Progressive ulcerative dermatitis in a captive, wild-caught south american giant tree frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) with microsporidial septicemia

One of 14 captive, wild-caught South American giant tree frogs (Phyllomedusa bicolor) displayed progressive ulcerative erythematous dermatitis on the dorsal skin lateral to the vertebral column and on the left hind leg. It had septicemia of unknown etiology. Tissue imprints revealed a mass of microsporidial spores. Red blood cells were parasitized by gamonts of Hepatozoon sp. (Apicomplexa: Hepatozooidae) or meronts of Babesiosoma stableri (Apicomplexa: Dactylostomatidae) or had inclusions and single or multiple cytoplasm lesions caused by frog erythrocytic virus. Monocytes had lesions in the nuclei and cytoplasm caused by frog leucocytic virus. Intramuscular injections with 6.25 mg of chloramphenicol sodium succinate for 18 days and topically administration of oxytetracycline HCl with polymyxin B sulfate for 21 days led to healing of the lesions. The total prevalence of infection for 14 P. bicolor was 50% for B. stableri and Hepatozoon sp., 36% for frog erythrocytic virus, and 21% for frog leucocytic virus.