Lamisil Treament for Chytridiomycosis in African Dwarf Frogs

Lamisil Treatment for Chytridiomycosis in African Dwarf Frogs

by Mac

Materials needed :

Lamisil AT® 1% spray medication for Athlete's Foot. This is available at CVS, RiteAid, WalMart, and most drug stores. It is an over the counter medication used for Athlete's Foot treatment. Make sure you get the spray - active ingredient Terbinafine Hydrochloride. Do NOT use the Lamisil cream or gel.

You will be mixing 10 squirts of Lamisil AT 1% spray (1ml) with 200 ml of fresh treated water.

You need a small 3 - 5 gallon tank to use as a Quarantine Tank (QT) during the 10 day bath process. Critter Keeper units are great for this! Ideally, 2 of these work better, used alternately, so that 1 can be cleaned and dried, while the other is in use.

A glass measuring cup is handy for mixing the Lamisil and 200 ml of water. You can also use it as the bath container for 1 - 2 African Dwarf frogs (ADFs).

A kitchen timer with bell is handy, but not essential.

You'll need to clean the QT between uses with a bleach and water mixture.

The Bath Procedure:

This procedure is best for new frogs coming in from the pet store (which need to be quarantined before joining any existing frogs.) Many pet stores today that sell ADFs and ACFs have Chytridiomycosis present, especially if they sell many species of land frogs. You can treat any sick African Dwarf frogs in which you suspect Chytrid to be the cause. The tank that they are living in must be "nuked", however, to remove the existing fungus, otherwise, they will be re-infected. This means throwing out existing gravel, decorations and plants, and thoroughly washing glass tanks with a 10:1 water to bleach mixture (for acrylic tanks use a 20:1 water to bleach mixture). Rinse very well, and then fill with water treated with 20x the normal dosage of Prime or AmQuel water treatment in order to neutralize any remaining chlorine from the bleach. Then rinse once more.

In the clean bath dish (deep enough to immerse the frogs and hold at least 200 ml of water), spray in 10 full
squirts of the Lamisil spray med. This is equal to about 1 ml. Then mix in 200 ml (3/4 cup + 1½ tablespoon) of fresh treated water that is room temp. (The water used here and in the QT tank should be in the same temperature and pH range that the frog is used to.) The bath is ready.

Add the frog(s) and time the bath for 5 minutes. Observe the frogs for any adverse reactions. Make sure they are covered by the solution.

Have the QT ready for your frog(s) to move into after the bath. You may want to include a hiding place or two for your frog in the QT, but keep the decorations sparse because you will need to clean and disinfect them daily between baths.

This is where having 2 QT units will help. One can be cleaned, dried and refilled to be ready for use right after the next bath. Drying the tank will help prevent any Chytrid spores from surviving and possibly re-infecting your frog.

Repeat this 5 minute bath daily for a total of 10 treatments. If your frog indeed has Chytrid, there is a good chance you will see some sloughed off skin fragments in the bath container. Your frog's color and skin condition should improve by the end of the 10 day treatment. His activity and appetite levels in the QT should also give an indication of how his health is doing.

If this is a new frog that will be joining others, it would be a good idea to keep him in QT for another week or two after the baths to ensure that he has no other problems that might be transferred to your healthy frogs. Remember - if he was living in a tank before treating him, that original tank MUST be cleaned and disinfected before setting it back up again. The 10 day bath period will give you plenty of time to clean and dry the tank out if this is the case.

We at Flippers 'n' Fins cannot take any responsibility if you wish to try this treatment and it fails, but much successful Chytrid treatment of ADFs and other species has been reported using this technique. However, do this procedure at your own risk.