With the popularity of keeping African clawed frogs as pets continuing to increase. we have noticed a steady increase in the number of people reaching out with various questions about caring for their pet African clawed frog.
Without a doubt, the most common thing that we see people asking about, especially beginners is how to treat a bloated African clawed frog with the albino variant of the frog seeming to get the most questions due to being more popular as a pet.
Due to so many people reaching out about their bloated albino African clawed frog recently, we have decided to publish this dedicated article going over exactly what you should be doing.
Now, we want to make it clear that there is almost always going to be a risk presented to your African Clawed Frog when trying to treat its bloat so the majority of people will get a vet to treat their pet.
You can book a video call with a fully trained veterinarian to help you diagnose the exact cause of the bloat in your African Clawed Frog as well as advise you on the best courses of action to move forward if you wish.
Many people who have frogs of any type suffering from bloat tend to opt for this route as it tends to be much easier and using an online vet via video call for your first consultation tends to work out much cheaper than a trip to your local veterinary surgery while also being able to book the video call into best fit your own busy schedule.
Why Is My Albino African Clawed Frog Bloated?
The majority of cases where an African Clawed Frog ends up suffering from bloat is due to dropsy (also known as edema, hydropsy, ascites, bloat).
It is a build-up of excess liquid inside of your frog causing it to bloat and swell up to a much larger size potentially resulting in the death of your pet frog if it is not treated quickly.
Dropsy is usually a symptom of a more serious issue ranging from something that can potentially be an easy fix like bacterial infections, parasitic infections, and malnutrition to more serious problems such as liver dysfunction, congestive heart failure, liver failure, and kidney failure.
This is why so many people choose to have a vet examine their pet frog as soon as they realise it is bloating up and showing the signs of dropsy.
The easy to treat infections are usually simple to identify but the more serious problems that can result in dropsy really do need to be diagnosed and treat as soon as possible.
Although some of the serious issues are not able to be cured, they can often be managed to help ease the suffering in your pet African Clawed Frog that is bloated and swollen.
How To Treat A Bloated Albino African Clawed Frog!
The bloating in your African Clawed Frog can only be treated by dealing with the underlying issue that is causing your frog to bloat.
Although the bloating can be controlled by draining the excess fluid to prevent pressure on essential organs, the bloating will return unless you treat the problem that is causing the bloating.
If the dropsy is due to malnutrition then moving your African Clawed Frog over to a suitable food source may be able to get the essential nutrients into your frog to help deal with the malnutrition and cause the bloating to stop.
Unfortunately, malnutrition is the rarest cause of dropsy and bloating meaning that it is very rare that you will find such an easy fix for your problems.
All of the other common causes of bloating and dropsy in your African Clawed Frog usually need a specialist treatment from a vet ranging from a simple antibiotic to potentially needing surgery.
In some cases, there may be nothing that you can do for your African Clawed Frog suffering from bloat too with a vet being in a much better position to advise you on your frog’s specific situation and symptoms so booking a video call with a vet can be a good path to move forward.
How Long Can An Albino African Clawed Frog Live When Bloated?
The life expectancy of an African Clawed Frog suffering from bloat tends to fall rapidly if the bloating is not dealt with as the build-up of fluid in the frog puts pressure on its essential organs and will usually result in death within a few weeks.
Even if the cause of the bloating is un-treatable, the bloating symptoms can be managed by draining the liquid build up out of the drop on a regular basis.
Although some people do try to treat the bloating of their pet African Clawed Frog at home themselves, we would highly recommend against this. It is very difficult to carry out the procedure correctly and even fully trained, professional veterinarians can make mistakes when draining frogs sometimes.
The chances of you being able to correctly drain the fluid without puncturing an essential organ or causing internal bleeding in your frog is minimal.
On top of that, you actually have to draw the liquid out of a bloated African Clawed Frog at a steady pace or you end up risking additional issues with the frog that can result in a very quick death due to the heart struggling to deal with the changes in pressure.
This is why we would always recommend that our readers simply use a vet to drain a bloated frog if possible.
Can A Bloated Albino African Clawed Frog Treat Itself?
Unless the bloat is due to malnutrition, a bloated African Clawed Frog will not be able to treat itself and will require intervention from its owner with a vet usually being involved at some stage.
This is due to the number of causes that have bloat or dropsy as a symptom being serious and difficult to treat even with assistance from a vet.
As we touched on earlier in the article, even with the help of a vet, there is a chance that you will never be able to fully treat the cause of the bloating in your African Clawed Frog.
This is why so many people opt to have their African Clawed Frog drained by a vet on a regular basis as it relieves the pressure that the build-up of liquid causes in the frog.
In the wild, a African Clawed Frog will usually get picked off by a predator quickly if it does end up bloating as its movement is severely restricted.
Although the actual bloating will not be the direct cause of death in the frog, it will be the main reason that the predator was able to catch the frog quickly.
Is The Bloat Contageous?
Bloat is a symptom of an underlying condition with some of these conditions being contagious.
This is why we it can be a good idea to isolate your bloated African Clawed Frog away from all other animals due to bacterial infections and parasitic infections easily being transferred to other animals in the tank.
Once you have had your bloated African Clawed Frog checked out by a vet and received confirmation if the frog is bloating due to bacterial infections or parasitic infections then you can make a better decision on if your frog may be contagious.
There are a number of problems that can cause bloating in your African Clawed Frog that is not contagious though but it can be difficult to work it out.
Even if the cause of the bloating in your African Clawed Frog is not contagious, some people will still isolate their African Clawed Frog in its own separate tank just for additional safety.
As we just mentioned, it can be difficult to confirm the exact cause of the bloating in your frog so even if you get a diagnosis from your vet of it being something that is not contagious, there is a small chance they may be wrong so it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over how to treat a bloated albino African clawed frog to an end. In our opinion, you really should be looking to get a vet involved as quickly as possible if you noticed that your African Clawed Frog is starting to swell up and bloat. Sometimes it can be treated if the bloating is due to an infection or parasites but sometimes you will just have to take steps to manage the bloating in the future due to it being untreatable.
