Some toady questions...

[Mir]

Hey! My adorable FBT's name is Sticky. I got him (?) from my school's environmental program and have been watching him over the summer. The teacher hasn't asked for him back yet and I'm certainly a much better home for him than the school. xP

Anyhow, I am about to upgrade Sticky's tank. He's in a 5 gal with a lame basking dock, but I divided a 10 gal so I can put him in there and he can actually have a bigger land area. I want to get him a friend or two, but I'm not sure if they'd get along. The only ones they have at my local pet store are orientalis and I'm pretty sure Sticky is a bombina, but I don't know how to tell. He is smaller than them and dark colored, usually black but the brightest he's ever gotten is brown, never any green on him. He has an orange tummy, medium colored, not yellow, but not as red as orientalis. Also, I don't know if it's actually a boy or not. I've never heard him sing and he's already black all over so it's hard to see if he's developed nuptial pads. But anyway, I'm sure he's not orientalis, but I haven't found anyone else around me who has European ones or any others besides Oriental. If I get him Oriental friends do you think they will get along, or should I not risk mixing species, even if they're only different FBT species, not entirely different frogs? Also, does anyone have any sexing tips for European (or others?) for a definitive way to tell when it's not breeding season? And one more thing: What's the best substrate? What's good to use to make sure he can't accidentally eat it with food?

Thank for reading!

[adinco]

If I get him Oriental friends do you think they will get along, or should I not risk mixing species, even if they're only different FBT species, not entirely different frogs? I'm not positive, but from what I understand, they're basically the same species and can be housed together perfectly fine.


Also, does anyone have any sexing tips for European (or others?) for a definitive way to tell when it's not breeding season? Really the only definitive way of sexing is during breeding season. Males will bark but don't always bark. I've got a male that I've only ever heard bark twice in the 2 or 3 months I've had him. Some people say that you can tell by the webbing on their feet. The female will have less webbing making her toes look longer and females are generally bigger and fatter but neither of those are a guarantee.

And one more thing: What's the best substrate? What's good to use to make sure he can't accidentally eat it with food?
That one I don't know. I have my entire tank covered in water with ornamental things that come out of the water for them to use as land pieces.

[Heatheranne]

The best land substrate to use safely if going to feed on is coco fiber. You can use large rocks that are bigger than the toads or moss, but do not feed them on loose moss or they could accidentally eat it when catching crickets and become impacted. Small rocks can cause the same problem.

[JoshXcore]

I use moss on my land area but it stays pretty moist so it doesn't pull apart easily. Once in a while my 3 toads will get a little moss in their mouths but they're smart enough to pull it out

[ToadTee]

I would think bombina bombina and Orientalis bombina would still get on alright. Firebelly's are social toads so I'm sure he would appreciate the company.

My tank is large gravel and bigger aquarium rocks.

[Mir]

thanks everyone... I was planning on using eco earth with some rocks on top. I guess I could try bringing home two small orientals and seeing if they get along, and I could take them back to the store if they don't...