Why Are My FBTs Always So Dark?

[Kay]

I have four in a 20 gallon long vivarium. I have a water filter large enough for a 55 gallon tank. There is five inches of water, smooth river rocks on the bottom, several pieces of driftwood and larger smooth rocks on top of those rocks. Although there is not a separate land/water area, there is quite a good bit of dry area. There are live plants and plenty of hiding places. They are pretty active. Sometimes they're noisy. Sometimes I see they mating (or trying to anyway). They eat very well. I dust their crickets. They usually eat some right away and leave some, but those are gone by the next morning. Their water temperature is at about 78 degrees and the humidity stays high. I have a snail (to eat the algae off the rocks) and a couple of feeder minnows in the tank too (I was told the toads would eat them, but they're scared of the fish). I vacuum the bottom of the tank out once a month, and I do a 1/3 water change once a week.

For some reason, they're always dark. I thought they were dark because a lot of stuff in their tank is dark; however, I've been looking at the tanks here and the toads are bright no matter the color of the contents of the tanks. I've read before that if they're dark that means they're stressed, but I don't know what else to do or what to do differently. I've had them for about one year.

I have one FBT by himself in a one gallon tank. He has a neurological deficit and the pet store asked me to adopt him. He cannot maintain his balance (he falls over sideways) and he cannot move his head the way he needs to in order to catch food. I have to hand feed him. This involves me prying open his mouth with a little manicure stick, and putting a dead (newly killed) cricket in his mouth. Once he feels the cricket, he can then pull it into his mouth and do whatever it is they do (swallow?) when they eat. I feed him three at a time, every other day. Anyway, he is the same color as the others. His tank has the same type of items as the larger tank, just on a smaller scale. I imagine he might be stressed because he has to be handled so often, plus having his mouth pried open.

Any ideas and suggestions?

[tearsmith]

Hello, Kay.

I have the exact set up as you do with the same 4 toads in 20gal Long. From the sounds of it, you have the viv set up well. I asked my vet about the green coloring. According to him, and everything I can find in research, there are 100 different reasons why they may be dark green.

Genetic coloring, like my Oscar
Shedding time...Cold...poor diet....stress....night...day...etc, etc, etc

From what I can tell and what the vet said, if all else is well, dark green color is nothing to worry about. Watch for appetite changes, lethargy, sores, weight changes, etc. If the toads are sick or over stressed they will exhibit other signs of poor health.

I noticed that mine are usually light green in the day time, especially early morning when the sun shines right in their tank. At night they turn dark green and almost blend into the rocks. Sometimes I cannot even see them against their driftwood pieces until they move or something.

Watch for signs of sickness and if nothing.... don't worry. Good luck with your babies.

[badkelpie]

Are you sure they aren't just the brown type? I have one of each. Luigi is the green type, bowser is brown. What is the base color? Is it muddy brown or green/black?

[Kay]

Are you sure they aren't just the brown type? I have one of each. Luigi is the green type, bowser is brown. What is the base color? Is it muddy brown or green/black?

They're green/black. Every now and then a couple of them will be lighter during the daytime, but they're never that bright green color.

[artes]

They may just be darker green frogs. I have 4 FBTs, one is brown - one is dark green - one is light green - and one is kinda multi colored dark and light. They do change their colors slightly occasionally, but they're almost always those colors. So, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Han]

Let there be light, a lot of light in fact, above the set-up. Light, no heat.
Temperature? 70-72 max.! Provide a small basking-spot.

Han

[crazkt]

I have three green FB's. I do notice them turn darker, usually around the time that I change their water out. Once they have clean water, they brighten back up. This is not scientific evidence, just what I've noticed in the month or so of having mine.

[crazkt]

Let there be light, a lot of light in fact, above the set-up. Light, no heat.
Temperature? 70-72 max.! Provide a small basking-spot.

Han

I think your temperature range is a little too limited. I've read that fire belly toads are good from 68-78 F with a basking spot of no more than 80F. Is this not correct?

[s6t6nic6l]

i have four in a 20 gallon long vivarium. I have a water filter large enough for a 55 gallon tank. There is five inches of water, smooth river rocks on the bottom, several pieces of driftwood and larger smooth rocks on top of those rocks. Although there is not a separate land/water area, there is quite a good bit of dry area. There are live plants and plenty of hiding places. They are pretty active. Sometimes they're noisy. Sometimes i see they mating (or trying to anyway). They eat very well. I dust their crickets. They usually eat some right away and leave some, but those are gone by the next morning. Their water temperature is at about 78 degrees and the humidity stays high. I have a snail (to eat the algae off the rocks) and a couple of feeder minnows in the tank too (i was told the toads would eat them, but they're scared of the fish). I vacuum the bottom of the tank out once a month, and i do a 1/3 water change once a week.

For some reason, they're always dark. I thought they were dark because a lot of stuff in their tank is dark; however, i've been looking at the tanks here and the toads are bright no matter the color of the contents of the tanks. I've read before that if they're dark that means they're stressed, but i don't know what else to do or what to do differently. I've had them for about one year.

