A whole new challenge...................

[Samage]

Right, I'll keep this brief. And for reasons unknown, in the third person perspective.


Samage goes for walk in woods. Samage comes across a group of kids crowded around something. Kids run when they see Samage. Samage goes to look at what they were crowding around. Samage finds a bloodied razor blade, and a toad with a bleeding stump where the lower part of its back leg used to be.


Samage quickly takes the toad home, stops its bleeding and places it in a little habitat to recover.


I mean it's very probably going to die, it lost a LOT of blood - and the risk of infection is high, there's bared flesh and bone. And even if it does survive, what hope does it have when I release it? It walks in circles!

My faith in humanity goes down yet another notch.


This is going to be quite a challenge, as I've never dealt with an amputee toad before. I must also excerise caution, because I need to be careful not to make this toad overtly tame and dependant on me, because despite its handicap I ultimately intend to release it back into the wild. Unlike Splodge, the firebellied toad I nursed from the brink of oblivion, this toad isn't going to be a pet - it belongs in the wild.

And so begins a new challenge. Pics will be online soon, but be warned they're not for the squeamish.

 

[Samage]

Here's the pics of the little guy. Not nice. You can see from the wound that the bone's been snapped off whilst the flesh has been cut away. I'm guessing that the blade they used was blunt and couldn't penetrate the bone, so they snapped it

 

[sunflower]

Awwwwww I hope Stumpy makes it!!!

 

[saxolady04]

the poor thing, there is some cruel people out there what pain it went through
makes me so mad hope you can get it right good luck

 

[Seahorse]

OMG, it honestly perplexes me (kids who do this).

I don't get it. Last summer they kept finding burnt dog corpses in our woods, and that is where a lot of the kids play. They would pour gasoline on them and...

I hope he is okay, I am glad you found him

 

[lilfishie]

thats awful hope stumpy recovers

 

[sylvia]

Aww, poor thing... Good luck with him! It's terrible what some people will do . But you know, he won't survive a moment in the wild. You realy should keep him if he's going to live. It's pretty pointless saving him if you're going to put him back.

 

[Kiarra]

This is simply horrible. Did you have a cell phone? I would have called the cops for animal cruelty immediately if it were me, and I had my cell phone on me.

You're a wonderful person for taking the poor fellow in. I hope he makes it.

 

[Panther]

It sounds like you're going to have to keep this little guy or give him to someone else willing to take care of him if you can save him; there's no way he can live in the wild anymore with an injury like that.

 

[SirMinion]

Toads are a protected species in the UK and are seriously endanged.
If I caught kids doing this, that razor blade would be a lot bloodier by the time I'd finished.

The good news is that frogs & toads can re-grow severed limbs.
If he survives the blood loss, then his prognosis is good!

he'll need lots of iron (bloodworm is ideal) and calcium (grated cuttlebone in the water) to rebuild blood & bone.

 

[3fsh]

What kind of idiot would do something like that? How disgusting. All I can think of is that you make sure to keep the wound clean and free of infection. If possible, the bone sticking out should be cut off and the wound stitched shut. Are there any vets nearby that you can ask to do a simple operation?

 

[dulcie]

Samage, we had one a bit like that who had been hit by a car, we fixed his leg flat to his body with onion sack like a sock round his back end with a hole for the other leg, the sacs holes made it easy to clean up and not dragging on the ground, he made a full recovery, we bathed in salty warm water and he ended up living in our pond for a very long time !

 

[~nessy~]

i keep him ill keep him anyway that over with makes u think about things if kids can do that to an innocent thing - the toad will be alright though when we lived in our last house we had a river/stream in our back garden (my frog obsession became worse lol) anyway we were also nest to a very busy road needless to say we had to help frogs get better and they do just dont give it too much human contact and if it can do something on its own let it have fun though loooks a right beauty i want one now lol

 

[wwestar2000]

The good news is that frogs & toads can re-grow severed limbs.
If he survives the blood loss, then his prognosis is good!

Omg i want to throw up. And with that comment made actually u may be a biology student but sorry toads cannot go thru regeneration.

 

[Samage]

It's true that Stumpy will not re-grow his leg - toads can only regrow limbs either as tadpoles, or up to 2 years after metamorphosis - Stumpy is at least 8 years old, his regenerative powers have long gone. It's only newts and salamanders that can re-gen throughout their lives.

Stumpy himself is doing well. However, beyond emergency care, dealing with the long term implications is sadly beyond me.

The key to wildlife rescue - KNOW YOUR LIMITS. You might cause further distress by trying to help incorrectly.

And so, I made a few calls and sent a few emails. And he's being transferred to St Tiggywinkles wildlife rescue centre - one of the very top wildlife centres in the country. He's been taken by a local sanctuary for now, but as they don't deal with toads, he'll be transferred between several other sanctuaries before arriving at St Tiggywinkles on Wednesday.

They have a specialised Disabled Amphibian section, a rockery and pond which are populated entirely by frogs, toads and newts which like Stumpy have permanent injuries which impede on their lives. So he'll live in a natural but controlled environment - the best possible compromise for him and he'll meet lots of other crippled newts, frog and toads too!

I'm not too sad to see him go, as he's on his way to a much better place, far better than I can provide, and staffed by people who can give him round-the-clock attention.


Have a nice life, little dood!! My thoughts are with you, wherever you may be!!