Therapy should be tried on a small number of animals. Noninfectious Diseases Dehydration is the biggest enemy of amphibians. Care should be taken to avoid desiccation from heat sources, particularly lamps. The delicate nature of aquatic amphibian skin predisposes them to trauma of all kinds. Any wound or break in the skin becomes a port of entry for pathogenic organisms.
Chemicals can be very toxic to permeable, amphibian skin.
Aquatic species are particularly sensitive to chlorine, ammonia, pesticides, disinfectants, and heavy metals. Careful attention should be given to water quality. High levels of ammonia cause lethargy, skin and gill sloughing, and death. Gas bubble disease is seen in aquatic frogs when the water is supersaturated with air. Bubbles may be seen in the skin webs and foot webs, but death is usually from secondary septicemia.