Toad calcium & vitamin supplements

[kueluck]

I’ve searched the care sheets, and the toad forum but can’t locate information on this topic. How often should calcium & vita supplements be given to Fowler’s toads? I’ve raised 2 toadlets starting in mid July and they appear to be healthy, I just want to keep them this way. In the past they feed from tongs but they have both decided it’s more fun to hunt down the food. They don’t eat everyday like they did in the past so I’m concerned they are not getting the calcium and vitamins they need. I feed crickets, roaches, pill bugs, wax worms, butter worms, earthworms & occasionally meal worms. Both are approx 2.5" snout to vent.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

Dusting the insects with calcium should be done about twice a week, give or take a couple of days

[kueluck]

Thanks Robin. I've tried to get them on a schedule of Mon (calcium), Wed (calcium) & Fri (multi vita) but they won't eat from tweezers any more and won't eat everyday. My thought is only offer food on those days. Is that going to be enough for young toads to grow though? Input would be greatly appreciated.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

You're insect dusting schedule seems great! Feeding three times a week is a bit scarce according to me, but toads are excellent judges of appetite. As long as you monitor body weight and activity levels, then things should be perfectly fine. You may want to keep trying to feed on other days, as well. Make sure they are still nice and chubby, and about fifteen minutes of "eat everything you can" may be given on those days. Toads appetites decrease slightly in the winter months, so maybe them not feeding everyday is a result of that.

Also, what feeding method do you use now that they aren't using tweezers?

[kueluck]

I drop in (one at a time) roaches, crickets, wax or butter worms and watch to see who is eating what. I try not to leave anything in the tank so I can monitor who is eating what but then I feel sorry for them and will leave a couple of crickets or roaches in the tank. Since the calcium or vitamins wear off it kinda defeats the purpose of dusting them. They use to eat non stop with the tweezers about a month ago then just stopped taking from them. For awhile I was afraid they were over eating and both were getting really fat, but I still offered food until they turned away. They are both really active at night, just not eager to eat like before.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

Do they eat the leftover insects in the tank? Another possible way to go is to take them out of their tank for about 15 minutes a day and put them into a slightly smaller container with a few bugs. Monitor their acceptance and interest in hunting the food. If they don't eat then they could be stressed from that method and human handling, it doesn't work for all toads, but for mine it works beautifully. That way you can also make sure they remain dusted, and keep in mind that not all have to have the calcium/vitamin dust on them