People who pray for animals...

[MercyA]

Please pray for a toad DD accidentally injured tonight. There was a lot of blood loss and his leg appears broken. 😞 We have him in a clean, quiet habitat and I will provide him with live food. He seems fairly lively and I know toads are resilient. Please pray that we can nurse him back to health. 

Thank you!

[mommyoffive]

Poor little toad.  I am glad that you are able to take care of it.  I hope he does well. 

Sending some hugs to your dd too. 

[Catwoman]

Praying for the little toad! Also praying for your dd because I’m sure she feels awful about this, even though I’m sure it was an accident. 😞 

[fraidycat]

Aw, poor toad and DD. I hope the toad gets better ASAP, and that your DD doesn't feel too bad about the accident.

[TexasProud]

This makes me smile (to see some people still have such tender hearts) and pray. 

Last night when we were feeding the catfish at the ponds, tons of frogs/toads were jumping in as we approached.

Edited to say since this reads a little strange: Sorry for the toad and your sweet daughter. It just makes my heart happy to see that not everyone has lost their compassion.  

Edited September 16, 2021 by TexasProud

[ktgrok]

Oh, poor DD and poor toad. Praying. 

 

[TheReader]

Awww, poor little toad. I'll say a prayer for him and your DD. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

How is everyone this morning? Did the toad make it through the night?

 

[MercyA]

Toad seems to be doing well this morning. He was in his "pond" soaking for a bit and now is sitting on a leaf. I caught a tiny moth and put in his enclosure last night. 

DD is doing okay. She knows it was a complete accident and not her fault. She loves all animals so it was a hard thing to happen. At first she thought she had killed him so I'm very glad we checked! 

Thank you for your prayers and good wishes!

Edited September 16, 2021 by MercyA

[MercyA]

[Innisfree]

Poor Toadie and poor dd. Hope he continues to recuperate well.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Great update.

I'm glad the toad is doing well.  I empathize with your daughter.

[Dmmetler]

You may want to drop by a bait shop or pet store and pick up some crickets (a bait shop will be cheaper). It takes a LOT of insects to fill up a toad, and he'll need the energy to recover. 

[MercyA]

14 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

You may want to drop by a bait shop or pet store and pick up some crickets (a bait shop will be cheaper). It takes a LOT of insects to fill up a toad, and he'll need the energy to recover. 

Thank you so much! I was hoping you might chime in. 🙂

He is smaller than he looks in the picture. He's only about an inch and a half long. Last time I bought crickets for a toad it was difficult to find crickets that were small enough, and that toad was bigger than this one. I tried the local bait shop and the pet shop and all the crickets were pretty large. Is there anything smaller I could buy to feed him?

[Jenny in Florida]

Thank you so much for caring for the little guy. I'm thinking of you, the toad and your daughter.

[Dmmetler]

12 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Thank you so much! I was hoping you might chime in. 🙂

He is smaller than he looks in the picture. He's only about an inch and a half long. Last time I bought crickets for a toad it was difficult to find crickets that were small enough, and that toad was bigger than this one. I tried the local bait shop and the pet shop and all the crickets were pretty large. Is there anything smaller I could buy to feed him?

Pet shops usually have smaller crickets than bait shops. Frogs/toads can eat anything that fits into their mouth, so they can handle bigger insects than you might think. 

Small mealworms are another option. 

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

Pet shops usually have smaller crickets than bait shops. Frogs/toads can eat anything that fits into their mouth, so they can handle bigger insects than you might think. 

Small mealworms are another option. 

We will stop at a pet store today and get some small crickets (and cricket food), softer substrate, and a larger enclosure. Thank you! 

Edited September 16, 2021 by MercyA

[Catwoman]

I’m so glad he seems to be doing better! He is ADORABLE!!!

