Abstract

Wild-caught coqui frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui) from Hawaii were received by multiple AZA-accredited zoos in 2007. Upon arrival frogs were quarantined and separated into multiple tanks containing 5–10 animals. Environmental temperatures and humidity ranged from 70–85°F and 75–95%, respectively. All frogs were fed a diet of pin-head crickets and fruit flies. Intestinal nematodiasis was diagnosed at multiple facilities, and one or more anthelminthic treatments (fenbendazole, praziquantel, levamisole) were administered. Several animals at one zoo were polymerase chain reaction-positive for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Mortality as high as 96% was experienced at all facilities within several weeks of animal arrival. Frogs were generally found dead with no premonitory signs. Supportive care and prophylactic therapy (amphibian ringer’s solution, enrofloxacin, itraconazole) was initiated in response to increasing animal deaths. Significant lesions in dead animals regardless of facility included hepatitis and hepatic necrosis, proliferative glomerulonephritis, splenic histiocytosis, vascular thrombosis and intestinal nematodiasis. Ranavirus polymerase chain reaction was positive in liver samples from several animals. All examined animals were histologically negative for B. dendrobatidis. These findings highlight the inherent risks of animal movement, intentional or unintentional, and the ease with which known, novel or emerging diseases can spread.