a stroy between a freshman and a tiny toad

[sopp2000]

Hi, everyone,

Nice to meet you here. This is my first thread in this forum.

I'm going to tell a stroy between me and my bumble-bee toad, which can be regard as my self introduce

I live in Mainland China, where treating amphibian as pet is not that popular. Unfortunately I'm one of the tiny group. Especially I like small frogs, while there is almost no supplyments in the local pet market.

Several weeks ago, I read form local BBS that someone was selling a WC Bumble-Bee walking toad (Melanophryniscus stelzneri).
I was very excited and contact him in no time. He said he had kept it for a few monthes, then I brought it home with no hesitatation even it was as thin as a match.

I puted it into my vivarium where this was lot of plants, hidens and also a clean pool. Maybe the vivarium was too large for such a tiny animal to find food easily, but was good enough to calm down a scared new comer. From the next day, I can occasionally saw it walked around inside the tank.

This is my vivarium

As it seemed to had get used to the surroundings, I tried to feed it carefullly by using tweezer to drive small bugs towards it. I tried every kind of small bugs sold in local market for pet food, such as pin crickets, mealworms, tiny roaches, and another kind of mealworms which were much samller (sorry i don't know its English name) but none of them attract its interset. In the best case, it would turned to the bug, looked at it for a while then steped on.

For a whole 1 week I hadn't noticed it get anything i provide. I was so disappointed.

I called its original keeper again for the feeding history, but was told he just feed it by using a bowl of mealworms. Every few weeks he would
pick the bowl out, clean the dead worms and add some new in, which means he never obersed it eating...

Ohh man, he must have passed me a pet that he think he can never afford!

Seems there was no much way left for me. After looking through internet for some time, I decided to force feed. Maybe this was not the most correct method, but finnally it did work.

I handled its body with my washed left hand, using a small obtuse tweezer to open its mouth gently, meanwhile my wife tweezer a chrysalis of tiny mealworms (mentioned above) inserting into it. it's so tiny that our hands can't help shaking. After failed for several times, we finnally put one chrysalis into its mouth. Then I released it and wait fot swallow.Then, again...

After 3 chrysalises was feeded, I provide warm water with electrolyte for it to relax, then put it back. I feed it 2 times a week. It did not get fat after a few weeks, but I could feel it get more spirit when moving.

Then things happend, my wife got tried and quit. I can't do force feed by myself, I had to find way to make it eat. At last I got a good idea.
I catched several black ants form a littel garden and pulled them in front of the toad. It ate! ****!(sorry) i should think of ants earlier! I nerver felt more released than that moment.

After several weeks, after I provided the food it was willing to take, bumble-bee becomes fatter and powerful. Every thing is on its own track.

This is what it look like now.





Looks a little strange, I mean it have a fat stomach but a sharp back, maybe is caused by long-term mul-nutritious. I don't konw how long would it take to make it be back to normal form, I mean fat, like any other toads.

Now I find a local fruit flies supplyment in internet, and the toad shows lots of interest with that. So ants is instead by fruit flies to be the main food.

But I still have no experience on HOW MANY i should feed to a tiny toad like that? Is 20 fruit flies ok one meal ok?

This is my story, my English is poor, I hope you can understand me

[Pluke]

Good story sopp and just so you know I had no trouble understanding you. I love these little bumblebee toads. I'm glad that you took the time and effort to nurse him back to good health and from the looks of the pictures, I'd say he looks pretty normal.. (comparing to other pictures I've seen of them). As far as how many fruit flies to feed.. I'd probably offer the 20 like you said and go from there.. if he eats them all and wants more, why not offer a few more? I don't own one of these toads but with my frogs I've noticed they know when they're full. If this guy is finally eating on his own he might have quite an appetite so I'd offer him as much as he can eat, I hear these guys can have voracious appetites.

Also, that vivarium is gorgeous. What a nice home that toad has, haha. I don't think I could ever build a Viv that good looking.. I still haven't tried.. one day.

[deranged chipmunk]

Welcome to the forum sopp and what a great story and amazing vivarium. I admire your perseverance to rehabilitate the little guy and don't worry about your english, it's better than most people i know who speak it primarily......lol

[sopp2000]

Thank you, Pluke. I'm just a little worry about its stomach which hadn't been used for so long time, so I must be careful not to make it overload.
And its drainage is less...

The vivarium was set up half year before I got bumble-bee. I'm a vivarium lover, and have collected some charming orchids inside.
When they flowered, the tank was colourful. Next time I can show some more pictures about that

[sopp2000]

I decide to call my bumble-bee "Match", is this name matches?