Badly wounded toad found - see pics - what to do?

[Bagorrence]

Hello frogfriends,

3 days ago I found this badly injured toad in our garden. As you can see, something sliced off a pretty big chunk of the top of his head. The red arrows point to pieces of bone coming out of the wound.


I put the poor little fellow in a cardbord-box inside the house, covering the top lightly, put some leaves and worms and a shallow water-bowl in it. Under half the box I put a heatingmat set to low. 2 times a day I dry his wound with a make-up-remover-pad, followed by softly patting it with a desinfectant-moistened pad; since yesterday I leave it sitting there, it somehow protects the open wound better, I think...


I do not have much hope that he will make it, given the amount of damage done and my helpless efforts to keep him safe and alive. I cannot bring him to a veterinary as I live in a rather remote rural area.


He does not eat. I have a rainworm dangling in front of his mouth, yet he does not grab it...


I don't want to kill him if there's a chance he can survive - which I doubt; I simply cannot image how this can heal on its own -, but as I'm a layperson, I cannot evaluate the situation properly.


Please give some advice. Is there hope? If not, how can I release him in the most humanely way?


Thank you very much,
Michael, Austria

I've been reading a lot about injuries myself due to my cat attacking my frog. From the sounds of it you are doing exactly what you should. Try not to touch it with bare hands to prevent giving it a bacteria infection. Also try leaving the food in there for it since it was wild it probably isn't comfortable hand feeding. If it has made it 3 days already I have hope for it. Amphibians can survive some pretty brutal injuries if taken care of.

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[JButera]

Your pretty much doing everything you can do. Just keep him clean and comfortable with as little stress as possible. If he makes no attempt to get into his water bowl (or can't) then I suggest you putting him in for a few minutes a day. Releasing him now might cause the wound to become infected. There's definitely hope for him, I'm sure many toads have survived similar or worse situations. btw I'm thinking a lawn mower ran over him.