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Thread: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

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    Default Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here,

    I have raised two toads from their tadpole stages from a creek. They're each 8 months old, and I have been feeding them mealworms ever since (fruit flies when they were much younger). One of my toads named Poliwag has been acting very sluggish in the past week or so. She is not moving her hind legs very much at all and acts very slowly, falling over every once in a while when she tries to eat mealworms off of the ground. It usually takes her about 15 licks to even lick a mealworm, so I'm not sure if she has mental issues as well.

    Poliwag also has a strange webbing on her leg we have not seen before. I have attached an image below.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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    100+ Post Member Larry Wardog's Avatar
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    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    This looks like shed skin. If you soak the toad in warm like room temperature water (reverse osmosis) you can see if it will come off. If after around 10-15 minutes it doesn't you could gently try to remove it.

    This looks like a Fowler's Toad?

    Sent from my BKL-L04 using Tapatalk

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    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    Hi muffetbane, the symptoms you describe sound like it may be Metabolic Bone Disease or MBD. Here's a link to a PDF of an article you should read asap and consider examination by a veterinarian for an authoritative medical diagnosis and treatment. https://lafeber.com/vet/wp-content/u...BD-Handout.pdf It's most common in Reptiles and Birds but it is a not-uncommon malady in amphibians as well. Also looking at your photo, it appears that your little Poliwag is very slightly structurally malformed which is also an indicator of MBD as they get to be about this age. Poliwag has the markings of an Anaxyrus americanus americanus/Anaxyrus americanus fowleri Hybrid. These naturally occurring hybridizations can also bring greater risks of MBD and other maladies, but they are treatable and if treated soon enough the afflicted individuals can still have a long happy life as a pet. I'd appreciate it if you'd PM me with any updates on Poliwag's condition and progress.
    KP

    PS: On the skin issue, it is shedding in progress but the possibility of MBD if it is present will make shedding very difficult for Poliwag which is why it seems like it's taking a long time and not working very well.

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    100+ Post Member Larry Wardog's Avatar
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    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    What is the setup and temperature and humidity of the toads?

    Sent from my BKL-L04 using Tapatalk

  6. #5

    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    Quote Originally Posted by KP View Post
    Hi muffetbane, the symptoms you describe sound like it may be Metabolic Bone Disease or MBD. Here's a link to a PDF of an article you should read asap and consider examination by a veterinarian for an authoritative medical diagnosis and treatment. https://lafeber.com/vet/wp-content/u...BD-Handout.pdf It's most common in Reptiles and Birds but it is a not-uncommon malady in amphibians as well. Also looking at your photo, it appears that your little Poliwag is very slightly structurally malformed which is also an indicator of MBD as they get to be about this age. Poliwag has the markings of an Anaxyrus americanus americanus/Anaxyrus americanus fowleri Hybrid. These naturally occurring hybridizations can also bring greater risks of MBD and other maladies, but they are treatable and if treated soon enough the afflicted individuals can still have a long happy life as a pet. I'd appreciate it if you'd PM me with any updates on Poliwag's condition and progress.
    KP

    PS: On the skin issue, it is shedding in progress but the possibility of MBD if it is present will make shedding very difficult for Poliwag which is why it seems like it's taking a long time and not working very well.
    Thank you so much for all the information. We have started using calcium powder on their food (although, they don't seem to like the taste) and have also tried to expose them to some sunlight (though it's harder here now that we are in winter).

    The skin shed off, so that's no longer an issue. But Poliwag (we think she's a female) has always had some difficulty in moving around, especially her hind legs. Our other toad, Kermit (we think he's a male as he recently tried to mate with Poliwag) seems to be doing much better. They were both tadpoles captured in the same marsh, but perhaps Kermit is not a hybrid.

  7. #6

    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Wardog View Post
    What is the setup and temperature and humidity of the toads?

    Sent from my BKL-L04 using Tapatalk
    We try to keep temperature around 75 and humidity around 50 percent.

  8. #7

    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    I know this is realy late haha but you can use a uvb light instead of dusting all meals. My amphibians dont eat any dusted food so i have to dust the feeders food. Anyway a standard uvb light will provide them with a healthy amount

  9. #8

    Default Re: Toad has weird webby-skin on leg, acting sluggish!

    Mealworms don't have the nutrition toads need. I only give them to mine occasionally and even then I'm wary of it. I've has bad experiences with mealworms.

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