Injured Toe on Green and Golden Bell Frog?

[BlueKiwiOca]

Hi everyone (again!)

Yesterday morning, one of my juvenile Green and Golden Bell frogs (Litoria aurea), escaped his terrarium while I was cleaning it out. Froakie darted underneath the terrarium (for those unfamiliar with Exo-Terra designs, it has a gap underneath). I couldn't lift the terrarium to retrieve him, because it was far too heavy, so I carefully and slowly slid it around to reveal Froakie. I think that in my efforts to retrieve him, one of his toes got caught by the terrarium base

Today while feeding (he still has a good appetite... hopefully it lasts), I noticed that on his rear right? outside toe, it was slightly blackened and seemed to be missing a joint- it was shorter than the same toe on the other side. I applied some original Neosporin to the toe and up the leg a little, just to be safe.

I'll try upload a picture tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, can anyone tell me

1) If Froakie will be ok without part of his toe (if that's the case).
2) What the blackening is- is it just bruising, or is it the start of necrosis? The wound is only a day and a half old.
3) What a suitable treatment is for him, keeping in mind I have very limited access to medications.

I don't know how I'll deal with the guilt of having injured one of my friends Thank you, wonderful froggers!

[Mentat]

Recommend moving frog to hospital like enclosure with daily changed moist unprinted paper towels for substrate. Continue daily applications of neosporin and watch frog for any signs of complications like loss of appetite. Once healed, then can return frog to it's normal enclosure. Loss of one toe should not be a big problem for frog. Good luck !

[BlueKiwiOca]

Thank you, I've done that now I'm glad to hear he should be okay! I'll keep you updated.

[BlueKiwiOca]

Today, Froakie ate a TON of wingless fruit flies. Safe to say his appetite's still ok, but he does seem a little more tired than usual. Is this just his body recovering and repairing itself?
Also, is the black bits on his toe/ leg like scabs?

I was looking up remedies and I came across Silver Sulfadiazine. Apparently it's really good for injuries such as this. Should I call the vet and ask to buy some, or just continue with the neosporin? I would rather do too much, too soon, than too little, too late if you know what I mean

[Heatheranne]

Hi Gabby,

Please don't feel guilty. They are fast tricky little stinkers. The goal is to get him healed up.

The other day I was cleaning out my retf tank and my one pair was sleeping so I went to rinse the water bowl out with the door open. I came back to find Lucky on the outer side of the tank glass all bright-eyed and happy exploring his freedom. Silly frog. Sadly, i had to ruin his day and put him back in. It happens. Think of it as a learning experience.

Yes, silversulfadiazene is a wonderful treatment. If you can get your vet to Rx you some that would be great. It can treat both bacteria and fungus. It's great to have on hand. The original neosporin will help.

It is quite likely the end of that toe area will die and fall off. If you can prevent infection to the area he will be fine. They can live fine having lost digits and limbs so long as no infection sets in, hence the hospital tank.

Change the paper towels daily. Reapply the neo daily with a Qtip. Be sure to rinse his water bowl very well with hot water daily. Once cooled, place it back in with fresh water (dechlorinated, of course). This will help keep bacteria and fungus out of the water bowl.

It's a great sign that he is still eating!

Please keep us posted.

[BlueKiwiOca]

The little goober is still eating like a monster the fruit flies just continuously go down the hatch!

I'm calling the vet tomorrow to see if he'll prescriber me some silversulfediazine, but at this rate Froakie seems to be doing ok with just the Neosporin; no signs of infection, swelling or redness so far, and he's alert and perky with good colouring. I feel like the tip of his toe came off cleanly with just a little grazing, if it came off at all.

I'm keeping him in clean isolation still, till everything heals up. I don't know how I'd deal with an infection :S

[BlueKiwiOca]

Hm. So I called the vet (who doesn't specialise in exotic animals), and they said they didn't have any silversulfadiazine. I don't know how widely it is used on animals, but oh well. He suggested that I add a few drops of iodine to a soak to keep infection at bay. Does anyone have experience with/ recommend using iodine/Betadine on amphibians? Why/ why shouldn't I use it?

[Heatheranne]

Betadine and iodine are actually not recommended for amphibians. Bactine can be used, but only the kind without the pain reliever. I would stick with neosporin then.

[BlueKiwiOca]

Will do so. I was a little sceptical about the iodine, I've heard a lot of mixed messages about it.

Here's a pic of Froakie from underneath, as he's stuck to the side of his hospital tank. You can clearly see the damage on the left hand side, with a couple of toes being shorter than the corresponding toes on the other foot

[Mentat]

Looks like Froakie healed up fine, congrats Gabby ! Would never put iodine on an animal... still remember how bad it hurts on a fresh wound during childhood . Would stop Neosporin application as soon as all red is gone. You did great, good luck !

[BlueKiwiOca]

Thank you! I wouldn't say it's quite healed yet, we have a little bit of scabbing on the top, but it's looking pretty good Gonna keep him in isolation till all the black is gone (its just a little bit) and I'll keep applying the Neosporin

Thank goodness it was a clean break...

[BlueKiwiOca]

Happy to update everyone and say that Froakie has remained infection free, healed up perfectly and has now moved back into the big terrarium with his buddies he was very happy to go home! Thanks for all your help and advice people