I need sick toad advice

[Jessifer]

My toad isn't sick but I need advice in case he is. I asked my mom today if there were any exotic vets in town and instead of saying yes or no she said toads aren't exotic pets and I'm not paying for your toad. I don't have an income right now so if he does get sick I'll need to know what to do since I won't be able to take him anywhere.

[Frogman1031]

First of all, that was quite rude to the toad. They deserve just as much attention as dogs do. Depending on the disease, you may be able to get help from others on the forum. Just describe his symptoms and someone will tell you what you should do. People have escaped impaction, bloat, and others by peoples advice. Some illnesses will require a vet but not all. Some others, like red leg are almost always fatal though. Take care of your toad and always make sure that anything that goes into the enclosure is sterile. Hope this helps!

[Mentat]

My toad isn't sick but I need advice in case he is. I asked my mom today if there were any exotic vets in town and instead of saying yes or no she said toads aren't exotic pets and I'm not paying for your toad. I don't have an income right now so if he does get sick I'll need to know what to do since I won't be able to take him anywhere.

Hello Jessifer! Depending on their upbringing and other situations, people have all kinds of ideas about pets. Please do not get frustrated with situation, just try to provide your toad with it's basic needs and do not worry about it being sick until that happens. Recommend you read this article that will help you learn how to care for it: Frog Forum - Toad Basics - Keeping ground-dwelling Toads. A care sheet for Bufo, Anaxyrus, Spea, Scaphiopus, Ollotis, Alytes, Pelobates.

Important things are to provide a proper humidity/temperature and a varied diet. Also, it's water dish should be rinsed with hot water and refilled with dechlorinated tap to around it's chin level daily. Best food for it are night crawlers (not dyed) normally available at bait stores. Crickets should be sized same as the distance between the toads eyes and gut loaded with carrots, lettuce, and cherios cereal. You also need to dust it's food with supplements and this guide will help you with that: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html.

Many meds we use are expensive and have expiration dates; so stocking them in your case is not an option. Couple things you can keep are honey (for honey water bath if impacted); unflavored Pedialyte or similar baby electrolyte (diluted 10% for dehydration, mineral imbalance, or perking up), and non analgesic Neosporin or similar antibiotic (for injuries).

Maybe you can have a talk with your Mom and propose a weekly allowance in trade for work around the house or/and good grades. If you want further help, please answer below questions and we will recommend any required changes. Good luck !

“Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”

The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.

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. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.
16. How old is the frog
17. How long have you owned him/her
18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
20. How often the frog is handled
21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

by Lynn(Flybyferns) and GrifTheGreat.

[notshy]

Feeling a little frustrated here on the issue of Toad medical care. Has anyone found any really helpful sites dealing with Toad emergencies??? I, like Jessifer, need someplace to get legit "how to fix it" when **** goes down - because sometimes it does. I'm not talking about regular care, I've researched very thoroughly and am providing the best maintenance care possible for our Buntah (bufo americanus), but where do I turn when there is an emergency, something out of the ordinary? For example; about a half hour ago, Buntah blapped my daughters nose. Normally not a problem but this morning my daughter had a blemish cream on the end of her nose. What do I do with that? No Herpotologists in our area (and why do these things always happen on a Sunday??!!!) to call so I hit the internet with my list of ingredients and is this harmful to my toad or not. Half an hour of "zinc oxide poisoning in everything from dogs to livestock" but no Toad info, oh yeah, and witchcraft, the history of Toads being used in witchcraft! Seriously, I don't need to know spells involving frog-legs or toad licking, I need REAL, TRUE answers to emergency questions for our very loved Buntah!! Help anyone!!

[LilyPad]

Feeling a little frustrated here on the issue of Toad medical care. Has anyone found any really helpful sites dealing with Toad emergencies??? I, like Jessifer, need someplace to get legit "how to fix it" when **** goes down - because sometimes it does. I'm not talking about regular care, I've researched very thoroughly and am providing the best maintenance care possible for our Buntah (bufo americanus), but where do I turn when there is an emergency, something out of the ordinary? For example; about a half hour ago, Buntah blapped my daughters nose. Normally not a problem but this morning my daughter had a blemish cream on the end of her nose. What do I do with that? No Herpotologists in our area (and why do these things always happen on a Sunday??!!!) to call so I hit the internet with my list of ingredients and is this harmful to my toad or not. Half an hour of "zinc oxide poisoning in everything from dogs to livestock" but no Toad info, oh yeah, and witchcraft, the history of Toads being used in witchcraft! Seriously, I don't need to know spells involving frog-legs or toad licking, I need REAL, TRUE answers to emergency questions for our very loved Buntah!! Help anyone!!

This is where I found my vet - Herp Vet Connection

Hopefully that will help you out. Otherwise you can always call an E-vet in your area and see if they have ANY advice to dispense. If you need help urgently, you can always post a new thread on here and if someone has an answer they can help you out. Sometimes situations are just unheard of in the community or out of the realm of online advice though.

[notshy]

Thank You LilyPad! I went to that website. They had three vets listed for this area, one of them I found from another website. Been calling that one all day. Their recording says they're a staff meeting all day. On the site you suggested, I tried the other two numbers, neither are open on Sunday. One gave a number for the Animal Emergency Care - tried them, they have no one working there who knows anything about amphibian persons. I think you put it well when you said some things were outside the realm of online advice. Apparently amphibian needs are a tiny field of specialization.

We've been keeping a close eye on our girl and so far she seems fine. Will make some more calls tomorrow though, would like to feel more confident about the situation. Thank You for your input, it was helpful!

[Mentat]

... I'm not talking about regular care, I've researched very thoroughly and am providing the best maintenance care possible for our Buntah (bufo americanus), but where do I turn when there is an emergency, something out of the ordinary? For example; about a half hour ago, Buntah blapped my daughters nose. Normally not a problem but this morning my daughter had a blemish cream on the end of her nose. What do I do with that? No Herpotologists in our area (and why do these things always happen on a Sunday??!!!) to call so I hit the internet with my list of ingredients and is this harmful to my toad or not. Half an hour of "zinc oxide poisoning in everything from dogs to livestock" but no Toad info, oh yeah, and witchcraft, the history of Toads being used in witchcraft! Seriously, I don't need to know spells involving frog-legs or toad licking, I need REAL, TRUE answers to emergency questions for our very loved Buntah!! Help anyone!!

When it comes to frog/toad care... and ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. IRT case you mention and because of frogs/toads skin; they should not be exposed to any chemicals. That means limited handling and if needed, use gloves or wash hands well and follow that with a dechlorinated water rinse. Also, they should not be placed on any surface that has been exposed to household chemicals (cleaners, deodorizers, disinfectants, etc.).

As you realized with Buntah's exposure to a blemish skin cream; there is no information available. So for that kind of emergency there is not much you can do; but pray and hope the frog's liver can process or store the toxic chemical. Is some exposure situations, even a veterinary might be unable to do much and treat the frog, because there just is no previous research on how to treat it.

It does not matter Buntah is a special toad that behaves like a mammal; it is still a toad and it's care and handling has to match it's biological limitations. I'm very sorry; but we do not have the answers to every possible emergency situation . Hope Buntah is OK and good luck !