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Thread: American toad distress call? (female)

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    Default American toad distress call? (female)

    Hello, I have had this American toad about 2 months now. I cought it in thw wild and it's about 4.5" big. I think it's a female being so big with comparetively thin arms.

    It was doing quite well at first, hopping around exploring the tank and such. But in the past 2 weeks or so it started burrowing itself for a long time at one corner and moved much less than before. Also it makes a sort of ticking noise, much like the lower pitch sound in the background in in this video (not the high pitched one, there are 2 sounds going on in the video) american toads making noise - YouTube.

    From a few other forum post it seems like it could be a distress call? I'm worried about it.

    When I first got the toad I fed it many things I found in my backyard -- earth worms, pill bugs, grasshoppers, slugs, even grubs sometimes. But about 2 weeks ago that it's cold and snowing I can't find any bugs out so I started dumping about 20 crickets every weekend. I wonder if this is making it unhappy somehow? But it still eats a lot. Except it seems to not want to move at all now and only wait for the food to come to itself at the same spot most of the time...

    I put a ton of coconut fiber in the tank making sure it has enough to burrow itself. And that also makes it hard for me to know if it poops frequently or not. So I'm also wondering if my toad is having some digestive problems... because... I really wouldn't know. Last time I saw a poop was a almost 3 weeks ago and it was huge. How do you check if the toad is pooping okay? I don't want to look around in the tank since the toad would be annoyed by me.

    On a possibly related note, the toad doesn't seem to go to the water dish at all, but it might be due to the fact that the dish/bowl doesn't have a nice curve and it's 3" deep so it's basically like a hole. I should probably swap that out too. (I picked that thinking the toad would like a nice soak and it was the only dish I found that's not too shallow) I do spray/rain water on the toad at least once every day.

    Any clue on what is making my toad unhappy? All help appreciated.

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    100+ Post Member kueluck's Avatar
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    Default Re: American toad distress call? (female)

    Read this article to make sure you're doing things correctly for this toad. Amphibian Care >> American Toad (Bufo americanus) Care Important things are water source, supplements & feeder bugs. I would stay away from slugs since they tend to carry parasites. Also I wouldn't just dump a bunch of crickets in the tank since crickets will bit your toad if there is not food available for them. Best way to feed is by using a dish or tongs. Again, read the care-sheet. Also here's a link to my thread showing how I care for my toads & frogs http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...7197-gang.html You might find some helpful suggestions here.
    Rest in peace Rosie 5-31-12
    Rest in peace Rufus 2-7-14
    Rest in peace Morph 8-14-15


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    Default Re: American toad distress call? (female)

    Hello and welcome to FF Inging! Well, the fact that you've put a "ton" of substrate in your toad enclosure and dropped 20 crickets once a week has me concerned about your enclosure, water source, and food sources. Please answer the below questions clearly so we can try to determine what if anything has to be changed. Also, here is link to the forum's Bufo care article: Frog Forum - Toad Basics - Keeping ground-dwelling Toads. A care sheet for Bufo, Anaxyrus, Spea, Scaphiopus, Ollotis, Alytes, Pelobates. Good luck !

    “Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”
    The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.


    1. Size of enclosure
    2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
    3. Humidity
    4. Temperature
    5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
    6. Materials used for substrate
    7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
    - How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
    8. Main food source
    9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
    10. Lighting
    11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
    12. When is the last time he/she ate
    13. Have you found poop lately
    14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
    15. How old is the frog
    16. How long have you owned him/her
    17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
    18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
    19. How often the frog is handled
    20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
    21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)


    by Lynn(Flybyferns) and GrifTheGreat.
    Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog !​

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    Default Re: American toad distress call? (female)

    Quote Originally Posted by Mentat View Post
    Hello and welcome to FF Inging! Well, the fact that you've put a "ton" of substrate in your toad enclosure and dropped 20 crickets once a week has me concerned about your enclosure, water source, and food sources. Please answer the below questions clearly so we can try to determine what if anything has to be changed. Also, here is link to the forum's Bufo care article: Frog Forum - Toad Basics - Keeping ground-dwelling Toads. A care sheet for Bufo, Anaxyrus, Spea, Scaphiopus, Ollotis, Alytes, Pelobates. Good luck !

    “Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”
    The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.


    by Lynn(Flybyferns) and GrifTheGreat.




    1. Size of enclosure: 30" x 18" x 12"

    2. # of inhabitants: 1

    3. Humidity: 45%

    4. Temperature: 65F at night 70F during the day

    5. Water: Rain water for both

    6. Materials used for substrate: Coconut fiber, no sharp stuff, with a bunch of dry leaves on top

    7. Enclosure set up: A few branches, a terra cotta pot (toad has only been inside it once or twice and abandoned it. Now it spends almost all of its time in a hole it burrowed underneath it), a glass dish
    about 3" tall without much curvature

    8. Main food source: Since 2weeks ago, just crickets. 2 weeks before, anything I found in my backyard, usually earth worms and pill bugs, occasionally slugs, grubs, grasshopper, etc

    9. Vitamins and calcium? None so far

    10. Lighting: Natural lighting. Sometimes I have my room lit up because I have to do stuff but I try my best to put things around where the toad is in the tank to create as much shadow as I can for it. I try my best to only use a light that is as far away and weak from the tank as possible

    11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure: Nothing. It's located in my bedroom

    12. When is the last time he/she ate: 1-2 days ago

    13. Have you found poop lately: No. The last time I saw poo was a month ago and it was huge. Sometime around then my boyfriend also has seen some smaller poop. But none in the past few weeks. It's hard to tell if it's pooping in the subsrate or not since the substrate goes up to 3-5" deep.

    14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure: This is what I have for now. My room is too dark to take a good picture of the tank so I'll do it tomorrow.
    Name:  IMAG3433.jpg
Views: 581
Size:  46.3 KB

    15. How old is the frog: Don't know

    16. How long have you owned him/her: 2 months

    17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred: Wild

    18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats: I used to catch different bugs every other day for it. Since it got too cold about 2 weeks ago I slowly went from a mixture of found bugs and crickets to only crickets from PetCo.

    19. How often the frog is handled: I've only handled it twice in the past 2 months

    20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area: Medium to low? It's in my bedroom and there are usually 1-2 people in the room.

    21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc): I change the water every few days. I don't think the toad is using it much, if at all. I haven't cleaned the tank so far.

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