New to fire belly toads

[KDK241]

I'm new here and new to fire bellies. I just got 2 a couple days ago and have them in a 10 gallon that is half water/half substrate. The substrate I'm using is about a 60/40 mix of coir and organic topsoil. The substrate was damp when I put it in and I mist it very lightly daily. My question is that one of the toads is very active and spends his day swimming and hanging out and the other was active for the first day but now has hidden under some moss in the tank and I haven't seen him since. This was yesterday evening and I'm not sure if I should be worried. Is he just hiding because he's in a new place or should I dig him out and make sure he's ok? I know he's alive, I see the moss move on occasion but I don't see him at all.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

It's possibly because of stress, or the fact that the other fire belly is dominant. You could try rousing him with food. If he hasn't come out by tomorrow, I suggest you dig him out gently and put him in a container to inspect him and see if there are any physical injuries/oddities.

[MissFroggie]

My Fire-Bellied Toads were quite jumpy and would sometimes hide when I first bought them, particularly the male, but now (just over a week later) they're really active and only hide occasionally- I figured they were just nervous in their new enclosure. Fingers crossed that it's the same for yours Having said this, you should probably still quarantine your frog just in case as my FBTs were active at some point at least in their first few days and more so now whereas yours seems to be much less active than mine.
I hope this helps and your toad is OK

[frognerd101]

This is very normal. My fire bellied toads were very nervous when first introduced and hid under their moss as well. This behavior should cease within the next couple of weeks. However, if this behavior continues for longer or you are really worried about not seeing him, the moving him into his own separate tank is also a good idea until he is acclimated.