Help! I stepped on a frog :(

[CLAIRE555]

While I was walking behind my house I accidentally stepped on a frog. I took it home with me in hopes that I could make it more comfortable rather than it stay outside and be eaten. I checked it's spine and ribcage and nothing seems to be roken or damaged but its leg is contorted at an odd angle. Pretty sure it's broken. I then created a makeshift terrarium out of a plastic bin and pond stuff and put it on my porch. Is there anything I should do for the leg (or for its mental stability)?

[MsBlueRose]

I am not sure what can be done about the broken leg, if anything. Do you know what kind of frog it is that you stepped on. Depending on what the species is determines how the enclosure should be set up. By rule of thumb though, sick or injured frogs should be kept in a hospital tank. A hospital tank is a striped down version of what you would normally hose the frog in and the bottom of the tank should be lined with white paper towels. For example; if it is a tree frog you would give him a small bowl of water to soak in (spring water, no matter what species, to avoid heavy metals and chlorine),a plant to climb and hide in unless he is too injured to climb and maybe a branch to sit on. If he is a water frog, he will need a larger bowl of water to soak in and something for him to hide in as well like a butter bowl turned on it's side and cut in half to make a cave. The purpose of the white paper towel is so you can monitor the frogs dropping for changes and also keep track of blood loss as well to prevent infection due to exposure to the substrait and other things in a regular tank. Since you think the frog has a broken leg, you will want to limit his mobility.Don't put him an excessively large enclosure. Basically, just make sure he does not have to move around much to get to the things he wants; the water and hiding place. I don't think having him on the porch is a good idea. He may get over heated or a neighbors pet may get to him also. If you think he needs the light, bring him in and put his tank near a window, but make sure only half of his tank is in the sun, he needs to be able to get out of the light and heat if he wants to. Frogs are very resilient little creatures and bounce back quickly with good care. Depending on how bad the break is on his leg though, you may not be able to release him back to the wild after the break heals. It just depends on if the injured leg is a front leg or a back leg and how well he recovers. If it is a front leg, you may have a pet for the rest of his natural life. Also if the little guy has and open wounds near the break, you can apply Neosporine with a cotton swab to help it heal. Just make sure it IS NOT the kind with pain relief as that will kill the little guy. The pain relief kind is used to humanly euthanize frogs so it is very important that you have the correct stuff! I hope that I have give you at least a good start on how to care for the little guy. Good luck to you both and if you have any other question, please feel free to ask. There are a lot of well informed people here on the forum and we would all be happy to help if we can.

[MsBlueRose]

Sorry about the second post, I forgot to mention how to feed him. He may not want to eat for a while, at least until he is not in as much pain. Try to feed him anyway. In order to keep him from having to hunt, try to feed him with a pair of tongs or tweezers, I feed mine by hand (I just pinch the cricket or wood roach between my fingers and hold it in front of the frog with in striking range) but don't hold the insect too closely to the frog or he may not be able to focus on it to tell that it is prey. It usually takes a few tries to get a frog to take food by hand or with tongs but don't give up; he will take it eventually once he is hungry. I also use a single chop stick or the blunt end of a skewer to push the insect closer to the injured frog so he does not have to move around to get to the insect. either method will work, just make sure the little guy does not have to work for his meal as this will keep him from healing as quickly and can even make him re-injure himself. It would be helpful to know what kind of frog you have in your care so we can better advise what to feed him, but in most cases crickets do just fine. To make sure the insect is not too large for the frog, only give him insects that are no bigger than the space between his eyes. You can pick up crickets from the local pet store and since it is summer, you can even catch them from the garden, just make sure if you catch them that there is not chance that the insect could have been exposed to pesticides or other harmful chemicals like lawn fertilizer as these will poison your frog. Please post a pic of the little guy if you get the chance. I can give you more accurate info on his care and treatment if I can see what kind of frog it is and how bad the injured leg really is. Thanks for taking the time to read the post and once more, good luck to both you and the little frog. I hope he makes a full recovery!

