Odd bugs???

[pj1298]

well my american toad is acting odd.... ive been trying to feed him but he refuses food and he keeps on burrowing really deep. is he hybernating? and today when i looked in his cage their were these tiny little grey bugs crawling around on the coconut fiber. i only saw 4 of them. ill try to get pictures up later. any ideas on what they might be?

[wesleybrouwer]

Mites or springtails maybe?

[Poly]

I'm not sure what the insects are, perhaps fruitflys? Anything in the toads cage that would attract insects? (Un-noticed fecal matter, rotting organic matter such as dead plants, fruit, etc.?)

As for the burrowing, this is normal behavior for toads, especially if they are WC (Wild Caught) and is near the winter season, it's getting ready for hibernation (It thinks it's going to have to hibernate!). My two american toads started doing this about 2 weeks ago, they would burrow themselves 2-3" in their substrate, and stay there for about 1 to 1.5 days (If they stay burried any longer than 3 days is when you should start to get worried, if this occurs, dig them up and feed them.), until they would again come up too feed. They too were not feeding as frequently, and it was quite difficult to envoke a feeding response from them. After a while of this behavior, they just seemed to stop, and go back to normal. No worries!

Here's my two toads comming out of what I call a 1.5 day "Mini-hibernation":



Also, could you please list the temperature & humidity you keep their "cage" at. And what exactly do you keep them in, an aquarium? A photo of their set-up would be nice too!

~Royce

[pj1298]

well ill get the pics up later. and i think the bugs are mites so are those normal? and also he does come out as you said after every 2 days but he only eats very little. he used to eat 3 mealworms easily but now he doesnt make it past 1.

[Poly]

No they are not common. You should remove your toad, and clean the tank right away. They could possibly endanger the toad somehow, play it safe, get rid of them!

[Jimbok3]

The bugs are most likely springtails, they love to live in the coconut fiber (because it's moist)

[pj1298]

well by the time i got back from school he was dead... i dont know what happened to him but now hes up in toad heaven. i think he didnt die from the bugs but they could had contributed to it. he has been eating scarcely and he the last day he hasnt been burrowed. and also the tempurture kept on fluctuating so that could had been it too. how can i prevent these bugs from coming into his cage? it was a screen top. i wanted to get a pac man frog with my spare 10 gallon but now that hes gone i can use this instead but 1st i need to know how to prevent the bugs.

[Poly]

If you cannot fit the toad/amphibian into your lifestyle/daily routiene and keep the temperatures normal, humidity level and vivarium clean, and free of foreign insects, then I would not recommend buying another amphibian. The SECOND you noticed the insects you should have removed them, and cleaned the entire tank. They may not have killed the toad, but it is a possibilty, and clearly, not worth risking!

What did you keep the temperature at?

What did you keep the humidity at?

Did you mist daily?

How frequently did you change it's water and what did you have for a water bowl?

Could it have ingested something that caused impaction? (i.e Small stones, bark chips, moss?)

How frequently did you change the coco-fibre?

Did you handle it alot?

Where did you feed it, in the tank, or in a seperate tank?

Could you post a photot of the dead toad?

When it was alive, was it skinny or fat?

Did you feed mealworms as a staple? Did you dust it's food with calcium & vitamin power?

Just some things to look at, maybe something had to do with it's death rather than natural causes...

Oh, and was it Wild Caugh or a Captive Bred toad bought for a pet store?

[Poly]

Also, could you post a photo of it's set-up?

When it was dead, did it look bloated or skinny?

Was it discoloured?

Excusing it's death as "i dont know what happened to him" and saying "but now hes up in toad heaven" is not a great attitude to have IMHO.

That's carelessness...