New to Firebellies!

[TheArtsyWolf]

Thank you so much! Just one more question, though: Do the females make noise? Thank you so much for all this info!

[s6t6nic6l]

Hi! I'm getting a Fire belly Toad in a few days and have a few questions about them.

-Do they give off any kind of odor? Like, my room mate will kill me if i have anything that smells bad
-Can they be handled? I've heard they can and cant, so im confused. WOuld you be able to handle them with non latex gloves that are safe for frogs?
-What would an ideal tank setup be?
-Is a 10 gallon tank big enough? Should i get 2 so they arent lonely?

Thanks SOOOO much! <3

THE IDEAL SETUP IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. THERE IS NO HARD FAST RULES FOR THESE TOADS NEEDS IN THE WAY OF WATER/LAND RATIO OR AS LOOKS GO IT SEEMS.

Congrats on your soon-to-be friends!

-They do not give off any odor. However, depending on how you set up your tank, if you don't keep it clean, it might begin to smell. Also, the males "bark" (a muffled barking sound- like the dog down the street barking outside) so I don't know if that would bother your rommie.

-I wouldn't recommend handling. That stresses them out- they're not really touchie-feelie frogs and I've read that the oils on our skin aren't good for them. You can handle them, but make sure you wash your hands very well before- make sure to rinse off all soap residue and wash your hands again after holding so you don't have any toxin residue left.

-These may be called toads but they are actually very nubbly frogs. That means they need to be kept moist, and since they are partially aquatic, they need bodies of water to soak in. It is best to set up with about 60% of your tank being water (no more than about 3 inches deep- they're semi-aquatic, but not really swimmers) and 40% land. Some people prefer a land set-up with one or more pools, and others like a totally aquatic set-up with floating areas for "land mass". These guys are messy tho, so make sure you're ready with a filter or partial water changes.

-These are one of the types of frogs that are more social in the wild, so getting more than one is not a bad idea. I have three in a 10 gal (which I plan to upgrade to a 20 gal). I wouldn't recommend getting more than 2 or 3 for a 10 gallon tho. A bigger tank is always better.

Good luck!

AND THAT "BARKING" CAN HAPPEN IN ANY 24hr PERIOD SO BE AWARE IF THEY'RE IN HEARING RANGE WHEN IT'S BO-BO'S COZ THIS COULD ULTIMATELY END UP AS A FALLOUT BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU. ON THE HANDLING SIDE, AS STATED, IT SHOULD REALLY BE A NO NO UNLESS YOU HAVE TO MOVE THEM WHEN YOU CLEAN UP THE TANK. A QUICK SOLUTION IS TO RUN COLD WATER FROM THE TAP OVER YOUR HANDS FOR A WHILE THEN MOVE THE TOAD(S) THEN RINSE AGAIN WHEN DONE BUT NEVER ATTEMPT THIS EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE SLIGHTEST OF A GRAZE ON YOUR HAND OTHERWISE YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE YOUR HAND AMPUTATED!!! OR YOU MAY JUST GET A NUMB KINDA FEELING IN YOUR HAND.

GET THE LARGEST TANK THAT IS POSSIBLE FOR WHEN IN SITU AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A SOCIAL GATHERING WITHIN.

Thank you so much! Just one more question, though: Do the females make noise? Thank you so much for all this info!

YES. IT'S A MORE QUIET SOUND THO' THAN THAT OF THE MALE WHICH IS HER RELEASE CALL.

[crazkt]

Thank you so much! Just one more question, though: Do the females make noise? Thank you so much for all this info!

They don't make noise like the males do- on a random basis. They (as mentioned) will make noise when they want to be released by a male with mating on the brain. The noises are softer- I haven't noticed any as of yet. However, if you're looking to get only females when you buy, that can be tricky. The Oriental Fire Belly Toads are very hard to sex. The males are supposed to be slightly more textured on their backs, their forelegs are beefier than those of the females, and they might have nubs on their forearms IF they are in mating season. Also, if you have a chance to watch the frog enclosure you are buying from- the males will be grasping at the frog they've jumped on top of (like arms around the waist of the other frog), not just sitting on top of the other frog. Keep in mind, though, that frogs jump on each other all the time, and a female might land on top of another frog and a male might not feel like jumping on top of another frog at the moment. And it's trickier to sex them if they're juveniles and not adults. Try checking the forearms size and the jumping-on-top-of attitude. And, of course, ask the pet store workers if they know the genders of their frogs. Have fun shopping!