Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Over the past month or two at the place I work I have noticed a small toad in front of the door entrance to my shop. I work midnight shift and he would be careful and not get in the way of people coming and leaving! He would stay off to the side. He would catch the insects that were attracted to the windows. I got to feeding him meal worms and he would gobble them down. I was concerned he might get stepped on and hurt or killed. Well today it happened! After I fed him his worms. I went and let him be! But before I got off work I discovered him over in the corner. His poor hind legs were hurt and bloody. He can not hop with them! He either got stepped on or the slidding door got his back legs! What can I do to doctor his wounds? What is safe to use? I would like to nurse him back to health and let him go outside in my back yard. He is a southern toad, American toad. I am from Florida! Any help would be appreciated! Thanks! Bill

-----
Our Desert Iguanas

Here is a followup on the hurt toad! I examined him and there are not any bad wounds, however I think one of his legs is broke! He can't control it or move it. It also is not in the position of the other leg, it is bent forward. Do I need to try and get it back to where it should be? What should I do to help his leg heal normally? I am using ZooMeds Repti wound healing aid. Is neosporin ok to use on toads? Thanks for any help!

Here is a photo of the hurt Toad!

You are probably right that the leg is broken or at least the joint. If I had to guess, either there isn't a vet in your area that can do anything about it or the costs will be prohibitively expensive. I wish there was an easy fix but there probably isn't. I may be wrong and in that case, there is no harm in calling a vet in your area who has worked with amphibians in the past and seeing what he or she thinks the options are. Who knows, maybe it can make a complete recovery.

If keeping the toad as a pet is an option you can probably recover it to the point that it can live a longer than average life in captivity. In the wild with a busted leg the toad just doesn't have much of a chance. I cannot think of a reason why you can't use neosporin on the tissue wounds -- try to get the kind that does not have an added anaesthetic. It's probably not what a vet would prescribe but will probably ward off infection.