New to FBT's.....need advice

[Charlie]

My daughter brought home some fire bellied tadpoles (from her work - they were going to dispose of them). She insisted I keep them for the "daycare kids", so I said I would keep them until they got their legs then she would need to find them a home. (I already have a houseful of animals, really didn't need more work) We now have 4 toadlets and they are all MINE, haha so much for not keeping them - I bought a 20 G long tank and decorations, etc. I moved the toads into the new tank shortly after starting them on fruitflies but now I am wondering if I should have left them in the small tank as I am not sure they are all eating. One toad is 1" long and the other 3 are approx. 1/2" to 3/4". I put 3 crickets in last night and the big toad ate one, then one of the smaller toads tried to grab one and missed. I am a bit worried that the one toad will eat all the crickets and end up overfed and the others won't get any. I also put freeze dried blood worms in the water every morning and also in their food dish with a bit of water in it.

Any suggestions? Should I move the 3 smaller toads to a smaller tank until they get bigger?

[bshmerlie]

They should be eating the smallest crickets at this age. Firebellies can usually pack away multiple crickets. Why don't you put six or seven crickets at one time. That way the smaller one have a better chance of getting some.

[Jace]

Fire Belly Toads can be very adictive! I started with three, and had 11 at one time, so beware! If you feel comfortable doing so, I would have a separate feeding container (I used an ice cream pail for my adults) and would twice a week, remove all my toads and place them in the feeding container, and then let loose a bunch of crickets that had been dusted with calcium powder. This way, I was confident all the toads were eating, plus getting their calcium as needed. They then had one to two feedings of free roaming crickets in their actual setup. If I had a smaller or skinnier toad, I would make sure they were only fed in the feeding container until they bulked up and could hold their own. My toads got to the point they prefered to be taken out and fed in the bucket. Best of luck and enjoy your new additions!

[Charlie]

I put 6 crickets in the tank this morning - found one drowned, not sure where the rest are (eaten I hope). I went to put some fruit flies in and way too many fell out of the container so I am now sure they are overfed cause I can still see fruitflies crawling everywhere!

Does it stress the toads out to be caught and placed in a bucket? I have read that if they are stressed they won't eat. They are in a big tank for their size and catching them could be a challenge.

[velvety14u]

My FBT are in a 29 gall 70/30 tank and I catch them every 2 to three weeks for tank cleaning and such they seem to take it in stride well. Have fun with them they can be alot of fun.

[Jace]

You can always set up a smaller tank for them and when they get bigger, transfer them once again to the larger tank. However, I think you should give the feeding bucket a try either way. They may be stressed the first few times you put them in there, but if they are not able to get adequate food in the tank they are in, they will not ignore being surrounded by a feast in the feeding bucket. FBTs love to eat and they will seldom pass up an opportunity to plump up their bellies. Because they are very young and small, you will want to feed them this way every day, and soon they will adjust. This will also save on food being wasted; it sounds like you have a lot of food items in the tank already and most will likely die, creating a mess you will have to clean up. A feeding bucket could help with that, as well. These toads are tough little ones and adjust quickly. If you are not quite comfortable with that, find a glass bowl that is not too big or deep and settle it into your substrate in a hidden part of your tank. Crickets seem to gravitate towards such bowls, fall in, and can't seem to get out (not the brighest these bugs!). It will concentrate the crickets and maybe even some fruit flies into one area, and your toads will learn quickly to go there to find food. I have had success with both these methods, though with my toads, I really did prefer the feeding bucket. Let me know how it goes.

[Charlie]

I think I will try the feeding bucket idea. Should I leave the big guy out and just put the 3 smaller ones in? Or would I put one at a time in till they stopped eating?

Thanks for all the advice. I would hate for something to happen to them.

[Jace]

I would feed the three smaller ones first in the bucket, let them eat as much as they can, and then give the big guy a quick feeding afterwards. I should mention that whatever bucket you choose, make sure it has a proper fitting lid on it. FBTs are amazing little climbers and will attempt to escape even while slurping up crickets! I remember not putting the lid on one time, turned away for a few minutes and then heard a noise to find my cat nose to nose with a toad perched on the outer rim of the bucket. I don't know who was more surprised! After that, the cat was always around when the feeding bucket came out!

[Charlie]

Well I tried the feeding bucket idea and it did not go well! I think I was as stressed (or more) as the toads were. I used a large cricket keeper and all they did was try to climb up to the top, I left them for 15 min and when I came back there was 2 less crickets. Catching them in their tank, in the water was pretty easy, catching them in the cricket keeper was very hard, I was so afraid I was going to lose one and they are so tiny I was afraid I might hurt or squish them. After that experience I decided to move them back into a 5.5 g tank with a landing on one side and big rocks, a plant and filter on the other side. Catching and moving them was another ordeal.... Today I dropped some fruitflies on the little landing, not sure how many were eaten but they had no place to hide, though they do climb the glass.

This afternoon I put 3 little crickets on the landing and before I could get the lid back on the tank one little toad had eaten one and then ate the other 2! Ugh now what about the other 3 toads?? So I dropped 4 more in and another little toad came and ate 3 and another ate 1 (I am hoping one little toad didn't get 6!) I added the last 3 crickets and the biggest little toad ate all three. So this arrangements seems to be better then feeding them in the big 20 g tank with a bigger land space. I am hoping as they get a bit bigger I will be able to tell them apart and it won't be so stressful to catch them!

Thanks for the help and I will keep trying!

[Jace]

I am sure you will find a method that works for you and them. It took a couple of weeks before they calmed down in the feeding bucket and actually ate a decent amount. After that, though they still tried to climb the sides, I was confident they were eating. I now use the feeding bucket once a week with my Pacific Chorus frogs and the rest of the time, I free feed them in their setup. With your toads being so small, I would be worried too, about squishing them or having them escape. Just monitor them-a toad should be chubby but not obese. A little buddha belly means they are getting enough. Keep me posted!