Emergency! Sick American Toad... IDK what’s wrong!

[Larry Wardog]

Responding to the comment above it seems to be more natural then you think. The toads will go into a state of dormancy roughly around a month to four months possibly being the longest. this is not brumation because the temperature and conditions do not get down low enough but the toads internal clock tells it to begin slowing down. So the toad responds to the time of the year and it sleeps.

I have heard many keepers of the species talk about this, and I also have a toad in my care who has done this every year for the past 4 years and he is still with us. If you let the toad alone meaning you do not touch the toad and you allow it to rest then it should be fine. you can still missed the enclosure and give freshwater as you normally would in case the toad wakes up and needs to hydrate. If you need more information on this part I can help you. I'm using my voice command on my phone so I apologize if this sounds long-winded.

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[ToadilyNuts4Nature]

Thank you everyone for your input!! My toads have slowed down a lot since entering the cold season and their appetite had decreased but with some of the milder weather we’ve been having in NE PA, they seem to sense it and have increased their activity slightly. It was a bit frustrating at first because I was spending so much time in making sure that they were eating… I would spend an hour and a half each evening feeding them and then watched them slowly lose interest as they began to somewhat hibernate. I had finally reached the point where I placed a shallow dish with wax worms and mealies in their tank, which they eventually discovered and begin feeding from, but I did not know what or how often each one of them were eating. So, at least every other day I made sure to personally feed & watch each of them eat. If they refused to eat after 20 minutes, I knew they weren’t hungry or already fed from the dish. With that said... I have grim news!
Lastnight I had gone out to dinner for a couple hours with my family and when I returned home, I found that Chanchu had died! As a desperate attempt to revive him, I soaked him in warm water and begin chest compressions, which did not work. Funny as that may sound, I have been able to resuscitate other creatures before, however not successfully in this case! After taking some time to figure out what the problem might have been, and to also protect and prevent the same thing from happening to my remaining 3 toads, I had to make an unconventional decision. Some may not agree or understand, but I decided to perform an autopsy/dissection. After I had pulled myself together, said a prayer and completed the autopsy, I came to the following conclusion based on the findings.

All internal organs appeared normal and healthy, with the exception of a large amount of substrate found in the lower intestine, which resulted in an impaction, even though I was not able to feel it upon my initial palpations the night before. I was also able to determine that Chanchu was in fact a male, as I was able to identify the testes. The stomach contents revealed the earthworms that I had force-fed him the night before. There was a good amount of fat distributed throughout his body, as he had always been a healthy eater and was not anorexic. The contents of the impaction seemed to be almost entirely made up of substrate material, which I use Zilla Jungle Mix. There was no trace of chitlin or other insect remains. So I was left wondering how he could have ingested so much substrate? I began to think about the slugs and the roly-polies that are in the tank. Chanchu loved to eat roly-polies, which die if they are left in the feeding dish, so they just roam around. Since isopods have 7 sets of legs, they quickly attach to materials, in this case the substrate, as their predators make contact. In the case of toads… As they strike with their sticky tongue, they not only grab the roly-polies but they also grab whatever the roly-polies are attached to. The slugs, having sticky and slimy mucus covered bodies, will also have pieces of substrate stuck to them as well. So if he was feeding on the slugs, I can assume he was also ingesting substrate in that manner.


During the moments after, and continuing into today, my mind has been going down many rabbit holes of what ifs, which I have to tell myself to stop! I had spent an incredible amount of time researching what I needed to know about caring for toads, which included educating myself about their food staples and how to maintain & breed those species, as well! I learned a lot by browsing this forum, so I must thank you all for posting so much detail!! I learned about impaction and all the symptoms make sense, especially the splayed back legs as an impaction can press against the spinal cord causing motor impairment/paralysis. However, I was still not able to feel it, so I didn’t treat it and I am feeling a great deal of regret! I am removing the remaining slugs but considering on leaving the roly polies, as there are only a few that I can see and they are helping to maintain the tank. I can only learn from this experience and be prepared should this happen again! I am always learning but hate when it is at the expense of a creature losing it’s life! I’ll never take that lightly! Most of my family & friends think I’m crazy but I just see things from a different perspective!


Ps... I handled the autopsy scientifically/inquisitively, treated Chanchu with dignity & respect, and broke down hard afterwards! His remains will be cremated and ashes spread in the garden he was meant to roam!!