Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone I bought 5 toads from a pet store a while back. The lifespan on the tank said approx 5 years and I have had them with no visible problems for about 8 years. The listed species was "moroccan green toad" Bufo Brongersmai but i suspect they might be Bufo Viridis. The two look very similar. Today 1 of the toads was looking visibly thinner than the others. His limbs were splayed out and stiff and his leg muscles were rippling as if in spasms. not that the legs themselves were moving... just the muscle fibres were rippling under the skin. His eyes were not open normally. I held him in the hopes that my body warmth would help him and maybe stabilize my metabolism. It was obvious that he was not aware enough to hunt/eat an insect so i got a cricket and gently opened the frog's mouth and placed the live cricket's head in his mouth. he sat there unresponsive with this cricket in his mouth. normal muscle tension/gravity made his mouth close but he was not reacting to the struggling cricket in his mouth. I mixed up a solution of fructose crystals with a minute pinch of reptile vitamin powder. I dripped the solution onto the cricket and as a drop or 2 of the liquid flowed into his mouth it triggered his swallowing reflex and he ate the cricket. i held him for about 1 more hour and he started to move around and actually gave a few "chirps" Great! on a scale from 1 to 100 he was like a 15 when i found him. he peaked up at like 60 when he was moving around and chirping. and when i decided to put him back in his cage he dropped back down to a 30. He has no visible injuries. I can only think of 2 things. either he is old and dying a natural death, or for some reason he was losing the feeding competition with the other toads and he didn't get his share of crickets for a few months. I have to admit i got into the habit of throwing 20 in there and assuming, over time, they would all get their share. after 8 years of successful feedings i had faith in each frog's ability to grab a cricket. Any advice on what to look for, what to do would be greatly appreciated. I fear that when i wake up in the morning and check on him he is going to be gone. Please ask me questions. i will be checking this board and will try to answer them. The most noticable thing again were the muscle ripples that were coursing across his skin. thank you for your time everyone.

It's been a while, how have things gone with the toad? If he hasn't been eating for a long while, you should be seeing a thin toad. Most prominent will be the pelvis protruding as well as the scapula. The face will look "skull-like" in advanced emaciation.

When animals are so far gone that swallowing is such a chore, don't feed live prey. Their stomach will not be in the condition to digest, or even immediately kill the cricket. I imagine this is where the freak stories of mealworms chewing out of the stomach occur. Anyhow, you were doing good with the sugar/electrolyte solution. Syringing this is the first, best course of action. Especially with amphibians, nothing to concentrate, and you will want to space feedings out to allow the animal time to compensate for the influx of useable fluid.

It is hard to say if this is old age or not. I'm guessing not, as usually there are very little symptoms. The lifespan at the store was waaay off. For amphibians I generally start at 20 years life expectancy, knowing that this is a low estimate for many species. Where they adults when you bought them? If so, who knows how old they are.

Good luck, I hope your toad has faired well

Ian