Fire-Bellied Toads, Am I doing it right?

[Marinecrab]

Hello one and all, I recently decided that I wanted to own some of my first amphibibans. (Sulcata Tortoise Owner for 7 years)
I instantly fell in love with Fire Bellied Toads, I love mine so much but I've had so many questions and concerns that sometimes keep me up at night.

1. What is that smell?

When ever I move the substrate to clean or move around the items in the tank to my liking, I get this disgusting stench of what is a mix of rotting wood and water, is this okay?
(For more information, I use Sphagnum Moss with Zoo med Coco fiber and Zoo med Repti Bark) My theory is that the pooling of water behind the background is the reason for the stench, I've been learning to not mist every other hour and mist after I wake up, and before bed.

2. Home, Or home away from home?

Currently, I have a tropical themed set up with live Petco Bought Tropical plants, I have a log hide, fake hanging plants, soaking/water dish and a few pieces of loose bark, all store bought. I've seen tons of videos of the half land, half water set-up, I'm super nervous and only want the best for my toads health, regardless of the many youtubers with those same setups (know it alls duh! haha) say my setup is fine as long as I keep that water dish large enough to soak in, and keep it fresh of course.. The frogs hang out more around the hide and bark during the day, i've only usually seen them in the dish at night, where they preform a lovely song. What is scarier is even the petstore owners that i've talked to say that either setup is fine, as long as its humid and there is a water part to the tank; be it dish, or body of water.

3. Who is Who?

I've heard that both sexes of these wet dudes 'chirp'? I'm not entirely sure, I've heard that only the males chirp or only the females chirp (Wwwwhhaat?) and of course, they both chirp.
They both chirp at night, doing their.. thing in the water dish. (They do it often, its weird.) I will submit pictures but from what I've read that won't help unless its breeding season.


4. Coexist, or noexist?

I currently have a female Brown Anole who is very, very friendly towards my toads and usually hangs out under and around the fake leaves unless she drinks droplets or sees a cricket, we named her Rita, after my girlfriends mother. She has adjusted very well and has been eating and drinking, even figuring out our feeding times.

We saved a large greenhouse frog (Pretty common in florida, but even the largest are the smallest compared to most frog species.), We don't have a name for him/her yet since we're not sure if its a male or female just because they croak. He has adjusted somewhat well with establishing his nocturnal schedual, only coming out from under the cracks near the hide at night. He has been eating and drinking very well.

The frogs don't seem interested in them at ALL, zero, nadda. They seem more interested in being closer to each other than interacting with any other of the inhabitants.

5. How often should I feed?

As of right now, I've been feeding them every other day with Small to Medium sized crickets, any improvements or tips or "Hey you're an idiot you're supposed to feed them _____ ___ ___" Would be really appreciated.
Before I forget! Are mealworms or super worms bad for them?

6. The chirpening.

IS it normal for my frogs to be so active during the night, chirping and what looks like doing the nasty?

7. Misting.

I currently mist when the gauge goes below 60% on humidity, is this bad? I try not to over mist as it has caused a water buildup twice.. the smell I theorize it to make is not pleasant.

8. Final.

I know this might be a huge mess for anyone out there who really knows their stuff. I have a store brought book and these are the questions said book did not answer. So please, be easy?



Picture time!

[ericbrookey]

That is definitely not the right setup for them, IMO. They need way more water and should not be housed with other species. The smell is indeed rotting soil from being over misted. Without a drainage layer it is just going to get worse and will breed bacteria unless you replace the substrate regularly.

FBT will spend 80% of their time soaking in water. It's how they regulate their body temperature, exercise and hide from predators. Giving them a dirted cage with a small bowl of water is not the same.

Yes, the calling us normal. You have at least one male.

Feed them every couple of days. Their bellies should not be sunken in on the sides but be a little plump. I feed crickets 2 times a week and a few meal worms, dubai roaches or wax worms as treats. They can go a week without eating and still be ok, not haopy, but will survive. Every 2-3 days is recommended.

Hope that helps.



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[jasonm96]

I agree, this set up isn't really suitable for fire bellied toads and I only see one light, when anoles need both a heat/spotlight and UVB. For the fire bellies you need a 10-gallon long as a minimum but a 10-gallon high doesn't offer the same amount of floor space as this. I would even go larger, 6 of mine are kept in a custom 70 x 40 x 40cm tank, which is an ideal size. They also need more water, around 50-70% and land from driftwood, stacked rocks or a glass divider with substrate. Use water plants such as duckweed, Amazon frogbit, elodea, etc. They also bask often so I use a 25W spotlight over the land and 5% or higher UVB light is also beneficial. After basking if they need to cool down they will go in the water, as Eric pointed out. Temps should be 70-80F with the warmest at the basking spot and anoles need it warmer. If you want to mix both fire bellies and anoles then a very large tank is needed. It can work, if animals are tested and treated for any disease but there might still be a risk of disease from natural pathogens that either might not be immune to.

