Help, badly broken leg on frog! (with pictures)

[Larry Wardog]

I would not cut the leg off just yet I would allow the leg to dry up even though that sounds risky I would just give the leg some time. You have an American bullfrog and a 20 gallon long is more than enough for an injured frog. The temperature should be cooler the temperature you have it at now is good and because these frogs live in water the humidity is not something to necessarily worry about. You just have to keep the Frog really moist remember it's a pond frog. The frog would probably benefit from a UVB light 10 to 12 hours a day. I hope you're planning on keeping this frog because if you release it it will probably become prey for something.

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[Torqued Teeth]

Thank you so much for the help! And yes, if all goes well I'll be keeping this frog. I'm just reading up on bullfrog care now.

and it looks like he'll be spending the night in his water area (he's able to submerge or leave as he pleases)

[Torqued Teeth]

The frog is still alive and responsive this morning. Going by the tympanum size, I'm guessing female. I'm going to get a UVB light and a heating pad later today.

I'm actually getting a little excited looking at bullfrog care - I love aquascaping, but my turtle will eat everything I give her (including moss balls). Once the frog is well again, I plan on giving her a good home with plenty of safe plants and hiding spots. For now I'm keeping it simple and easy to monitor/clean.

[Larry Wardog]

The frog is still alive and responsive this morning. Going by the tympanum size, I'm guessing female. I'm going to get a UVB light and a heating pad later today.

I'm actually getting a little excited looking at bullfrog care - I love aquascaping, but my turtle will eat everything I give her (including moss balls). Once the frog is well again, I plan on giving her a good home with plenty of safe plants and hiding spots. For now I'm keeping it simple and easy to monitor/clean.

That is a great idea to keep it simple right now. If the leg should somehow recover or if the Frog seems to be swimming incredibly well you might need to upgrade to a 40 gallon at some point only if the Frog can maneuver in and out of water. usually the care for a bullfrog requires a 75 gallon or larger but because it's an injured frog kind of have a benefit because you won't need as large of a tank to accommodate the injured frog. They like it a little bit cooler then room temperature so somewhere in the low 70s and upper 60s is great. aquascaping could be a lot of fun for the Frog. You even could breed small mosquito fish in the water and then feed it to the Frog. They are a lot of fun to handle keep giving us updates and hopefully the leg recovers. I also wanted you to know that female bullfrogs can get massive so don't be surprised to see the Frog grow rapidly.

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[Torqued Teeth]

I called the vet and he agreed to see her this morning. He trimmed away the exposed muscle and cartilage, cauterized the wound, and gave her some glucose because she's not eating. I now have instructions on how to maintain circulation in the leg. He doesn't think she could take the shock of losing it.

My vet was amazing as always, but the receptionist gave me some serious **** for bringing in "a FROG? An outside frog? A frog from OUTSIDE?" I think she would have kicked me out if I hadn't called ahead and gotten the vet's permission to come in.

[Hart24601]

Good for you for being so kind. I hope she recovers well, and you're my hero of the day. World could use more people like this.

[Torqued Teeth]

Update on frog, now named Kumatora. There's been no bleeding from her leg for the past few days, and she's been increasingly active, so I added some bedding (wet coconut stuff) and a larger water tray to maintain humidity and allow easier access to the water.


I may add some plants (real or fake) for cover and something to stick to the glass walls so she knows she can't go through, but for now she's exploring. Kuma checked out the flowerpot, then the water, and now she's walking the border of the tank. I'm a bit worried she'll twist up her leg again, but she seems so much less stressed now than when she was cowering in her little cave all day. I'll pick up some mealworms on my way back from work and see if she likes those more than the crickets. (although there were a couple missing when I went to redo the tank. Hopefully they were eaten since I don't think they can get out).



The swelling and discoloration on the leg have gone down (although it does swell up again when it gets twisted), and I'm hoping that extra skin there is just normal shedding. She's not out of the woods yet, but she seems to be improving. I've just got to hope that there's enough structure left inside the leg for it to recover. She can fold the leg up to her body, but I don't think I've seen her extend it yet. It mostly just drags.