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Front limb disorder.: |
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Craig Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 8  View other posts by Craig |
Posted: 02 Oct 2003 Looking for advice from any toad owners or veterinaries out there. I have a young common toad (bufo bufo). I guess his age to be just under two years (he was 1.5cm when I found him this summer). He is growing at an incredible rate and is now 6cm (nose to tail). Over the past few weeks, he has gradually lost the ability to use his forelimbs to any great extent and moves by pushing his body with his hindlegs. His targeting ability, when compared to toads of similar age, is quite poor too; however, as he had a good number of targets to aim at, his intake of insects was adequate. Believing this onset to have been caused by some nutritional deficiency, I replaced his diet of gut loaded crickets and meal worms with a diet designed to mimic that of an insectivorous one encompassing a wide range of insects. This diet consists mainly of a vegetable enriched catfood, a light pinch of vitarep powder, a small quantity of powdered cornflakes and weetabix, a touch of honey and a few drops of milk to achieve the consistency of paste which he can swallow. This diet administered behind his tongue using a syringe. His 'soak/toilet pond' contains water treated with a aqua drops to dechlorinate and balance. My question is: has anyone else ever witnessed any similar forelimb immobility in any of their toads/frogs? If so, what is this disorder and how is it best treated? |
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Alan Hyde Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 1416 View other posts by Alan Hyde |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 Hi Craig, This may not be due to a deficiency in the diet. I've seen problems in the lower spine and hind legs due to vitamin deficiencys but not the front legs. I came across something that sounds very similar in an agama in Turkey 2002. The reason I managed to get so close to this specimin was because his front legs wouldn't work. He was an adult ,and aside from the lack of mobility in the front legs, in all other ways he was apparently healthy. When put on the floor and encouraged to run by stroking the tail he would hold the upper parts of the front legs back to the sides of his ribcage, then with the forearms pointing out to the sides he would shuffle along pushing with back legs only. I have asked on other boards on numerous occasions but never really found out what was wrong with him. I hope you manage to find out, as i'd be interested to find out what this disorder is. Wishing all luck, Alan O-> O+> |
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Alan Hyde Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 1416 View other posts by Alan Hyde |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 Radiohead , Kid A ,Track 4  O-> O+> |
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Alan Hyde Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 1416 View other posts by Alan Hyde |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 Eh!? Any ideas Gemma? I copied the address from the turkish post, and in the second post I tried to upload from my comp' 
Cheers, Alan O-> O+> |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090  View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 it's got me Al, the URL's are correct and the files are in the upload folder, though as it happens, I have a copy in you folder
Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 Back to common toads with front limb disorders, the nearest I've seen was a batch of tadpoles I captive reared. All seemed fine until they emerged; they had no use of the front limbs at all and sadly perished. I don't know either what the cause was, though assumed it was genetic as it affected the whole batch, yet nutrition was the same throughout development as other tadpoles I had reared successfully. I've kept adult bufo sp. on mostly crickets and worms for many years without this problem occurring. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Craig Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 8 View other posts by Craig |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 Gemma, Now that you mention it, I do remember having had the same problem with emerging toadlets; in fact I even posted the question here, back in the Summer. It is very strange, though, that, if this is some sort of genetic trait, it has taken some time time to manifest itself... Do any other Frog/Toad keepers treat their tap water with dechlorinating drops before using it in a vivarium? Whilst Tubby (his name) is quite happy to hide in his flowerpot and feed without having to go hunting (40 years is a long time to care for a disabled toad!), I would still like to be able to recover the use of his limbs. Any more ideas anyone? |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 03 Oct 2003 Hi Craig, I don't treat the water for my adult toads, though chlorinated water can be lethal for tadpoles, I have never found any problem using water straight from the tap for Bufo sp. and Bombina sp. (adults) I've heard it suggested it may even have its benefits. For tadpoles I just stand the water in a bucket over night to dechlorinate. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Craig Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 8 View other posts by Craig |
Posted: 04 Oct 2003 Thanks Gemma, I phoned the local veterinary sugery today and apparently one of their vets has good knowledge of fish/amphibians, so a chat with her on Monday may come up with a few tips and maybe even a cure. |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 04 Oct 2003 That's great Craig, let us know how Tubby gets on. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Craig Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 8 View other posts by Craig |
Posted: 06 Oct 2003 The vet (lovely girl) couldn't say what was wrong with Tubby; however, she advised that. apart from a good diet and careful husbandry, there was little else that she could suggest, apart from a position for the vivarium where the animal could get a little more UV exposure. So, today Tubby was moved to a South facing Window sill and his already complex diet was supplemented with the mashed up calcium rich bones from a tin of red salmon! Is this the most pampered Common Toad ever heard of? |
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Craig Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 8 View other posts by Craig |
Posted: 07 Oct 2003 Tubby died today. |
- Front limb disorder. |
(ooops I put up the wrong piccy before, should be this one)
