Help! Hyla versicolor with gimp leg

[GartenSpinnen]

I found a Hyla versicolor on the ground outside with his leg just dangling behind him. It looks as if it is dislocated or broken, but no external tissue damage and the frog otherwise appears to be in good health. They love climbing the side of the building to get up high where the light is because it attracts moths, their favorite food. So my thinking is that when it started storming the wind could have knocked him down onto the asphalt and caused him to dislocate/break it.

He appears to have very slight movement in the leg, his toes slightly wiggled, but for the most part very limited movement. I have him in a lock top style sterilite container with ventilation, with 1/4" water in the bottom, and a small 4" flowerpot for him to hang onto. He is currently sitting on top of the flower pot with his back leg just dangling down, like holding himself up.

Any ideas?

 

[Entomancer]

Keep it and set up a "handicap" vivarium for him out of a ten or fifteen gallon tank, or let him go.

Even if that leg was amputated, he'll never be able to jump properly, and be a very easy meal for raccoons, etc.

I would set up a small frog vivarium. Get some fish gravel or LECA clay spheres, and lay that down in the tank. Then get some window screen and cut out a piece to put on top of it; this is a drainage layer to keep the soil from getting saturated.

I use organic perlite-free potting soil, cocofiber, and the t-rex jungle bedding (sifted so that the larger pieces stay out; this will help to avoid impaction issues). You could also set up a small water feature, in which a turtle filter (tetra reptofilters are awesome for this; bury the intake vent in the drainage layer and let the rest stick out of the grounf) is buried in a corner into the drainage layer, and gravel is used to make an aquatic section. Cork bark, driftwood, or glass (glass needs to be siliconed in prior to anything else) Can be siliconed to the sides to hold the soil back, or if you have enough pieces of it you can just use those and maybe some small stones to make a sloped shore for holding the soil back.

Note that it is quite important for the soil to remain from being saturated, because if it is, harmful bacteria may develop. Therefore, more space will be needed for drainage in a tank with an "aquifer" and a water feature. Despite this sounding somewhat difficult, it is actually quite easy and tends to reduce chores in the tank by keeping water much cleaner and helping to break down feces faster. Otherwise, a large, 2/3 filled water dish should be added and needs to be changed out/washed daily.

As for the rest of the tank, live plants can (and really should) be added; Epipremnum/Pothos is great, as are Nerve Plants, Tradescantia sp., and Selaginella sp. Dead Oak/Maple/Magnolia leaves can also be added to the top of the soil; these should be replaced if they mold, but otherwise tend to help keep a healthy microbial community in the tank, which helps break down organic waste. Branches should also be added; try adding these before the plants; that way the plants could grow around them and make a naturalistic look that appeals to you and your frog.

Finally, a 6500 K-ish flourescent light would be needed for the plants. Get one of the strip flourescent fixtures for fishtanks and use an Exo Terra 2.0 % UVB bulb in it; I hear those are safer for frogs, since the fish bulbs can hurt their eyes. These guys shouldn't need any heat if your house stays between 68 and 75.

As for the leg, you might need to get it amputated if it is too damaged. If you don't, it could rot and the resulting bacterial population explosion would almost certainly infect the frog and kill it.

Good luck.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Thank you so much for that information it will help a great deal for setting up a long term enclosure. I am not going to take him to the vet due to financial restraints and it being a common species. However if the leg needs to be amputated I am willing to do so sterile as well as stitch him up. I will get some pics up tonite of the situation just to show what is going on with it. Do u know what would be a good anesthesia? I wonder if glue would be okay to stitch or how best to go about that? Time to do some google....

 

[lizardminion]

Maybe you could give him to somebody who could do more... ?

 

[GartenSpinnen]

http://dels-old.nas.edu/ilar_n/ilarjournal/48_3/pdfs/4803Gentz.pdf

Good starting point.

I doubt anyone is going to pursue vet care costs for a common frog species. The only chance he prob has is me doing research and performing amputation, then keeping him as a pet. Besides I believe I have anesthesia, analgesics, access to an autoclave and everything else. Going to experiment with analgesic and give codeine derivative. Clove oil as anesthetic and sm diameter nylon thread for suture. My only thing is understanding anatomy and where to cauterize.

 

[Entomancer]

If you aren't knowledgeable about amphibian biology, I wouldn't attempt that.

I would take it to a wildlife rehab center or look into a college with a veterinarian clinic...if you are somehow able to do this on your own (which I do NOT recommend, by the way), be very careful with cauterizing anything and use neosporin to keep the wound safe.

Then keep it in a well ventilated enclosure with moist paper towels on the bottom until it heals.

But honestly, I'd let it go. If this happened because of natural causes (a windstorm) then it was a result of natural selection and random chance and it would be appropriate to let nature take care of things and let it go somewhere safe, away from humans.

If it survives, great. If not, well...that's life.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Pictures of the situation-

 

[lizardminion]

http://dels-old.nas.edu/ilar_n/ilarjournal/48_3/pdfs/4803Gentz.pdf

Good starting point.

I doubt anyone is going to pursue vet care costs for a common frog species. The only chance he prob has is me doing research and performing amputation, then keeping him as a pet. Besides I believe I have anesthesia, analgesics, access to an autoclave and everything else. Going to experiment with analgesic and give codeine derivative. Clove oil as anesthetic and sm diameter nylon thread for suture. My only thing is understanding anatomy and where to cauterize.

What's common there, hasn't ever been seen around here... (I actually want a Hyla versicolor)

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Well I got swelling down and rehydrated him, but he would not eat. So last night I took him out to let him go and as soon as I got outside with him he got excited and started calling to the other frogs. So I took the lid off and let him go and he quickly hobbled away and I just left the container and lid on the balcony. So this morning I go out for a smoke and lo and behold there he is sitting on the container lid! I can't believe he came back like that. I called a reptile vet and if he's still here tomorrow I am taking him in for treatment. Just thought I would share the story

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Well I never ended up doing anything to the leg. He was in bad shape for a bit so I decided I was gonna euthanize him via opiate bath, but about 2 minutes in I felt bad, and decided to keep trying with him. So I took him out and he was a happy frog for the rest of the day, just kinda out of it. Kept him hydrated in an enclosure that was blocked off so he would not get stressed, and hand fed him crickets which was fun. Now his leg is a little more moveable and he seems to be feeling a little better, but last night his skin was looking kinda loose. Fed him some more crickets and made sure to get him as hydrated as possible and he is starting to look better. I think he just might make it... but I am gonna keep him as a pet. He is gonna have his own pimped out terrarium and probably gonna put a couple more in as well. Looks like he might make it after all