[Innisfree]

2 hours ago, MercyA said:

Is there anything smaller

I don't know if this might be helpful or not. We've had some tiny toad experience, years ago, and relied heavily on home-grown bugs. If you have a compost pile, you can probably dig around gently in the lower levels and the soil at the base and find any number of small earthworms and other bugs... pill bugs, black soldier fly larvae, earwigs, and so on. Even establishing a compost pile for the purpose might produce fairly quick results, if you think the toad might be with you for a few weeks. It's not a neat or tidy way to get toad food, but I hoped it provided some nutritional variety. We used crickets as well, and mealworms, and so on from the pet store.

Eta I just remembered that when our toadlet was very tiny I just brought in little scoops of compost, which were swarming with tiny bugs. Toad found them very successfully all on her(?) own, so I didn't have to worry about picking up individual bugs, just scooping up a bit of compost.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Innisfree

[CindyH in NC]

Not feeling well, so here are my thoughts.  Hope something helps. 

Josh's Frogs website has been helpful for me with my tiny frogs.  They sell tiny crickets - like 1/4 inch.  They are very helpful and have a chat function on the site to ask questions.  

You and your dd are so very kind.  Thank you so much for caring for the little toad.    

If his leg is broken, an animal rehab may be able to help.  My dd's observed a surgery on a frog years ago when we were volunteering at the NC zoo's native animal rescue.  This frog in particular had been accidentally stepped on by a zoo visitor. 

My similar story from yesterday - A bluelined skink got into our catio yesterday and as I was making the cats come inside one of the cats grabbed it up and I was able to pry open jaws so the skink could escape.  He had disappeared the way he came by the time I had secured the cat.  I looked for the skink several times, but I am hoping he is okay.  I had a container ready to put him in if I could catch him.  We are kindred spirits.  

[MercyA]

Happy update today: we moved the toad to a bigger enclosure with soft ground coconut fiber bedding. He immediately dug himself a comfy little burrow and settled in. We gave him five crickets (I read juveniles should have 3-6 a day) and he immediately snapped up two of them. He is also poo-ing. 🙂 

DD was very concerned about the comfort of the crickets. We moved them to the smaller enclosure, lined it with paper towel, added an egg carton hiding spot, and gave them some hydration / nutrition cubes. They are 3/8" and seem to be a good size for the toad.

Thank you for all your great advice, prayers, and good thoughts. I will keep you updated. 

[MercyA]

Another update. I only see one of five crickets left in the enclosure. The fifth cricket walked right by Mamu's nose and he didn't go for it, so I'm guessing he is full.

Mamu is a frog in The Legend of Zelda. 🙂 

[MercyA]

Mamu is doing well. He is more reactive to me (startles and moves away) whereas before he just sat there when I checked on him, poor thing. He is covered in coconut fiber this morning so I'm guessing he had a nice bath in the night and then dug a burrow. 🙂

[sheryl]

So glad he's doing better!  Said a little prayer for your little toad!  

[Spryte]

Thank you for taking such good care of him!

[TheReader]

Just catching up on all the updates; so glad Mamu is doing well! 

[MercyA]

Mamu is hanging in there! Still more alert than yesterday. Mostly just hanging out in his little burrow but changes positions once in a while. He did not want to eat any crickets tonight, but we are not too worried about that. I read that adult toads in captivity should be fed every 2 to 3 days, but I thought we'd try it just in case he was hungry.

Thank you for your continued prayers! ❤️🐸

Edited September 18, 2021 by MercyA

[Spryte]

Just checking in again. Glad to hear Mamu is alert. 

[MercyA]

Daily Mamu update! He ate two crickets so far tonight and I left a few more for him. He was hopping some today! He is no longer breathing rapidly like he was the first night. It looks like he was in his pond last night.  

His injured back leg looks swollen, poor babe, but he definitely improving otherwise. 

