Sick toad!

[Jace]

Hey everyone. One of my fire bellied toads has suddenly popped up from a plant looking very skinny and with a slightly enlarged, milky right eye. She likes to hang in one of the live plants in the vivarium and I have seen her hunting from in there, so I assumed she was eating and doing generally okay. However, tonight, she is definately NOT okay. She has always been small and skinnier than my other toads (even with hand feeding), but she is way too thin. I have separated her from the others and dumped a few crickets in with her. She has trouble striking as I think her depth perception is off. Attached is a couple of pictures of the eye. Does anyone know what might be the problem and how to treat it? And how can I fatten her up quickly? I am almost 100% sure there are no vets in the immediate area who would be willing to treat an animal this small.

Thanks for any help!!

[John]

I think you've taken the best measures you can so far. Her eye is definitely infected. I would recommend a triple antibiotic eye ointment but you will have to get it from a vet, I believe. You may be surprised how accommodating vets can be when they smell $$$.

[Jace]

Thanks John. I will phone my vet in the morning-they've been dealing with my dogs and cats over the last few years, so I will see what they can do. The good sign is that she is still hunting and obviously wants to eat. I feel really bad that she is so skinny and I never noticed. Maybe I will get some butterworms for her-they have a fairly high fat content I think.

[Herpvet]

Hey everyone. One of my fire bellied toads has suddenly popped up from a plant looking very skinny and with a slightly enlarged, milky right eye. She likes to hang in one of the live plants in the vivarium and I have seen her hunting from in there, so I assumed she was eating and doing generally okay. However, tonight, she is definately NOT okay. She has always been small and skinnier than my other toads (even with hand feeding), but she is way too thin. I have separated her from the others and dumped a few crickets in with her. She has trouble striking as I think her depth perception is off. Attached is a couple of pictures of the eye. Does anyone know what might be the problem and how to treat it? And how can I fatten her up quickly? I am almost 100% sure there are no vets in the immediate area who would be willing to treat an animal this small.

Thanks for any help!!

Hi,

As already mentioned, getting her to a vet would be the first step, who should be able to contact a more experienced colleague if necessary. Just to add that given her lack of weight, getting a faeces sample check for internal parasites would be the first investigative step I would consider, so if at all possible I would try to collect one and submit it to the vet.

Hope you can get her sorted out.

Best wishes,

Bruce.

[Kurt]

I would just like to ad, that the sample should be no more than 24 hours old and not be taken from water.

[Jace]

Thanks Bruce and Kurt. I will try and collect a sample. She is remarkably active for her condition and not really liking the fact that she can't be in her plant, but at least I got her to eat some crickets and soak in a water dish. Progress is progress, right?

[Kurt]

Yes, progress is progress.