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Thread: How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

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    Default How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

    I'm considering setting up either a tank or a large bin-cage to house a cane toad pet. I have had American toads in the past and used coconut fiber as a substrate in a 40 gallon tank. I wasn't crazy about it. I was constantly worried about impaction, and I didn't like springtails in my tank crawling on my toads.

    I'm considering this http://www.joshsfrogs.com/catalog/bl...rrarium-liner/ as a substrate. I have always wanted something like repticarpet but for frogs. Do you think with proper hides and plants that frog foam could be a good substrate for a cane toad, other toads, tree frogs, and the likes?

    Also, what is your opinion on bin-cages vs tanks? Would the extra airflow be beneficial for a toad?

    Thanks

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    Default Re: How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

    Use a bin - cane toads can be shy and appreciate the opeque sides. Get a few cane toads btw, they're found in groups in the wild. Drill plenty of holes or cut a bit of the top install screen/mesh, ventilation is important. Coco fiber shouldn't cause impaction if frogs are healthy and kept at the right temperatures, but it's better to feed off tongs anyway where possible so the frogs get the insects before they burrow or groom the supplements off.

    I really like the foam and was going to get some myself for my frogs, however I could only get upholstery foam and this came with fire-retardants, I'd imagine the Joshs frogs one shouldn't. Your toads won't be able to burrow, but if you add a hut hide and some fake plants I'm sure it will be fine. Many breeders maintain frogs on foam as it's easy to clean and allows for good monitoring.

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    Default Re: How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

    Quote Originally Posted by jasonm96 View Post
    Use a bin - cane toads can be shy and appreciate the opeque sides. Get a few cane toads btw, they're found in groups in the wild. Drill plenty of holes or cut a bit of the top install screen/mesh, ventilation is important. Coco fiber shouldn't cause impaction if frogs are healthy and kept at the right temperatures, but it's better to feed off tongs anyway where possible so the frogs get the insects before they burrow or groom the supplements off.

    I really like the foam and was going to get some myself for my frogs, however I could only get upholstery foam and this came with fire-retardants, I'd imagine the Joshs frogs one shouldn't. Your toads won't be able to burrow, but if you add a hut hide and some fake plants I'm sure it will be fine. Many breeders maintain frogs on foam as it's easy to clean and allows for good monitoring.

    Thank you so much for the reply.

    That sounds good. I may cut out one side of a large plastic bin and place a cage like side on it to allow more ventilation. I think I'll use the frog foam with hides and fake plants as well.

    How do you like your cane toads? I'm considering cane toads but also other large toads/frogs that are hardy like Colorado river toads and African bullfrogs.

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    Default Re: How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

    My experience with mine wasn't good. I had to trade mine for a crested gecko, it didn't adapt to well to captivity (even though conditions were seemingly good based on research) so the other guy wanted to try his luck with it. Because they're wild caught, it's more of hit or a miss and captive bred animals are better. I had to get fecals done and treat it with panacur. I reckon it didn't do too well because it didn't have a "friend" as most people keep them in pairs or small groups with success, but I couldn't get another for her. If you're interested in African bullfrogs then I'd really recommend you get one of them instead. I have one and it's the best thing ever. Just love to eats and is quite tame, for a frog, anyway. Haven't kept Colorado River toads (although I would really like to!) but I seen them in a Zoo in Frankfurt Germany and these things are just awesome and massive.

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    Default Re: How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

    Quote Originally Posted by jasonm96 View Post
    My experience with mine wasn't good. I had to trade mine for a crested gecko, it didn't adapt to well to captivity (even though conditions were seemingly good) so the other guy wanted to try his luck with it. Because they're wild caught, it's more of hit or a miss and captive bred animals are better. I had to get fecals done and treat it with panacur. I reckon it didn't do too well because it didn't have a "friend" as most people keep them in pairs or small groups with success, but I couldn't get another for her. If you're interested in African bullfrogs then I'd really recommend you get one of them instead. I have one and it's the best thing ever. Just love to eats and is quite tame. Haven't kept Colorado River toads (although I would really like to!) but I seen them in a Zoo in Frankfurt Germany and these things are just awesome and massive.
    Sorry to hear that. All cane toads appear to be wild caught no matter where you get them (which makes sense). I'll definitely get them checked for parasites if I get a couple.

    And yeah, I've been watching videos and reading about cane toads, African bullfrogs, Colorado River toads, rococo toads, and other large varieties of toads/frogs that seem to survive well, aren't as fragile as smaller amphibians, and have relatively good temperaments. It seems like cane toads are very personable in some of the videos that I've seen.

    Smooth-sided toads from Backwater Reptiles look nice as well. Anyone know much about that company? But yeah, I'm just deciding what sizeable amphibian that is hardy that I'd like to keep. If anyone has suggestions or know of a species that matches this description, I'll look into them. I'd even consider tree frogs beyond the more terrestrial frogs/toads if they are of a decent size and aren't as susceptible to illness. A long-lived amphibian pet would be nice.

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    Default Re: How is Frog Foam as a substrate for an amphibian like a cane toad?

    It's unforunate, but yeah does make sense to take invasive toads and sell them in the pet trade as they don't belong where collected. However, because they are wild-caught you never know how well they'll adapt to captivity. Some may do extremely well and take advanatage of being pampered with food and others might become stressed and decline. I've seen most people have good results, with their toads gorging down food and even tolerating being handled and this makes me jelly, but I've also seen lots of people having no luck with them. Videos on youtube will show off toads doing well, but it doesn't make sense to show off toads that are not.

    Smooth-sided toads can be captive bred I'm sure and basically look the same as cane toads, if not prettier, so would be a good idea to go with one of them. If you're fine with tree frogs, then most people will recommend you get a whites tree frog. They're said to be one of the few frogs that actually tolerates handling well and they can get quite large, but I've yet to get one myself, which I'm quite surprised at. The frog foam will be ideal for these since they don't need to burrow and because they're arboreal you'll save space, since the tank will taller than wide.

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