Amphibian History Form

Date: October 21, 2015

By: Christal Pollock, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)

Keywords:

Categories: Amphibians,  Reptiles & Amphibians,  Resources & Education 

Introduction

A detailed history is mandatory for the amphibian patient as husbandry needs can have a tremendous impact on amphibian health. During initial contact, encourage the owner to bring the entire enclosure into the clinic for evaluation whenever possible. Alternatively, encourage the client to bring in photographs or a diagram of the habitat as well as any husbandry records.  Although husbandry needs can vary considerably among amphibians (Table 1), most species require ambient humidity levels exceeding 70% to 80% (Mylniczenko 2009, Clayton 2007).

Visit LafeberVet’s Clinical Approach to Amphibian Emergencies and Assessing the Sick Frog or Toad for additional information.

Table 1. Recommended temperature range based on species environment (Mylniczenko 2009)
Natural habitat Recommended range °C (°F)
Tropical lowland, including aquatic species 24-30 (75-86)
Subtropical, including aquatic species 21-27 (70-81)
Tropical montane (moist, cool, coniferous), including aquatic species 18-24 (64-75)
Temperate, summer 18-24 (64-75)
Aquatic, temperate pond (summer) 18-24 (64-75)
Aquatic, temperature stream (summer) 16-21 (61-70)
Hibernation 10-16 (50-61)

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DOWNLOAD the LafeberVet Amphibian History Form: PDF (58 KB), DOCX (78 KB), DOC (47 KB)

 

 

References

References

Clayton LA, Gore SR. Amphibian emergency medicine. Vet Clin North Am: Exot Anim Pract 10(2):590-594, 2007.

de la Navarre Byron JS. Current thoughts on advances in reptile and amphibian husbandry. Proc Annu Conf Western Vet Con 2013. Available at http://www.vin.com/members/cms/project/defaultadv1.aspx?id=6000747&pid=11371&catid=&=. Accessed on Oct 18, 2015.

de la Navarre Byron JS. Common procedures in reptiles and amphibians. Vet Clin North Am: Exot Anim Pract 9(2):237-267, 2006.

Ferrel ST. Amphibian medicine and surgery. Proc Annu Conf Amer Board Vet Pract 2012. Available at http://www.vin.com/members/cms/project/defaultadv1.aspx?id=5329658&pid=11351&catid=&. Accessed on Oct 18, 2015.

Mylniczenko N. Amphibians. In: Manual of Exotic Pet Practice. Mitchell MA, Tully TN (eds). Saunders, St. Louis, 2009. P. 73-111.