About to get FBT - Feeding questions...

[Mr Bee]

So, my FBT is just about ready for some toadies (just got the last bit to sort out the mesh lid tomorrow) and then I can go get myself some FBT's to put in it

My tank has a 60/40 split (60% water) between dedicated water and land areas, with a small filter (power weakened by doctoring the impeller!) in there for mechanical and charcoal filtration. Land side is covered in moss with a few hidey holes and plastic plants. Then I've got a mesh lid over the top. It's a 60L tank, and I was planning on getting 3 FBT's, does this all sound OK so far?


I just want to make sure I know about feeding before I actually bring any home though. I've been looking at the care sheet sticky on here and have a few questions:-

1) Is a 50% weekly water change all that is required to reduce toxin levels, or does all decor need washing occasionally?

2) I'm planning on feeding crickets, Is 3 or 4 crickets per toad, once or twice a week a good regime? Or will they need less when young? - obviously I don't know what age they will be in the shop until I go buy them though.

3) what else needs doing with their food, with such things like dusting and gutloading? What do you dust them with, just lime flour, or something with vitamins (like A and D3) too, like Nutrobal? Or just make sure to give the crickets carrots once or twice a week?

4) how do you keep crickets, ready as a food source? Not to breed, but when you buy a batch, what is the best thing to keep them in, some sort of tub with something like egg carton to absorb any moisture? Then what is good to feed them generally, to keep them alive? and what about water source - is the 'bug gel' stuff best option?

Pother than that, I understand it's good to mist daily with deionised water (but normal dechlorinated tap water in water section) to keep a moisture and humidity level.


Sorry for asking so many questions, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing and at least the basics of care and feeding before I bring some toads home.

[KDK241]

Mine always go to the bathroom in their water so I do 50% water changes weekly and then once a month I do a complete water change. I have never had to clean anything on my land side or any decorations.

I feed my 4 as many crickets as they can eat in 15 min. and do this twice a week and then feed them earthworms once a week. For my 4 they go through about 15-20 crickets each feeding, its a massacre I tell ya! I dust the crickets with a calcium/D3 supplement for reptiles once a week but that's because earthworms are high in calcium already. I have lizards too so I go through about 100+ crickets a week and going to the store every day is not an option. This is how I keep mine: I have a 1 gallon bucket with a hole cut in the side and a small piece of pipe stuck in the hole so its snug and hundreds of air holes in the lid. To feed I just pull the tube out and shake whatever crickets are in there into the tank. If there aren't any in there I will just tip the bucket and shake them out of the hole where the tube goes (I refuse to catch crickets, they gross me out) I put some cardboard tubes and egg carton in there and for food I give them some homemade turtle food that I freeze for my turtles. You can give them pretty much anything but stay away from animal products, just remember that what goes in the crickets goes into your frogs. I also give mine fresh vegetables sprinkled with calcium/D3 and a little bit of fish food on top. For water you can soak a sponge, cotton ball or use the water gel but if you use fresh vegetables they will also get their moisture from that. If you use a sponge or cotton ball be sure to change it daily, it will get stinky and moldy and kill them. Change any wilted or dried out vegetables daily also. After a while you will know how much they will eat in a day and can feed accordingly. Crickets are surprisingly delicate to care for, will eat each other, and when one dies it lets off a gas that will kill the rest so remove any dead ones as soon as you can. Also, get the medium sized crickets and not the large, the large chirp all night long but the medium size are usually pretty quiet.

I think 3 in that tank will be very happy!