Shed skin stuck to back leg

This is the last remaining frog from a batch of 5 I purchased. I lost three within the first two weeks. The remaining two seemed very healthy but out of abundance of caution, I kept them in a quarantine tank for a full 5 weeks. They were small when I purchased them but I felt that the two could hold their own in my 10 gallon with 4 larger frogs. I noticed when feeding time came the four larger frogs were beating on the little ones and I lost the larger of the two new ones. The next day I noticed that the smallest one had shed his skin but a large piece is stuck to his back leg and I'm not sure if it's going to degrade on it's own or if I need to "assist". The skin is very sticky and I've had to remove two blood worms that became attached.

This little guy is back in a 1.5 gallon quarantine tank until I feel he's large enough to hold his own in the large tank. He's as active as he can be with a hobbled back leg, he's eating and he loves to bubble surf so I don't thing there is anything wrong with him.

I have to travel 2 hours to get frogs so losing 4 out of the 5 hurt. They all seemed healthy and showed no signs of disease but they were very small which I think contributed to my losing them.

Any assistance you fine people can provide would be greatly appreciated. I've been keeping frogs for ~7 years now and I love the little guys, they're so much fun to watch.

 

I have no aquatic frog experience. But with a terrestrial frog I know I'd probably just glove up and gently pull it off. Can't see how it's much different.

 

I would agree with mimo, or just let it be. I don't know, I've never dealt w/ this kind of stuff so I call upon Lucy

 

Hi welcome to FishLore!
It's not a good idea to pull a shed off. It may not n quite ready to come completely off. That could open a wound on the leg.

Is it possible to get a picture from another angle? It almost looks fungusy rather than shed.
Has sit always had the white spot on her nose?

 

Hi Lucy - yes, he's always had the white spot. I'm afraid that the skin might be turning fuzzy because it's starting to rot. Here are some new pictures I took last night. I'm really starting to worry about the little guy. I have four others that I've had for 2 years but since moving them into a larger tank, I wanted a few more.

I'm concerned about the level of fighting that goes on during feeding time. I've never noticed that before. They get a mini cube of blood worms 2-3 times a week and frog pellets for nutrients. This is the first time I've had more than two and read at another site that you shouldn't over feed them and 2-3 times per week w/the pellets is a good rule of thumb. This fighting started when I moved them to a larger tank.

There is no sign of fungus in the other tank.

I have no aquatic frog experience. But with a terrestrial frog I know I'd probably just glove up and gently pull it off. Can't see how it's much different.

Hi Mimo - aquatic frogs are extremely delicate. You have to take care with them. Whenever possible, you need to use an external filter or cover the intake on an internal one - they can get their limbs caught in the filter and they will die or will severely injure themselves trying to escape; you also need to be aware of what type of plants/decorations you put in - any sharp edges can mortally wound them. I lost two (when I first started keeping them) when their little back legs got caught in the filter. I then did a whole bunch of research to insure it didn't happen again.

 

Sadly, I lost the frog this evening. I'd like some advice on:

a) purchasing new frogs - I have to drive 2 hours to get them. All the frogs in the large tank were from Petco in WVa. I want to make sure that I'm doing everything I can to keep them healthy
b) is the aggression I'm seeing when I feed them normal? Should I be feeding them more often? I only moved them into the 10 gallon tank about 4 months ago. I didn't notice this type of behavior when I had them in a 5 gallon tank.
c) I've always thought that the frogs were very peaceful and co-exist well but this recent aggression worries me. If I do get more frogs should I wait until they're the same size as the current frogs before I move them into the large tank?

I'm feeling really bad right now. I thought I was doing everything right; regular water and filter changes; weekly water quality check, and not overfeeding.

 

Aw, I'm so sorry.
Judging from the first picture you posted, there wouldn't have been anything you could have done to change the outcome.

Any little infection moves so quickly, by the time we notice something it's often too late. You probably already know that.

Again, I'm gonna say things you already know.
They usually aren't aggressive. They tussle over food, often grabbing each other by mistake. There's usually no damage since they don't have teeth but I could see where a larger older frog could do soft tissue damage to a smaller younger frog or even when they thrash around trying to make the other let go that a limb could be twisted and injured.

When I raised some tadpoles I had the same concerns about size and didn't move the froglets to the main tank until they were close to the same size as the adults.

Since it's a good idea to quarantine new frogs for 2-3 months, that should give any new frogs time to grow and hold their own with the other frogs,

Perhaps feeding them separately at first with a turkey baster or blunt nose tweezers to negate any food issues.

It's a bummer you have to drive so far to get them. I wonder if they had issues before you got them since you lost so many in a short amount of time.

Good luck and keep us posted.