ETA: Just went out and checked on him (DH insists he stay in the garage right now; temperatures are fine for that) and he was soaking in his pond. 🙂 

Edited September 19, 2021 by MercyA

[MercyA]

Mamu is doing great. Alert, hopping, ate three crickets yesterday, poo'ed today. 🙂 

Toad and animal experts (@Dmmetler, @Innisfree, @CindyH in NC, @ktgrok, anyone else I missed), can I pick your brain about a couple things?

1. I bought 40 crickets and have been cleaning out about five or six dead ones daily. 😞 I feel badly about that. They have a hiding spot, a ventilated exclosure, and Fluker's Orange Cubes cricket food (combined food/water/vitamins). Is there something else I need to be doing to keep them alive? Is this typical or some poor husbandry on my part?

2. I don't think Mamu's foot is going to heal. It's hangs behind him; it doesn't "fold up" like it should. His leg had a lot of the skin taken off when DD stepped on him. But, he seems to still get around pretty quickly. What is going to be best for him in the long run? Releasing when he is a bit better? Keeping him as permanent guest? I gather that around here, if he is not kept in captivity, he will be looking to hibernate (I know that's not the right word...) in about a month or two. I am torn because I want him to have his happiest and best life, but I worry he will be easy prey with a non-functional foot. We do have animals that prey on frogs here. We love the toads and frogs in our basement window wills, and one year something got in and just slaughtered all of them. 😞 

All thoughts very much appreciated!

Edited September 19, 2021 by MercyA

[Innisfree]

Is there a wildlife rehabilitator or rescue group around? Here, one needs to do some research to find them, but google and local vets would be good starting points. Local wildlife parks, good-quality (not necessarily big) zoos, animal shelters also might have contacts. Maybe even animal control?

I appreciate how hard you're trying to help Mamu.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Innisfree

[MercyA]

21 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

Is there a wildlife rehabilitator or rescue group around? Here, one needs to do some research to find them, but google and local vets would be good starting points. Local wildlife parks, good-quality (not necessarily big) zoos, animal shelters also might have contacts. Maybe even animal control?

I appreciate how hard you're trying to help Mamu.

Licensed rehabilitors: I checked the DNR list and there are none in my county. The very few that are in neighboring counties only take turtles, snakes, raptors, and some mammals. There is only one rehabilitor in my whole state who takes frogs, and she is at the other end of the state. 

There is one local specifically small animal rescue but their website says they cannot by law take wildlife, presumably because they are not licensed for that. I searched for others and came up with nothing nearby. 

We have an excellent small local zoo but their website says they cannot take animals from the public, and they have a link for the DNR site (which I already checked). 

Animal control agencies in my area are high-kill. I believe he would most likely be euthanized. 

You see my quandary! 

Edited September 20, 2021 by MercyA

[Innisfree]

1 minute ago, MercyA said:

Licensed rehabilitors: I checked the DNR list and there are none in my county and the very few that are in neighboring counties only take turtles, snakes, raptors, and some mammals. There is only one rehabilitor in my whole state who takes frogs, and she is at the other end of the state. 

There is one local specifically small animal rescue but their website says they cannot by law take wildlife, presumably because they are not licensed for that. I searched for others and came up with nothing nearby. 

We have an excellent small local zoo but their website says they cannot take animals from the public, and they have a link for the DNR site (which I already checked). 

Animal control agencies in my area are high-kill.

You see my quandary! 

 

That's tough. I don't know, but it still might be worth calling at least one of the licensed rehabilitators. We went through this with a little bat this summer, and it was a matter of talking to one person, who referred me to another, who had a trainee working under her supervision... So the person who ended up taking the bat was not someone I could have found on my own. I'm not sure if she was licensed or not, but she was working with a legitimate group. It can get complicated finding the right person.

If rehab doesn't pan out, I don't know. I agree that Mamu wouldn't do well on her own with a permanently injured leg. Could you consult a vet about the leg? Are there vets around who would look at her? I know so much of this depends on where you are. 😟 We found "our" toad easy to care for, fwiw, pretty much as you're doing. In the absence of other options, that might be the best possible outcome for Mamu. I don't know how to manage winter, though.

