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Thread: My toad is sick (sniffles)

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    Unhappy My toad is sick (sniffles)

    Hello, I am new here and to owning toads.

    I found my toad on my porch and decided to keep him/her (I believe it's an American toad?) I've had him 2 or 3 months. He's in a 10 gallon tank with eco earth coconut fiber substrate, a rock dish he can soak in but easily crawl out of, and a half log hiding area he never uses (prefers to bury himself) I feed mostly crickets and sometimes super worms as a treat. When I first got him he ate everything that moved, no crickets survived the night. over time he stopped eating the crickets and would only actively eat the super worms ( I thought he was being picky) but it worried me as I heard they are high in fat and can be hard to digest. Now he's not eating at all, isn't moving much(he use to crawl all night, i could hear him), but does still bury himself and go to soak daily. It is spring so it's warm and I don't know why he isn't eating as he wouldn't hibernate in spring? I'm afraid he can't poop as I've seen no poops anywhere unless he poops in the holes he digs, but even still i don't see them when I clean the substrate. He's also started sniffling, like he's got a stuffy nose and squeaks a little when he breathes while being more active. Tonight i notice his nose is running and his eyes are watery, there's even a snot bubble. I've been giving Honey baths the last 2 nights cause I thought he might be constipated but now the runny nose and eyes is worrying me Anyone know what this might be or what I can do to try to make him feel better? I've googled a ton but not much comes up for toads and frogs with these symptoms that I can find. Any help or advice is appreciated.

    PS: My room is square and simple so I would let him out at night a couple times a week to walk around while I laid in bed in the dark watching youtube as there was nowhere for him to get lost or anything to get into, is this bad? I try not to handle him too much but wanted him to be able to stretch out his legs. Do they need to stretch their legs or is it not necessary?

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    Default Re: My toad is sick (sniffles)

    Dear MandurMeow <3

    I'm sorry to hear about your little guy. It's never fun when the animals you care for get ill, and I can see it's clear you care alot for the little guy. I have some general advice for you and hope it will help out. If not now, then might be useful in the future.

    1) Whenever we talk about wild toads, there's always the risk of parasites and infections they carry in with them. Normally, in nature, if the toad is well and healthy, it can handle an X amount of parasites, because it moves around on a much larger area. But in capivity, unless treated, toads may re-infect themselves, because the area they live in is a lot smaller. Also stress-factors like being suddenly in a tank, can put a hard time on their immune system and cause deceases or troubles to flare up.

    First of all I would find myself a recommend and good herp vet in your area. Normally when toads won't eat and become lethargic (don't move around alot, stop being active) it's a very bad sign, but at least then you can get a professional look over.

    2) Generally coconut substrate isn't a very good bedding. It carries bacteria much easier, because it has to be kept moist and there's a big risk that your little guy will swallow some of the substrate by accident, when chasing prey, which he can have a hard time digesting and can get impacted by :/ Best substrate you can use, is non-fertilized sphagnum (also not fertilized "naturally").

    3) It's true super worms aren't especially nutritious, and are mostly just fat and carbohydrates. They're allright, especially if you "gut feed" them healthy calcium insect-feeding + water, or organic vegetables 24 hours before feeding, but not as the main diet. Crickets are alot better, but should also be "gut fed" organic veggies and water 24 hrs before feeding and once in a while dusted over with a little bit of amphibian mineral- and calcium powder.

    His runny nose + eyes are signs of a bacterial/viral infection and the clicking/stuffy nose sounds like a bad air infection <3

    The main problem with toads are, that when they first get really sick, they're normally bad off <3 My best advice to you as of right now is to find a good vet, see what can be done and otherwise just make him comfortable.

    Pr. my personal opinion, taking your toad - if hand tame - out and let him wander a little, on non-toxic areas, is ok, if they are supervised. But in this case, when you guys has only been "un-wild" for ca. 3 months, and is ill I think the best remedy is peace and quiet, available food (not too much - if he doesn't feel well enough to eat and there's too much food around it'll stress him out that the food's crawling on him or around him), unfilthy water and dark places to hide/rest.

    Now it isn't mention what species of toad you have, or how old he is, but in general land living toads need alot of place to walk. The most species of landliving toads go out to hunt at dusk/dawn an throughout the night, where they're very active, scouting around for food. Your tank should be elongated, with moss, ferns or other living plants, hidey holes, no sharp objects, but some rocks and branches (again, not sharp) that resemble his natural enviroment.

    Regarding feeding, variety is the key to a healthy toad, and main foods should be earth worms, gut-fed crickets and grasshoppers, gut-fed cochroaches, beetles, waxworms now and then, a little super worms now and then. Supplied with mineral- and calcium supplements, dusted on the feeder animals should keep your guy stable and healthy.

    I hope things turn out well for him. Otherwise this should get you a little more prepared for another time. <3

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