Woodhouse Toad Health Problem?

[buglady92]

In July 2016 I caught a Woodhouse toad at Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. She was only about an inch long in total, so just a little squirt of a toad. The only reason that I found her was because I saw a swarm of wasps in the grass. I shooed them away and picked the poor toad up. There was a chunk bitten out of her left thigh, but no other visible damage. She was very disoriented and couldn't walk around very well. I took her home, called the vet that go to, and they said that putting some silvadene cream on the would would be fine. She recovered very quickly from the wasp bite, but continued to be a little loopy. I had a 10 gallon glass terrarium with a mesh lid. I went back to the park and got several gallon bags full of the soft loamy sand/soil mixture that was near other toad burrows. The soil has always been about 4-5 inches deep with a heating pad at one corner of the bottom tank. I set the tank up with a flukers "Groovy Jacuzzi" water bowl (so the water bowl was level with the surface) and a log hide. I put 2 drops of liquid calcium and one drop of liquid multivitamin in the water bowl so she can soak those in when he is in the water. I fed her crickets from a pet store (small sized) and she was doing fine. However, she has never had a healthy appetite and I have tried every food item for her. I have tried pill bugs, crickets, local crickets, houseflies, wax worms, small grasshoppers, mealworms, red wiggler worms, beetle larva, ants, small hornworms, small dubia roaches, black soldier fly larva... It seems like I've tried every local insect and pet store feeder. Her weight has always constantly fluctuated, she will burrow for several weeks and come back up skinny, but will fill out after a day being above ground. She has only grown a half inch since I've had her, and it is now November 2017. Back in June 2017 I got her a 20 gallon, filled it with the same sand substrate from her natural habitat, gave her a larger and more private hide, and got a bigger pond hoping that it would encourage her growth. I have a 5.0 watt uvb zoo med bulb, and a 25 watt heat bulb that is on day and night. It keeps her tank at about 66 degrees Fahrenheit all day long. Any hotter and she burrows for a week solid. I have had her prey items live in the cage with her (free roaming mealworms and sow bugs mostly) but I haven't seen her eat in several months. She is obviously eating something while I'm not looking otherwise she would be dead by now. She has shed several times since I've gotten her, but her weight never stays at a constant for them to be considered normal. I have been keeping track of a small toad colony over this summer, and the babies from this year are already palm sized just from a few months of growing. My toad Tansy is 2 years old and still close to the size that I found her in. I am worried that I am doing something wrong, and I am harming her instead of helping her and keeping her happy. I know she would die instantly if I put her back in the wild. I don't want to do that... She is acting very lethargic this last week and her color has dulled. I also think that she did an incomplete shed this time around, but she is losing the strength to do much of anything. Last winter she just burrowed pretty much the entire time. This year she is just huddling by a corner wit her eyes squinted shut. I am worried that she will be gone in another week or so if this continues I am at a loss of what to do, and I already contacted an exotic vet and they said I was S.O.L with a wild caught toad. So no help there... I will answer any questions, if it helps getting answers to get her better... (Top photo was when I rescued her, bottom picture is her currently)

[daybr4ke]

Hi, hopefully I can help A little. That is a very tiny toad. I caught 2 Woodhouse's toads as adults, so I know how big they can get. It is very odd that your toad has stayed almost the same size you found it after 2 years.
There are a few things I can think of to start. Other members may have some more ideas. You may want to perform a parasite test, and you may want to try a powder to dust on their food over the liquid for soaking. The weight fluctuation is worrying, though. It is possible if it's gotten to about 2 inches it may simply be a small male, but you'd probably hear croaking if that were the case.
These other suggestions aren't related to the Toad's size, but should be helpful nonetheless.
The substrate looks to to be quite sandy. As comfortable as the toad looks, sand is an impaction risk if accidentally eaten, so I would recommend switching to coco fiber or something similar, kept slightly moist. The substrate should be switched every couple weeks or so.
I would also recommend not letting most of the feeders live in the tank(the exception being pillbugs/sowbugs).
Good luck, I hope this helps.

[buglady92]

Hi, and thank you for responding to my post!
I tried using the coconut fiber from a pet store, and no matter how moist I kept it when I first brought Tansy home, she always managed to get little fibers caught in her mouth when she would catch something to eat. I ended up just staying with native soil from the area that I know other woodhouse toads dwell. She has never swallowed the native stuff that I have seen. It does get in her eyes a bit after she has been in her water bowl.
I still assume Tansy is a girl toad, since her belly has mostly stayed white. Her throat and lower belly has darkened a little bit, but not the bluish/purple tint that is usually associated with males. The only time I have heard any noise from Tansy is if you hold her by her sides for too long. She will make a shuddering chirp. Not the weird "waaah" sound that the boys make.
I just wish she was more food motivated... I have rarely seen her eat in several months at least. I don't know if it is safe to try and force feed her... I have recently dumped all the old sand out and refreshed it with new sand collected from the park. I've also given her another (smaller) water bowl in addition to her large pond to see if that makes her a bit happier. I don't know. She is burrowed again, and I don't like to dig her up all the time to check on her. I do hope that she is just acting more lethargic because winter is coming...

[daybr4ke]

Hi! I have two adult female Woodhouse's as I mentioned before. They're around 3.5-4 inches, so if Tansy is a female she's quite small, but there are always regional differences and stuff(I currently suspect my toads are on the larger end of the spectrum, mine were caught in Las Vegas.). Both my toads are pretty much ready to eat ANY time, as much as possible. The low enthusiasm for food is worrying, but something many frogs struggle with.
The weight fluctuations and lackluster appetite are worrying, but often go hand-in-hand. Do they poop regularly? Also, what temperature do you keep them at?
The toad may have parasites, which they can be treated for. You can also try taking unflavored Pedialyte and mixing it about one part Pedialyte to 9 parts treated water
This relenishes the frog/Toad's electrolytes and stimulate appetite, but may not do anything depending on the cause of the problems. They should be soaked in the Pedialyte solution for 20 minutes to an hour.
I'll do some more reading and see if I can think of anything else. Again, good luck!
Edit: The reason most people suggest coco fiber is that when swallowed it will simply be passed through. If it gets eaten, it is fine. If a frog accidentally eats some sand , it can cause impaction. Even if you never see it happen, its a possibility.

[buglady92]

Thank you, I will try the Pedialyte soak. I hope that it brings her appetite up...
Her tank temperature stays at a steady 65 degrees. Any hotter and she burrows.

[daybr4ke]

That's slightly on the chilly end, but within tolerable levels. Burrowing is a natural behavior for toads, like pacman frogs but to a lesser degree. My own Woodhouse's burrow and unbury themselves quite often, sometimes spending quite a while staring at me with their heads barely popping out of the dirt. I usually check their enclosure if they don't burrow for a while, actually, in case the dirt is too dry or it is too hot or cold, but mine usually burrow at lower temperatures anyway. Pedialyte is an option, but I would try to line up a fecal exam with a vet. Since its a fecal exam, you can ship around to a cheaper or more experienced vet such as Dr. Frye. Parasitic infection can cause weight fluctions and lack of energy, and wild frogs and toads usually have at least a minor amount of parasites, likely more. Good luck!