[Selkie]

I second the suggestion of trying to find a vet.  Are there any vets in your area who treat reptiles and amphibians?

I am pretty sure our small animal vets would be willing to help in a situation like this, even though toads are outside their area of expertise.

[MercyA]

@Innisfree, thank you so much for your good advice and input. 

@Selkie, I have an excellent vet who does see small animals and who has been in the community since the 1980's, I think. I will call tomorrow and see what they say. 

I do not live in an animal friendly area, unfortunately. Just in my small area I have seen, among other things: a local leader call cats disposable; a free event in which children are allowed to shoot at released pheasants; lots of laughing and joking about animals coming to harm in various situations; children who are allowed by their parents to torture frogs, and more. I am not exaggerating. 😞

Of course there are some rescues which do wonderful, wonderful work but they are always understandably very busy, very full, and limited in what they can do.

Edited September 20, 2021 by MercyA

[Innisfree]

4 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I do not live in an animal friendly area, unfortunately. Just in my small area I have seen, among other things: a local leader call cats disposable; a free event in which children are allowed to shoot at released pheasants; lots of laughing and joking about animals coming to harm in various situations; children who are allowed by their parents to torture frogs, and more. I am not exaggerating. 😞

😧☹️ I'm sorry. That would be very hard to see. Mamu is lucky you and your dd were the humans he encountered.

[Dmmetler]

Two things to try:

 

1) call your state herp society and see if there are any unlisted rehabilitators. If any bio faculty are listed as having specific interests in Herpetology or amphibians, that would also be a good local source. (L’s herp mentors regularly keep animals, mostly turtles, that need rehab after being hit by cars. Their local vet calls them when he gets them to patch up. They’re not on any rehab lists, but have the permits to do so-just limited capacity since they both have full time jobs, and we’ve head started some babies for them at times). 
 

2) see if you can find an exotic vet. (If you can find the former, they likely will recommend one). 
 

My guess is that he’ll need to have his leg amputated, and then will need to be a permanent guest with you or as an education animal. Depending on your state, that may require a permit for you to keep him as an unreleasable animal. (Sometimes, common herps are allowed to be kept unpermitted, sometimes not-it all depends on the state). 

 

[Spryte]

In our area, we have one vet who treats exotic animals and does rehab. She treated our aquatic turtles, and seeing her was always a highlight of the week. There would be injured toads, fawns, just about any animal one can imagine, coming in and out of the waiting room. We had to drive a bit to get to her, but maybe do some calling around to see if there’s someone like that within reasonable driving distance?

Mamu is fortunate to have you.

 

[MercyA]

@Dmmetler and @Spryte, thank you so much! When I searched for exotic vets in my area, the first one that came up was...my vet! I will definitely be contacting him tomorrow. If he can't help, perhaps he will know someone who can. 

@Dmmetler, I also found the website for my state's Herpetological Society. I wouldn't have thought of that; thank you! Looks like their board members are all in our state's capital, which is several hours away from me, but if my vet can't help, I will contact them. 

[MercyA]

Nightly update! Mamu is doing well. More alert every day. He ate five crickets tonight, a record for him. 🙂 He is a chunky little thing and that makes me happy.

His upper leg seems to be in good position, although still a little swollen and with skin that needs to heal. The foot I think is not repairable, but I don't see any open wounds on it.

I haven't heard back from my vet yet, but they are a conscientious practice and I'm hoping to hear something tomorrow. Their website does say that they are down one vet right now and are not accepting new clients, so I'm glad I'm already established there. I'm guessing they are extra busy.

