Toad gone underground – hibernation.

[kueluck]

My female has buried herself. Do I leaver her alone? Dig her up? Should I keep the ground moist for her? Will she come up for food? Some one who has gone through this please advise.

My male still hangs out a little, but not much and will eat maybe every 2 days, grab a butter worm or small dubia.

[Poly]

No worries! My toads go through there "phases" (it seems) too, hibernation mode, low food intake, high food intake, etc.

Both my toads did this about two weeks into winter, they'd come up every 2nd or 3rd day and eat, just let them do there thing, once they realize they don't have to hibernate, they'll be back to normal.

Also, if you want to bring them up without actually digging them up, just pour water where they are burried, and they will generally make their way back to the surface.

[kueluck]

Thanks for the info. I just wish I knew what “normal” was for them. When younger they would eat from the tweezers until I thought they would pop. Now I'm lucky if I see them eat one cricket or roach. (I guess the key word is see). I don't leave feeders in the tank except for pill bugs, so I guess they are munching on them when I'm not around to see. So how long should I let it go if I don't see them for days or weeks?

[Poly]

Well, your main problem might be that your not letting them feed as they wish now, don't schedule their feeding times anymore, just drop in 10-20 crickets every 2nd or 3rd day, and they will hunt for their food. Mine are the same way now, a lot less "tame" and they won't eat unless in their vivarium.

I give them 15 crickets every 3rd day, and they are fine. Bruce, my black toad, looked a little skinny (wouldn't eat anything for a while) about 2 weeks ago, so I took him out of his viv, put him in a 5 gallon quarantine tank with one hiding place, a water bowl, and the rest was open, and for one week fed him five crickets a night. Within that one week, he was back to normal, my problem is, that in their current viv, the crickets have a lot of places to hide, but that encourages the toads to hunt in a more "naturalistic" emviroment.

I'd be worried if they didn't come up for 3 days. They may be comming up at night, hunting for pill bugs, then returning to their hole in the morning, my one toad does tis all the time, been in the same hiding place for 2 weeks, but turn on the light at 3:00am, and there he is, out hunting. My chubby frogs have holes all over their viv, and when they go back into one, it looks the same as if they hadn't even come out of it.

Our babies are growing up, it's just life.

[kueluck]

But won't the feeders clean the supplements off before the toads get to them? This is why I don't leave feeders in the tank. I also don't feed crickets anymore, they bite & chitian levels are high. Main food source is dubia, red runners & worms. I also catch the occasional moth while it's still warm enough. I do have glass dish to put feeders in but I guess I want to see who is eating what. Do I maybe have to much “stuff” in the tank? Does this need to be thinned out some. Are there to many places to hide?

[Wormwood]

Nice tank set up. And no you don't have to worry. I've had toads stay underground for a week or two and not come up.. or when they did come up I wasn't around. Just leave 5-10 crickets in the tank and they'll see them sooner or later, especially if they come out at night to hunt.

A deep ceramic dish filled with a few meal worms doesn't hurt either, as long as it's one-two inches deep they cannot climb out of it. Crickets either unless they get the nerve to jump which they often don't when confused and stuck in a dish like that.

[kueluck]

*sigh* Now Rufus has gone underground, so for the moment I considered myself toadless. I put roaches in a shallow glass dish that is buried into the substrate in case they come out at night. There are also pill bugs milling about and a few free roaming roaches. I'm concerned that crickets may bit the toads which can lead to infections and I don't want to deal with that. I can see Rufus through the glass where he has buried himself and it's really hard not to dig him up, but from what I've read, hibernation lengthens their lifespan and I'm all about that! I'm guessing at this point I just need to keep the substrate moist, but not damp, and the tank day temp is 70-74, nights get down to 64-67.

[Poly]

*sigh* Now Rufus has gone underground, so for the moment I considered myself toadless. I put roaches in a shallow glass dish that is buried into the substrate in case they come out at night. There are also pill bugs milling about and a few free roaming roaches. I'm concerned that crickets may bit the toads which can lead to infections and I don't want to deal with that. I can see Rufus through the glass where he has buried himself and it's really hard not to dig him up, but from what I've read, hibernation lengthens their lifespan and I'm all about that! I'm guessing at this point I just need to keep the substrate moist, but not damp, and the tank day temp is 70-74, nights get down to 64-67.

They'll come up when there hungry! Mine do the exact same thing! I wouldn't worry too much about the crickets, I'm sure they encounter other insects that bite in the wild. I've never had a problem with crickets.

[Wormwood]

That looks like one happy toad. Mine was down in a hole like that for weeks simply resting and enjoying himself. Sooner or later he came up because he was hungry and the fiber started to dry out.

It's a blessing to be able to view them when they bury deep like that.

Your temps are right around what my house is and most of my toads, both American and Southern spend most of the time buried in their substrate with the odd one coming out to soak or sit near the food dish.

[kueluck]

Thanks guys for the positive feedback. I'll have the butter worms and dubias ready for them when they come up for a grand feast!!