Injured frog

[frog87]

Hi,

Yesterday i found a frog in my garden that has somehow injured his leg . He can't hop properly but otherwise looks okay. I've brought him inside and am keeping him in a container with water etc. I was wondering if anyone knows what i should do in this situation, is he likely to get better and what should i feed him etc. Any advice is welcome.

[John]

Welcome to the forum. Since you say he looks okay, I have to assume that the leg is broken, malformed or (less likely) just temporarily injured. How does the animal use it when it tries to hop? A photo might help us give you better advice.

All of the frogs found in the UK are classic Rana species and they are hard to maintain in captivity because they are nervous and prone to ploughing headlong into the walls of any terrarium used to hold them. If you must monitor the frog, you're going to have to give it a very large container with plenty of hiding spaces/cover. I'd say keep it that way for a week and see if the leg improves at all. If it doesn't, it's likely a long term injury that the frog has been dealing with for a while and I would just let it go.

Lastly, it is possible you could find a sympathetic vet who would take a look - emphasise that it is not a pet frog, since many British vets will look at native wild animals for little or no fee.

Best of luck to you and your froggy friend.

-John

[Andy]

I once found a Frog caught in a mouse trap when I had many mice in the garden using the pond as a water hole etc, Leg was a bit messed up, It stayed with me at the pond for some time then left only to return frequently. seemed to have managed Ok.

[John]

I've seen one-eyed frogs (several), 3 legged frogs (several), frogs with "broken" backs. They were still kicking, eating, going about life.

[frog87]

thanks for the replies but he died late yesterday afternoon .

[John]

Sorry to hear that - it must have been a recent injury then and may be that's why you spotted the frog in the first place.