Toad leg amputation (lawnmower)

[Christy]

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Our little guy is healing really well, so we decided it was time to give him some real substrate. We used a mixture of eco earth and moss. We also got him a log hide to use in addition to the plastic one, so he'll have multiple hides. We made a slightly larger water dish (but still shallow). I didn't want to get anything too deep until we see how well he does with the missing arm. The food bowl we have is also quite shallow. It won't work for crickets, but small worms stay contained to the dish. I'm looking for a good, deeper bowl that I can bury like Gail suggested. For now, he seems uninterested in crickets, but he did finally eat a wax worm for us, so I'm happy he's at least eating something. Hopefully as he gets more acclimated to his new captive environment, his appetite will increase. Here are some pictures of his new digs. It's a 20-gallon long aquarium, and we're keeping it in a corner of our kitchen for now (where there's little foot traffic and less noise.)

[nicodimus22]

Nice roomy tank! Mine is in a 20-long too. A couple of quick suggestions:

-Watch to make sure your toad isn't pushing up against/walking/jumping against the glass all the time. Toads don't understand the concept of a clear material. If you see this happening, you may need to make 3 sides of the tank appear solid by taping up some paper on the outside of it.

-This may just be my opinion, but I would just use plain Eco-Earth, deep enough to burrow in if he wants to. Moss is an impaction risk. If he goes for a cricket and swallows some moss by accident, it could get twisted up and stuck in his digestive system. Don't be too worried about making the substrate moist...toads soak instinctively in the water bowl if they get too dry. I've had mine for nearly 3 years on plain Eco-Earth (with a hide, some flat rocks, and fake leaves for ground cover) and she's doing great. Just make sure there is always dechlorinated water to soak in, and he'll be fine. My two cents.

[Christy]

Thanks, Pete! About the glass, we've had the two open sides wrapped with brown paper since we got him so he wouldn't stress. You just can't tell it from the pics. One side, and the back side, are against a wall and cabinet.

I will remove the moss if that's an impaction risk. We definitely don't want to cause any more problems than the poor fella already has.

Thanks again!

[kueluck]

Pete pretty much has got you covered in this. Please keep us posted on the healing..........love a happy ending.

[Stolzieren]

I'm so glad you've taken him in and treated his wound! he's in good care, would love to hear an update on how he's doing

[Christy]

He's doing wonderfully! We removed all the moss from his enclosure and put in a few large leaves and a fake plant to make it look more natural. He seemed to really like that change, as he's now come out of his hide and is burrowed down in the substrate with just his nose poking out. He's eating crickets. And his nub is still looking to be healing just fine.

Thank you all again for all of your help with this little guy!