I have one fbt by himself in a one gallon tank. He has a neurological deficit and the pet store asked me to adopt him. He cannot maintain his balance (he falls over sideways) and he cannot move his head the way he needs to in order to catch food. I have to hand feed him. This involves me prying open his mouth with a little manicure stick, and putting a dead (newly killed) cricket in his mouth. Once he feels the cricket, he can then pull it into his mouth and do whatever it is they do (swallow?) when they eat. I feed him three at a time, every other day. Anyway, he is the same color as the others. His tank has the same type of items as the larger tank, just on a smaller scale. I imagine he might be stressed because he has to be handled so often, plus having his mouth pried open.

Any ideas and suggestions? Surprisedfrog

That water temp' needs coming down dramatically. You may vacuum the bottom but it will be rank to be honest due to the residue from the toxin build-up on the rocks, bet your bottom dollar that when you rub your finger along you will feel a greasy like substance that is attached to them. Yep, rank!!. Your water change ratio also needs to be addressed too with a 2/3rd change preferably.

let there be light, a lot of light in fact, above the set-up. Light, no heat.
Temperature? 70-72 max.! Provide a small basking-spot.

Han

as long as you provide enough light for your plants(if used) that will be suffice for the toads too but you must also provide plenty of shade for them to utilise. The basking spot can be beneficial dependant on your setup. (i use a 2.0 bulb for the plants and toads u.v.b. Needs)

i have three green fb's. I do notice them turn darker, usually around the time that i change their water out. Once they have clean water, they brighten back up. This is not scientific evidence, just what i've noticed in the month or so of having mine.

this could be because when you have changed the water it will be more or less cold to start with ?

i think your temperature range is a little too limited. I've read that fire belly toads are good from 68-78 f with a basking spot of no more than 80f. Is this not correct?

i don't see no reason why the water temps should be raised with these toads at all. All i see is a breeding ground for bacteria to thrive in due to the mucus secreted by them. You have to realise that these toads can/will/do habitate cold running streams and will even hibernate in these waters.

[Kay]

OK, a couple of people have said my water temperature is too warm. What should it be? Also, how do I lower the water temperature (other than adding cold water). I do not have any type of heat source on the tank.

If I change the water 2/3rds @ a time, do I still do that weekly? I have taken everything out of the tank and scrubbed off everything a few times. However, I thought it disturbed the toads so much. They took a few days to resume their normal activities afterwards. I will go back to doing that also along with the vacuuming.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I appreciate them all.

[s6t6nic6l]

ok, a couple of people have said my water temperature is too warm. What should it be? Also, how do i lower the water temperature (other than adding cold water). I do not have any type of heat source on the tank.

If i change the water 2/3rds @ a time, do i still do that weekly? I have taken everything out of the tank and scrubbed off everything a few times. However, i thought it disturbed the toads so much. They took a few days to resume their normal activities afterwards. I will go back to doing that also along with the vacuuming.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I appreciate them all.

not much you can do if this is the temps of your climate at the moment, so will be suffice due to your season over there, and as you say there is no heater in place then let your local temps dictate the water temp in the setup EVEN IN THE WINTER MONTHS. OH, BTW, IT'S WINTER OVER HERE NOW AND NO HEATER IS INTEGRATED IN MY ABODE AND GUESS WHAT, MINE ARE ALL BRIGHT GREEN FOR SOME REASON!!!. Ideally your water area(pool) should be an isolated area from the land so as to be able to cleanse seperately to ease this problem but i know this is not feasible in most peoples setups anyhow. Again the less substrate used in the water/pool would help negate the issues raised when in use. With a water change at that ratio you would find a fortnightly regime more feasible methinks. Now you know why a lot of hindsight/planning needs to be implemented into our abodes when setting it up, eh. He he.

Ok. That's my two cents worth for the day.

Nic

[crazkt]

OK, a couple of people have said my water temperature is too warm. What should it be? Also, how do I lower the water temperature (other than adding cold water). I do not have any type of heat source on the tank.

If I change the water 2/3rds @ a time, do I still do that weekly? I have taken everything out of the tank and scrubbed off everything a few times. However, I thought it disturbed the toads so much. They took a few days to resume their normal activities afterwards. I will go back to doing that also along with the vacuuming.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I appreciate them all.

I would recommend trying to get the water temps down to the low 70's. If you're using a lamp, keep it off the water. Keep the tank away from the window- if that's a possible heat source. You can also keep your house temp lower and the water temps will follow the room temps. (Then, if the land areas are too cool, you can use a really MILD lamp bulb to set up an 80F basking spot).

If doing a thorough cleaning disturbs your frogs, maybe continue doing that on the schedule you've kept and just work on keeping the water clean. A 2/3 change once a week should be ok. If you notice no change after a week or two, then maybe worry about doing the thorough cleanings more often.

A few other ideas:
-You said you dust your crickets- with what? Do you use calcium w/ vitamin D3? Do you give them a multivitamin? I also gut load my crickets with food high in calcium and carrots (the carrots help with their belly color, and might impact their back color).
-Your filter is meant for a 55 gallon and is in a partially filled 20 gallon. Is there a lot of current in the water? I usually see the frogs in calm pools with little current- so keep that in mind. The filter might be keeping your water clean, but is it turning your water into an ocean?
- Also, bottom line- your frogs might just be darker. There might be no reason to worry. There are brown/red FBTs. If you know your toads naturally have a green back and it looks like it has a black dye over it, then take a close look at how you keep your enclosure and make some small changes a little at a time if necessary. Hope we've helped!