[Marinecrab]

I have both a 20 gallon and a 150 gallon sitting in my room vacant, I moved my tortoises out of it when I put them in their enclosure outside.
I will see what I can do with the 20 gallon since its leak proof. Any tips on what I should get?

I will keep you updated with pictures, thanks so much.

[Marinecrab]

Hello all, here is the tank I pulled out, I believe its actually a 40 gallon, sorry for the blur.

[jasonm96]

40 gallon will work well. My post above kind of gives you an idea on what to get

[ericbrookey]

With that size you could get a few more and it will be easier to setup a half land/water scenario for sure. To start, you could fill it with about 4-5 inches of water and pile a bunch of driftwood and rocks so they are partially submerged. Get a sponge filter or small submersible filter in the deepest part. Just make sure they have easy access to get out of the water.

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[monster]

The biggest reason in my opinion you shouldnt mix is the fact the frog is toxic. It maybe mild to us but to the anole it will be stronger due to its not a very big lizard. Fire bellies unlike poison dart frogs are toxic in captivity also so you really dont want them shareing the same water. IMO its not worth the risk of makeing the anole sick.

[ericbrookey]

I would stay away from bark or small gravel as it could become ingested and cause impaction. They are perfectly fine without alot of soil and it's much easier to clean. They just need a few flat areas to rest on out of the water and areas to swim around.

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[jasonm96]

The biggest reason in my opinion you shouldnt mix is the fact the frog is toxic. It maybe mild to us but to the anole it will be stronger due to its not a very big lizard. Fire bellies unlike poison dart frogs are toxic in captivity also so you really dont want them shareing the same water. IMO its not worth the risk of makeing the anole sick.

They have a different niche, the anole being arboreal and the frog being terrestrial. The anoles will more likely lap up water from leaves or an arboreal dish, rather than going to the floor. So in large enclosures it's possible and many have maintained them together. Having said that, I personally would rather mix USA tree frogs with them than fire-bellies since both are American and the tree frogs ain't poisonous

[Marinecrab]

Hello all, thank you so much for responding, I'm not entirely sure on where to start. I will be making a list of Items I think I need,
I'm going to be releasing the wild anole back since her leg has entirely healed. I might keep the original tank and set up and just remove the fbts and put them into my 40 gal when it is set up, I'm thinking about making a small family of greenhouse frogs.

I'm assuming its going to look something like this?

[jasonm96]

That's a pretty cool tank, would make water shallower and more land, though

[ericbrookey]

That is pretty close to an ideal setup for them. Water could be a bit shallower but they love to dive down and swim under water so some deep areas are good. They would be very active in a tank like that. Bit more "wood" partially submerged so the crickets don't just all drown right away.

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[ericbrookey]

Here is my setup for ideas. I have since reduced the land portion on the right by half to be able to provide more swimming space. They spend most of their time in the water, or climbing the wood. Occasionally they go up on the soil and stare at me because my desk is right next to it.



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[ericbrookey]

Here is my setup for ideas. I have since reduced the land portion on the right by half to be able to provide more swimming space. They spend most of their time in the water, or climbing the wood. Occasionally they go up on the soil and stare at me because my desk is right next to it.



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[Marinecrab]

That is a great setup, the smell was horrendous when taking out the rotting coco fiber, but here is what I have them in until the end of the week(Or until the stuff I order comes in), I will post updates daily.




As for the Greenhouse frog I salvaged an old cricket keeper we had sitting around, used sphagnum moss as substrate, wetted it down a bit, added a stick I whittled, a bark piece that I didn't use for the other setup and added a few plants we found him around, he seems more active and happier about his new house.

[jasonm96]

One of the best FBT set ups I've seen, nice

[Marinecrab]

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That is a really nice setup, How much did it all cost?

[ericbrookey]

That is a great setup, the smell was horrendous when taking out the rotting coco fiber, but here is what I have them in until the end of the week(Or until the stuff I order comes in), I will post updates daily.




As for the Greenhouse frog I salvaged an old cricket keeper we had sitting around, used sphagnum moss as substrate, wetted it down a bit, added a stick I whittled, a bark piece that I didn't use for the other setup and added a few plants we found him around, he seems more active and happier about his new house.

Looks good for now. If you are going to put driftwood in, use Mopani. it holds up well over time and is smooth. For rocks, nice flat pieces work well for stacking. Throw some java Moss in for them and they will love it.

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[ericbrookey]

One of the best FBT set ups I've seen, nice

Thanks jason. If I was doing it over again, I would have put a background in and root some ferns or other plants to it. As of now, I would have to tear it all down to do it and I'm not inclined to just yet. I was hoping the Moss would stay green but that was a pipe dream, I now know. Have pulled it all out and going to replace with new stuff every few months.

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