Hello and a question of ethics regarding a "handi-capable" toad...

[NCCamarogirl]

Hello all. Last night I was out at my storage unit, unloading some boxes from my truck, when I noticed something circling near my front tire. I thought it was a beetle until I got closer and saw it was a tiny toad! On even closer inspection, it became apparent that he was missing an entire backleg . Now, I am not much of an exotics person - I love fish but that's about it - but I couldn't stand the thought of the little guy out there just waiting to be someone's lunch. He can pretty much only move in a circular fashion and he flips himself over every few hops; his balance is awful. I captured him into an empty water bottle. He's now hanging out in a tupperware with holes in the lid, a bed of wet grass, and a couple of teeny moths I caught.

Initially I was just going to transport him to the swampy woods by my house, a significantly easier life than a gravel parking lot and my standard treatment for everyday reptile and amphibian encounters. But the more I thought about it, the more I wasn't sure that he would survive even that! I stay away from keeping wild-caught animals in captivity because I don't feel like I can do any better than Mother Nature does, and with non-traditional animals it is so easy to "accidentally" neglect them, ie not provide the right housing, lighting, nutrients, etc. I'm in the veterinary industry, and I've seen so many cases of people meaning well with non-domestic animals, but unintentionally doing serious harm. I read the "Toad Basics" article, and having had fish I have a tank to allocate to the little guy and I'm totally ready to do my best for him, but I'm absolutely terrified of doing more harm than good in this situation and want to be sure I'm doing the right thing here.

So, with no rear leg, release back into the wild is a no-go for this guy, correct? Do they even do OK in captivity with this kind of malformation, or am I dooming him to a pathetic life of chasing crickets in circles while slowly starving to death? I intend to contact some people I know that keep reptiles to see if they have an interest in amphibians or handicapped wildlife to try and find him someone better equipped than I for his best possible shot at life. Otherwise... I suppose I may become a staple here

[kueluck]

One of two things. Create a set-up for the little bufo and keep it, or someone else to keep it. OR euthanize it using OraJel. Taking on a special needs amphibian can be a chore.

[Kathryn Dorn]

...everyone is completely free to disagree with me, and, yes, caring for this toad will be a lot of work, but if the toad is willing to eat and seems to be trying to stay alive, I'd recommend keeping him/her (or finding another caretaker)... I had a wild-caught Cuban Tree Frog (captured by a middle-school classmate of mine) with a more-or-less paralyzed back leg. That's obviously a very different situation than a missing back leg, but Kermit figured out how to be very mobile and could hunt down live crickets and worms more efficiently than any of my fire-bellied toads. Um - you've probably already thought of this, but can you tell how recently the toad lost its leg? If it's a very recent wound, it probably needs a topical amphibian-safe antibiotic more urgently than almost anything else (aside from water).
Good luck to you and the toad!

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! So we got a toadlet born without or lost a leg and the little conniving one figures out the only way to survive is with human help. Might as well hop around this tire and oops... adopted finally. First thing to do is read this article: Frog Forum - Toad Basics - Keeping ground-dwelling Toads. A care sheet for Bufo, Anaxyrus, Spea, Scaphiopus, Ollotis, Alytes, Pelobates. For the time being, a plastic shoe box with holed up top will do fine. Use damp (dechlorinated tap) unprinted paper towels as substrate, a little water dish filled with dechlorinated tap to toad's chin depth, and some silk plant for security.

Depending on toads size (?) you will feed him insects sized same as distance between toads eyes. If really tiny can use wingless fruit flies or if bigger crickets (gut loaded with carrots, lettuce, and cherios 24-48 hours before feeding toad). You want to remove any uneaten crickets in the morning (if feeding at night) so they don't pester the toad. As soon as toad is eating can start using supplements: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html.

Eventually you will need a bigger home; watch for the Petco $1 a gallon sale and can grab a 20L tank for him. Add a screen top and you are done. Use shredded coco for substrate (mixed with dechlorinated tap); a piece of cork bark can make a nice cave, and don't forget a bigger water dish cleaned daily.

Hope you enjoy caring for the little guy and good luck ! Aren't those new Z28s horribly expensive; but so sweet !

[UncleChester]

This may sound heartless, but I wouldn't feel bad about setting it free if you aren't willing or able to commit to caring for it for the rest of it's life and you can't find anyone else who is. It will most likely end up eaten by something, but that's the fate of most little toads you'll find, healthy or otherwise. It's sort of their job to get eaten even though we might not like to think about it.

(This isn't to say I'm not a sucker for a cute disabled animal, I did take in and care for a tree frog that didn't develop properly and had a gimped front leg. It learned to cope quite well.)

[NCCamarogirl]

Hey all.

Thanks for the input. I got my 10 gal set up with an organic peat moss bottom, some leaf litter and a little plate of water. When I first put him in, he was looking pretty rough, almost shriveled - hadn't been eating any of the bugs I had put into his temporary tupperware container, probably pretty stressed I reckon - I wasn't sure he was going to make it through the night. Nobody in the county seems to have fruit flies, small enough crickets or mealworms to even attempt feeding, but the leaf litter I picked up had some tiny crickets and I've been catching a decent number of pill bugs small enough for him. He is looking SO much better over just a couple days, and I think we can both handle captivity now! I've got some fruit flies in the mail, along with a proper hide and some vitamin/calcium dusting powders. He's got the rest of the family (and cats) fascinated now, so he is officially part of the family Working on a name now.. I am notoriously bad at names.

I just moved, and my first project was going to be starting a vermicompost colony in the basement, which will make for some tasty treats when he gets older... but I may put it off a bit to start a little pill bug colony! Thanks again everyone, I hope to have some pictures up soon (finding my 10 gal tank was a 2 hour digging spree through the storage unit, who knows where my camera is...), and I've been learning a ton by digging through old posts.