Cane toad ate a piece of wood...

[spacewerewolf]

Ugh I seem to have the worst luck.

I've been keeping my 7 - 7 1/2" cane toad on a mixture of cypress mulch and topsoil because that was one substrate I'd seen recommended often. To try to be safe, I only feed him off tongs or from a bowl, but tonight a roach managed to climb out from the bowl while I was holding it and fell on the ground. Before I could grab it, the toad lunged and grabbed not just the roach but also a big chunk of wood which he proceeded to swallow. I didn't get a great look at it but I'd say it was most likely 1-2 inches long, and pretty thick looking. The end I saw at least did not have any sharp edges, but I don't know about the other end. When I poke him in the belly I can feel it floating around in there on his left side.

So now I'm wondering if I should go ahead and book a vet appointment immediately, or should I wait for a few days to see if anything happens on its own? The wood piece was large enough that I'd be surprised if he were able to safely pass it through on his own, unless it's able to break down some in his stomach, but then again I have no experience with this sort of thing so who knows? I'm so frustrated with myself right now, like I should've seen something like this coming. Obviously the substrate is going to have to be switched out with something safer, if he's able to make it

[daybr4ke]

Hi! I hope I can help. First off, I would recommend switching to coco fiber substrate or just plain dirt-anything with large chunks is an impaction risk. You can try a soak in warm water with a little honey mixed in, and I think I remember another possible fix. The warm water and honey usually helps and encourages them to deficate. If he/she is a full-size adult toad it may be passable, depending on size/shape of the wood, but 1-2 inches is pretty sizeable. That vet visit may be a necessity. I don't know, as I've never had to deal with impaction personally, but have read about it quite a bit. Good luck, I hope your Cane Toad comes out okay, and I hope someone with personal experience gets on with more advice.
Edit: re-read. At around 7 inches, it's a pretty fair sized toad. My African bullfrog is around 5 and it leaves pops around and inch or so in width. It's not the same species, but depending on the width/thickness and how it passes it may go through. I'd advise you find a vet with reptile/exotic experience if you haven't already either way. I'm going to look for more into and check some stuff. I'll add more later if I find anything useful.
Edit: Found more detailed soak instructions:

1. Draw a warm bath (no deeper than your poor impacted froggies chin) and put a few drops of honey in the water. Let him soak for 20mins.

2. Then Draw him a warm bath without the sweet honey and gently massage his sides to help loosen his blockage up.
(Thanks to DigitalPunk, I copied it from one of his posts.)
Should help if you decide to try this. I don't know if it will do any good immediately after ingestion, you may have to wait a few days for him/her to be ready to poo. I wish I knew more, but hopefully someone with more experience can help more. Again, good luck.