what am i doing wrong?!

[Pandora3d]

hello all - i just found this forum and am hoping someone can give me some good advice, as pet stores seem to be staffed with retards lately. about 6 months ago i was near the hot springs area in Arkansas and caught 4 toads. 3 reddish brown and one grey, maybe boreals but i really have no idea. anywho...i have them in a 10 gallon aquariam with eco earth and i believe it is some sort of fiber bedding so they can burrow. i have a couple small live plants and a water dish with rocks in it for them to sit on. i'm feeding them crickets and mealworms every other day. they seemed to be doing great but then i noticed they seemed to be acting like they were drunk, all wobbly and didn't seem to have enought strength to move around. a guy at the pet store said maybe it was too cold as i didn't have any heat in the tank. so i added a small one to the water dish, and then a pad on the underside of one side of the tank. unfortunately one of the littlest guys turned up dead (i cried like a big baby) and now one of the other smaller guys is acting all weird again (the other two bigger guys seem 'ok'). i have noticed a few white sopts in the substrate and wonder if it is fungus/mold and maybe that is what is making them 'sick'??? i am changing all of the stuff out tonite with new bedding/soil and washing all the plastic plants in boiling water, should i get rid of the live plants.....what am i doing wrong?! i feel so guilty for catching these guys, taking them out of the wild and then killing them, please help!!!

[DonLisk]

I think a few pics might help for ID of the frogs for you. Knowing species will help to determine temps and humidity levels needed for the to thrive. Below is some basic info and if you ID the frogs, then you may have to adjust some of the numbers below but its a start on the right track.

Keeping them at room temp at night (68 - 70 degrees) should be fine. Day temps 75 to 78 should be good too.

Humidity should probably be around 50 percent and not higher than 70 I would believe.
Stress is the biggest killer to frogs and providing them with enough space, a quiet surroundings, and plenty of places to hide is a must. I would move the under tank heater to a side since your only providing heat to the substrate and if they dig deep enough they are going to be right on top of the pad.
Add some lighting during the day with a compact florescent bulb at probably 13 watts. Give them a day and night time cycle.

Make sure the crickets are no longer than the distance between the frogs eyes and drop the mealworms for a bit. Also dust the crickets with some calcium powder at least twice a week.

and I have to ask, what live plants do you have in the tank? Did you remove the fertilized soil from the plants prior to putting in the tank?

[Pandora3d]

thanks so much for taking the time to help - i really appreciate it!! i am fully admitting i'm ignorant with these creatures and am trying to educate myself to take care of them better, they are so damn cute

so i've uploaded pics of two of my friends. the third is a smaller reddish one that is hiding under the plants and i didnt want to dig him up just to get a shot of him. sorry they arent the best, but hopefully enough to tell what kind they are.

i have a feeling my enclosure is WAY too small for all 3 of them, and i might sell if need be, though i'd rather not. the live plants are the one in the corner and the all green one in the middle, the others are fake. they didn't come with any real soil attached to them, just the rootballs, so there wasnt any fertlized soil on them to remove. i think it might be too warm and too humid, both are around 75 all the time. ?? i was reading that i should use some sort of water conditioner for the water (which i hadn't been doing), does the stuff you use for fish tanks work?

thanks again for the info! i'll be sure to stick to the small crickets!

[rebelbrat]

just wondering if you are using dechlorinated water/ cant use reg. water from faucet?

[Pandora3d]

i am just using tap water, although i fill up a bottle and let it sit out a day before adding to their bowl.

[Mentat]

i am just using tap water, although i fill up a bottle and let it sit out a day before adding to their bowl.

Letting water sit with aeration from air pump or water head is OK; only if your tap water does not have chloramines. If it does; a water conditioner for reptiles or fish is required since chloramines are more stable than Cl and will not gas out.

Not sure if there are other problems in your set-up; but this one is important. Need to take care of it as soon as you can or your frogs will continue getting sick and die.

[Pandora3d]

Letting water sit with aeration from air pump or water head is OK; only if your tap water does not have chloramines. If it does; a water conditioner for reptiles or fish is required since chloramines are more stable than Cl and will not gas out.

Not sure if there are other problems in your set-up; but this one is important. Need to take care of it as soon as you can or your frogs will continue getting sick and die.

ok, i will get some water test stuff and see about my tap water. i did use some drops from my fish tank conditioner and when mister grey got out of the water he looked like he was trying to wipe himself off, like it was bothering him - so i dunked him in a bowl of the untreated water and then he seemed okay. so that kind of freaked me out and i haven't added anything to the water since then. :S