Best Wishes;
MsBlueRose

[CLAIRE555]

Thank you so much for responding! Unfortunately, I waited too long to check my account and made a couple of mistakes. By the way, I looked Gilbert (my injured 'frog') up and discovered that he is really an american toad. I put him in a regular terrarium with regular plants and soil for a more natural environment. I was afraid he would die of stress so i gave him stuff to hide under. This might've not been the best idea because when I last checked on him his injured left leg was much darker and puffier than the right. I'm afraid that he might have an infection but not sure what kind of neosporine to put on the leg. This is what I have: Family Dollar brand Triple Antibiotic (for minor burns, cuts, small wounds, scratches, and abrasions) with polymxyin b sulfate, bacitracin zinc, and neomycin sulfate (inactive ingrediants: light mineral oil and petroleum base)... I couldn't figure out how to attatch a photo so I just copied all the important information that I could find on the tube. Gilbert's left back leg looks engorged near the foot and a darkish brown with a white scab over it. If you could email me your email address i could send you a pic. Thanks so much.

[MsBlueRose]

I will send you a PM with my Email address. I will also look up the Family Dollar brand that you mentioned. It looks like it is the same as Neosporine though by the ingredients you listed. So long as there is nothing listed that says pain relief on the tube, it should be ok. I am so sorry it took me so long to get back to you. My baby tree frog tadpoles are morphing and I have been very busy with them and the family. If the toads foot still looks puffy and infected, you might try soaking him in a bowl of luke warm water to loosen the scab and allow it to drain. There is something you can add to the water to treat the wound as well, I will look it up for you and send it with my PM for my Email. I hope Gilbert is ok and doing a little better at least.

[Subatomicmatt]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I could just piggyback into this one.

At work tonight I accidentally stepped on a toad. It's a common American Toad. He seems to have no limbs broken, eyes are intact and he moves around somewhat. His pale underbelly shows signs of internal bleeding and he feels very bloated. His throat sac is puffed up as well and shows no signs of deflating.
His mouth seems full and I question if his stomach or other organs have pushed up from where they should go. He also displays a dark, purple translucent sac on the bottom left and right of his mouth at times. I've gently pushed these sacs back down and tried to see if a lubricated finger could carefully push anything out of whack back in place but it stays as is.

What can I do to help him?

Attached photos:

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f2ba236.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...psb28af56f.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1569a1cc.jpg

The following dark bubbles can be pushed down into his mouth and as you can see by the last photo, they hide away into the bottom jaw.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4bb94608.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps278d1e84.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps350c10dc.jpg

[MsBlueRose]

That does not look good at all... You need to take that little guy to the vet. He looks like he may need a few stitches to hold his organs down and in lace until he heals. He may not make it otherwise. Sorry to say that, but he does not look good at all. Good luck with him, he may surprise us all and make it after all though. Frogs and toads are hardy little guys.

[Subatomicmatt]

Looking online, it seems that he is actually a she.

Her swelling went down significantly the morning after those pictures were taken (which was overnight). So two mornings ago.

I've since set her up in a quiet tank with lots of damp dirt for burrowing, a dish of water with smooth stones for gripping. I also purchased some small crickets in case she gets hungry. I also have a sun lamp that doesn't get hot but will provide warmth.

Her throat and belly have red blood vessel bursts from what may be the long amount of time she was swollen up. Her throat sack gives up a light seeping of clear/reddish fluid. Less and less as time progresses. It has not gotten any worse. Her throat sack, sides and belly seem to have looser skin too, I'm guessing from the severe bloating.

Here she is last night before I left for work:


http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6fb91cfd.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe836a9c.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...psacfa2516.jpg

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96a72ed6.jpg

[MsBlueRose]

Well I am glad she seems to be doing better. I doubt she will eat until her insides heal up completely. If there is anything you can give her to treat an internal infection, I would give it to her. I would bet money on it that the clearish/reddish fluid she is leaking out of her mouth is from and infection from the injuries. Call a local vet and see what you can give her to treat it, or look it up on here and see what others are giving their frogs/toads to treat internal infections. I know there is something that can be given to treat it I just don't know what it is. If I find out, I will post it here for you. Good luck with the little girl, and make sure she has a dry side in her tank to get out of the water. Toads don't usually stay in the water for long. I am so glad she is doing better though, congratulations. Best Wishes; MsBlueRose

[Subatomicmatt]

Well, her tank has been moist but not too wet. She spends most all of her time in a little indent ion in the dirt. I don't think she's eaten any of the small crickets I gave her but I know that she's peeing.