[MercyA]

Okay! I heard back from my vet. Turns out he had not received my message and when he did, he responded very quickly. He gave a few suggestions but most importantly referred me to the local wildlife rehabilitator for reptiles. The DNR page said she only took turtles, and that is true, but she made the time to discuss everything with me today. I sent her a video of Mamu so that she could see his leg and foot and watch him hop. She said that she thinks he will have a chance if released. She said that a life in the wild would be a better life for him, and that him being able to catch prey (which he can) is half the battle. 

So, the plan is this: we will keep him for another week or so, allowing his wounds to continue to heal. They look good right now, but the skin still needs to heal up. We will also do our best to fatten him up with crickets. We'll keep an eye on the forecast to see that it stays warm. And then we will release him at a local wetlands / forest with a pond. 

Edited September 22, 2021 by MercyA

[Spryte]

That’s wonderful! So happy for Mamu!

[MercyA]

Mamu is still doing well! I gave him a turned-on-its-side flower pot to hide in and he now spends all of his time in there. I wanted to be able to see him better before (and not lose track of the crickets I put in) but he's doing great and he needs more privacy than a little dug-out burrow. 🙂 

Prayer requests! 1. He hasn't been pooing as often, but I've read crickets can have that effect. Pray for good digestion! 😉 2. Pray that we have wisdom to know the very best and safest spot to release him in a week or so. 

Praise the Lord that he is doing so well. Praise the Lord for a supportive husband. ❤️ I have grown attached to Mamu and it will be hard to let him go but I think he will be happier in the long run.

[fraidycat]

So glad Mamu is doing well! Sending good poo vibes for him! 

[Dmmetler]

If he can get in water and soak, he may be going there. They often do that. 

[MercyA]

2 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

If he can get in water and soak, he may be going there. They often do that. 

He definitely did that once, but I haven’t seen it in the last few days.

 I love this forum. I can talk to you guys about anything, lol. 

[MercyA]

I am so excited, y'all! I took Mamu out of his hiding spot tonight so I could check his progress, and his foot is no longer hanging behind him!!! I didn't think there was any way it could mend, but he is tucking it up against his leg while resting just like the other foot. He is also now jumping to catch crickets instead of letting the crickets come to him. I let him hop in the driveway a little and he was fast! 

I think he is just about ready for release, on a nice warm day. Please pray that I find the best, most snake- and coon-free spot for him. I will miss him. 😢 

The rehabber said she thought either the pond or forest would be fine, but the forest would have more leaf cover for him. My BIL, a hunter, thought there would be fewer snakes by the pond and nice moist ground for him to dig into. Thoughts???

@Dmmetler, the rebabber mentioned hog-nosed snakes as a potential predator. My daughter has seen a garter snake in the park and I know they eat toads as well. Would you or your DD happen to know if he'd be safer by the pond or in the woods? I did read the hog-nosed snakes like to hang out by the edge of trails in the woods and at the edge of fields.

Thank you for all the prayers and good thoughts!! 

Edited September 26, 2021 by MercyA

[Dmmetler]

Hognose snakes are toad specialists (they’ll eat other things too, but their venom and fang placement is solely effective for toads-which is why you won’t find them on state lists of venomous snakes). They’re less likely to be near water. Garter snakes will eat frogs, but usually tend to stay away from toads-toads tend to taste bad. 
 

I’d look for a place not too far from water with brush and things to hide in. 

[MercyA]

Final update! Mamu ate five crickets last night and another four this morning. The weather was perfect for release today, so I took him to the park. As soon as I started walking with him in the sunshine and fresh air, he got SO excited to get out of his carrier. I found a nice, overgrown, brushy area next to the pond, where I could hear lots of insects buzzing and singing. (Do insects sing?) The release went beautifully.

Thank you all again! ❤️

Edited September 28, 2021 by MercyA

[MercyA]

READY TO GO!!! 

(There are no strange green things in his carrier...those are reflections of the hand sanitizer on my purse and the antibacterial wipes in my cup holder, LOL.)

Edited September 27, 2021 by MercyA