Trying to be humane.

[Gramma Nancy]

I'm hoping someone can help me. I've been watching my two and a half year old female American Toad become very sick over the last few days. She has been in one place, not visiting her pool like she usually does. Her eyes appear to be closed and her sides seem to be caved in. I seriously thought she was dead and began to scoop her out with a spoon when she moved a little. I can tell she is suffering and I would like to help end this as soon and as humanely as possible. I've read online about horrible things they do in Australia and I can't bring myself to do that. Is there anything I can do to end my toad's suffering?

[arielgasca420]

First I have to ask what she is suffering from and what you have done to help her ailments so far?
If you have done everything you can and are absolutely sure there is no possible way this toad cannot pull through than take her to a vet.
there are other ways to euthanize humanely yourself, but since you are a new member I would advise you look at other posts on here to find which one works best for you.

[SkeletalFrog]

A guide to euthanasia I made earlier

[Gramma Nancy]

I sincerely do not know what she is suffering from. She was eating and soaking three days ago. Her diet or routine hasn't changed recently. She has crickets and mealworms available. A vet bill is out of the question for me with my current situation. I didn't see other posts on this site to find humane ways to help her, but after I posted here, I found more information online. If things haven't improved by tomorrow morning, I will give her a peaceful and loving farewell. She was found behind the library in Big Bear Lake, CA, where I worked just before I retired. I have also retired from public school teaching where I always had a frog or a toad in my classroom. My African Dwarfs actually breeded and I was able to get the babies out before the parents ate them. With the toad, I took her and several of her brothers and sisters in, but she was the biggest and kept keeping the others from the food. I released the others and kept her for a friend, a storytime partner and a confidant during library storytime, stressful retirement stuff and a move to Arizona. She is loved, even if we can't afford a vet. Thanks for your concern and I'm glad there is a forum like this for people who love frogs and toads.

[arielgasca420]

have you tried a unflavored pedialyte soak or a soak with honey? or maybe try force feeding some samurai pacman food? have you been giving her calcium powder with her meals?could you post a pic of her environment with a description of humidity, lights, temp, and substrate?

[Gramma Nancy]

I haven't tried an unflavored pedialyte soak . I haven't tried force feeding samurai pacman food. I haven't been giving her calcium powder with her meals. I won't post a pic of her loving home. You have suceeded in making me feel like a bad mother even though I have successfully raised and breeded many frogs. I contacted this forum for help, but you have made it a disappointing experience. I'll handle it myself.

[arielgasca420]

these are common questions asked frequently to get a better understanding of whats wrong with the frog so that we can help you revive it. your frog may also be aestivating which is another form of hibernation, but this is not natural. this means that something is wrong with the cage. If you cant provide us with basic husbandry info than go ahead and kill it with the regret that you did nothing to save her. I sense a huge part of guilt in your last response and I think instead of getting mad you should take responsibility and take our advice. a huge part of loving an animal is understanding how to take care of them in captivity. I do understand you have bred aquatic clawed frogs, but those are a very easy and prolific species. toads are a little more tricky when it comes to enclosures.
It is very possible that this frog reached the end of its life with parasites, since it is wild caught, but thats what happens when you take an animal from the wild, bring it inside, and dont give it any vitamins and medicine. I actually did the same thing last year with a western toad, but I could not afford to have the frog's feces examined and could not afford to give him medicine for parasites so I released him back into the lake I found him in a week later.
Now, If you have made it this far into reading I appreciate for hanging in there. I strongly advise you to keep hope and do something to help her. You can go to the store and get unflavored pedialyte in the children's section. I may be wrong, but I believe the proper ratio is one part pedialyte and 10 parts water. You want the water to be free of chlorine so you can either let the chlorine evaporate if you leave the water in an uncovered pot over night or the best solution is to go to a local pet store and get a water conditioner for $4. have the water at a warm temperature (with the pedialyte) and soak the frog for 20 mins. when you are done, use warm treated water to clean off any residual pedialyte. honey works well in a warm bath. use a few drops of honey in warm water and soak for 20 mins. these pedialyte baths give the frog electrolytes along with a few vitamins. do these soaks every day. the honey helps too, but pedialyte is what you want to use first.
ok so now you need to feed your frog. you can use nightcrawlers bought at your local walmart (make sure they are unscented) and mash them up. If you can get a feeding syringe than this will help a lot. use a disinfected card (to disinfect use a 10% bleach solution in warm water, let sit for ten minutes, rinse with hot water) to gently pry open the mouth and work the worms slowly in to see if the frog will swallow. be patient with this process because it can stress the frog to some degree but not enough to kill it.
this is basic steps to a toad with MBD, which I think is what your toad has. MBD is metabolic bone disease which is caused from a deficiency such as calcium. symptoms include closed eyes, lethargy, and loss of appetite. now once your frog is back on its feet I think its time to give her back to nature or pay for powder vitamins, proper lighting, hygrometer, thermometer, and substrate. having a frog is expensive, even if it is a local breed. good luck!

[Kristen]

I haven't tried an unflavored pedialyte soak . I haven't tried force feeding samurai pacman food. I haven't been giving her calcium powder with her meals. I won't post a pic of her loving home. You have suceeded in making me feel like a bad mother even though I have successfully raised and breeded many frogs. I contacted this forum for help, but you have made it a disappointing experience. I'll handle it myself.

With all due respect Nancy, I think Ariel was just trying to help, to figure out whats wrong with your frog and hopefully save her.
She didn't put you down in anyway.
Answer these questions, from the 'trouble in the enclosure' thread
1. Size of enclosure
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
3. Humidity
4. Temperature
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
6. Materials used for substrate
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
10. Lighting
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
12. When is the last time he/she ate
13. Have you found poop lately
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
15. How old is the frog
16. How long have you owned him/her
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
19. How often the frog is handled
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)
I understand you feel bad and it is a very sad time for a pet to be ill. But saving your frog is alot better than putting it down.
Frogs and toads need vitamin/calcium supplements. Their diet in the wild is different frog that in captivity and they don't get much of a variety. If you don't supplement they can get calcium and vitamin deficiencies. Good Luck I hope she pulls through.

[arielgasca420]

Kristen: She is gone now. she has already made her decision to euthanize the frog instead of trying to help it. thats why I didnt want to provide her with info on how to euthanize because I feel her decision was already made up at that point.
Hopefully this will be her last attempt at a frog or if she does have another she will know that there is more to it than putting soil, crickets, and tap water in a rubber maid container. who knows what kind of conditions it was in if she wont even tell us. she probably doesnt know herself what kind of temp or humidity is in there which is why she wouldnt provide the info.
who knows; maybe the frog just reached the end of its life, but I do feel bad for the frog. we all make mistakes, unfortunately there are those that just lose hope and give up when there is an obstacle presented