I took her back out to work tonight (countryside) to let her be free since I was fearing she was starving herself. Since checking on her, she swam in the pond and then hopped some. She's gotten bloated again and her jaw sac feels very dry.

I'm wondering if I should continue to keep her. I haven't found any info online about antibiotics and I don't have a vet, as I just moved to this area... a new state... not long ago.

[Subatomicmatt]

Her throat sac alarmed me with it's crinkly-ness so I put a small bit of cocoa butter lotion on it and gently massaged it in. Two hours later and it's still nice and not crinkly at all.

Think I will take her home again until I hear from someone on here. I wish I knew what I was doing. I don't want to smother her but I also don't want to leave her to fend for herself when she needs me.

[Jessalyn]

Yes, I would keep her to give her the best chance possible. If she doesn't start eating, you may have to force feed her, but I wouldn't do that until someone more experienced than me says you should. I think there's a vets info on here that you can contact to see what you can give her, and I also would consider giving her an unflavored pedialyte bath, there's directions on here for the solution and how long to put her in it for. She already looks wayyy better than before! Good luck with the little cutie!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Subatomicmatt]

Too late now. I let her go at work and after checking on her an hour later she was long gone.

First I felt horrible about accidentally stepping on her. Then I felt bad about keeping her against her will and that being harmful. Now I feel bad for not keeping her longer.

I feel terrible.

Thanks for trying to help.

[Jessalyn]

You already did more than most people would and you helped her heal a lot to give her even more of a fighting chance. Who knows maybe you'll see the little lady again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Subatomicmatt]

I hope so. I would truly like that.

[SirDidymusBarks]

Please help! I stepped on a little toad walking my dog earlier this morning. I felt/heard a pop under my foot & was very upset when i saw that i had hurt this little guy/girl so badly. It's intestines & a small reddish organ were poking out of it's body & all the way through it's skin just below it's right front leg, though the red bit seems to have went back into him. The left side of the under throat area seemed red, like blood under the skin maybe. It was quite still at first when i moved him closer to the tree & it's head seemed to fall a bit. I thought it had passed away but then it seemed to sort of wake up. It's throat seemed to be moving very rapidly & then he tried hoping/climbing away. He can't climb or hop well due to his injury. I spent all morning sitting with him outside. I tried keeping him & his organs wet with little drops of rainwater. I have no idea how to help him or ease his pain. Please PLEASE help us out!

[SirDidymusBarks]

He passed away just now, so no need to reply. He made it for around 2 hrs but at least he isn't hurting now. I feel absolutely awful nonetheless.

[Mentat]

Please help! I stepped on a little toad walking my dog earlier this morning. I felt/heard a pop under my foot & was very upset when i saw that i had hurt this little guy/girl so badly. It's intestines & a small reddish organ were poking out of it's body & all the way through it's skin just below it's right front leg, though the red bit seems to have went back into him. The left side of the under throat area seemed red, like blood under the skin maybe. It was quite still at first when i moved him closer to the tree & it's head seemed to fall a bit. I thought it had passed away but then it seemed to sort of wake up. It's throat seemed to be moving very rapidly & then he tried hoping/climbing away. He can't climb or hop well due to his injury. I spent all morning sitting with him outside. I tried keeping him & his organs wet with little drops of rainwater. I have no idea how to help him or ease his pain. Please PLEASE help us out!

He passed away just now, so no need to reply. He made it for around 2 hrs but at least he isn't hurting now. I feel absolutely awful nonetheless.

Hello and welcome to FF! I'm very sorry for dead frog and how you feel about it . In a case like this, with internal organs been squeezed out of body, the only help you can give frog is to end its suffering by applying "Orajel" to frogs belly area and euthanizing it. Also, please start new threads when you need quick help; piggy backing into old threads can actually mask your emergency.

[SirDidymusBarks]

Thank you very much for the welcome, & the advice. I should've looked up help earlier but I didn't want to leave his side in his condition. I'll remember the orajel information should anything so horrible ever happen again. I gave him a little kiss, said i was sorry & buried him under the tree. The poor dear