My Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad Habitat aka The Toaditarium

[Geo]

This is my paludarium for the 3 Oriental Fire-Bellied Toads I care for. The enclosure is an Exo-Terra Small/Wide (45x45x45) Terrarium. There is a water pump hidden behind the hill. The rest of the tank contents are obtainable in my region of Cape Breton. Various mosses, rocks, sand, branches, etc.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

Great! I'm sure they love it Do they enjoy swimming a lot?

[Geo]

I would say they are half half. Half the day water and half on land. They are no the best swimmers haha. It is interesting that when they grab ahold of a cricket they will immediately jump into the water. I assume this serves two purposes, to help with killing the crickets and to make the digesting of them easier. I also noticed that if they hang out in an area with darker moss or stones they slowly go dark olive green but when in the bright green areas return to their normal bright jade color.

[Mentat]

Nice tank, like the moses a lot.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

I would say they are half half. Half the day water and half on land. They are no the best swimmers haha. It is interesting that when they grab ahold of a cricket they will immediately jump into the water. I assume this serves two purposes, to help with killing the crickets and to make the digesting of them easier. I also noticed that if they hang out in an area with darker moss or stones they slowly go dark olive green but when in the bright green areas return to their normal bright jade color.

They certainly do like water I'd say your hypothesis regarding the crickets in water is correct! It's interesting how some animals do that, White's Tree frogs have also been witnessed to change shades.

[Geo]

I have also noticed that Hans, one of the males, periodically does the mating call for a lengthy duration and will turn a dark olive green while calling out. I am not certain of the relevance outside the camoflage may keep him less noticeable to predators while he is being vocal.

[Geo]

I am anxious to see if the mosses do well. There is a forest nearby that I visit to obtain same. There appears to be about 4 different types from what I notice. I wouldalso like to figure a way to cultivate a few species of them to make them available to a few friends elsewhere. The duckweed has been introduced and the java moss appears to be slowly growing. I would like to trackdown a short version of an aquatic grass to introduce to the lagoon. If anyone has any they can donate it would be much appreciated. The java balls are ok but are very slow growers. I have also been contemplating adding baby guppies as an alternative food source although I am uncertain if the toads would make the attempt to eat them.