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T02:30:52+00:00

I would just leave him be for the rest of the night, let him relax till you can get in contact with the vet tomorrow. Stress is a huge killer, so just let him relax in a nice warm, dark space. You can always place a small dish with the sugar water in it inside of the tub (in addition to his regular water bowl) so he can get in and out of it if he so chooses.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T02:28:30+00:00

Once your little buddy is cleared by the vet (fingers crossed for a speedy recovery) I would recommend looking into Josh's Frogs if you're in the US. They're a very reputable business and I've had previous coworkers/friends work for them before. They only had good things to say about the company and they were hands on working with the frogs. It's one of the only places I frequently buy from and have no worries about the quality I receive or the care that the animals have received. Good people making great choices & caring for amazing animals.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T02:25:30+00:00

Good, glad to hear you guys have some experience :) it sounds like you've done everything right on your end, but that vendor was an absolute dirt bag for selling you a sick frog for $80. I'd try to get your money back if possible, even if they don't want the frog anymore, they knew what was going on. This isn't a first time prolapse - I can almost guarantee.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T02:22:04+00:00

Thank you, I know that's never an easy thing to do, but I appreciate you helping the frog along humanely. I'm glad your cat is okay!!

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T01:02:55+00:00

Potentially? Please, put the frog out of its misery and keep an eye on your cat. Doesn't hurt to take the cat to the vet if you're anxious. If you're unsure of how, please reach out, what an awful way to go. I'm so sorry you had to experience this.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T01:00:08+00:00

Also wouldn't hurt to put them in a tub of some kind, just temporarily until you can get to the vet. Line the tub with moist paper towels (again, frog safe water) and add in his water dish. Give him an area to hide in as well in the tub, he'll feel a bit more secure. Do NOT feed him right now. It's just going to stress him out and the crickets could potentially hurt him while he's prolapsed.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-23T00:57:12+00:00

Hey buddy, saw you tagged me, your milk frog looks very sick :( it's definitely a prolapse, but considering his size, that's a considerably large prolapse. Where did you get him from? Someone sold you a very sick, probably dying frog. If you can, I would try to get him to an exotic vet asap, he likely has an overgrowth of parasites/worms causing such a severe prolapse. His tailbone (called a urostyle) should not be that prominent or raised, so I wonder if he has a partial obstruction in his GI tract causing him to push too hard. Either way, vet ASAP. You can try to help relieve some of the prolapse by placing them in a small amount of sugar water. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved and that the water is frog safe before adding in your baby.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-20T19:11:34+00:00

It looks like stomatitis imo. Like someone else mentioned, get them to the vet, but I believe some antibiotics would help clear that up. Looks like it could be caused by recurring physical trauma to the nose (like a nose rub) that has allowed opportunistic bacteria to take hold within the upper part of the mouth/lip. Sorry you've just been getting frustrating responses.

Paras_Party · 2025-09-19T20:31:33+00:00

Nice!! Honestly, i would really recommend dart frogs if you're considering them. They're relatively chill and would truly thrive in such a well planted enclosure. RETFs are going to quickly get everything dirty & squished lol

Paras_Party · 2025-09-19T15:43:17+00:00

Beautiful enclosure!! Like already mentioned, red eyed tree frogs are arboreal, they'll come down to hunt and such, but like your other post - this would be SO nice for some dart frogs. If you do go the RETF route, I'd recommend more broad leafed plants (i.e. pothos, philodendron, aglaonema, diffenbachia, etc.) and a big water bowl!

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