FBT's are not eating?

[kroberts009]

It is my understanding that fire bellied toads are cool-water toads and temperatures exceeding the mid 70's can be harmful. Mine are kept at room temperature (around 70) and they are active, go after their crickets like they are starving, and I have a male that calls and regularly tries to mate the others.

i would agree with you in a sense that they are cool water temperature tolerant. however while researching everyone has a different input on this subject, however most information out there states somewhere between 70s-80. room temperature would generally work and it did for many months for me with my toads. but when we started dropping below the 50s at night, my toads werent maintaining too well. so i gave them a heater, and they have begun to thrive again. when the normal temperature picks back up, that may be a different story.

it comes down to everyones personal preferences, my personal preference is... that mine are mantaining great with the 1-3 gallon sized heater (its very very tiny) and if i could get my little turtle (in a seperate encolusre of course) to not try to eat everything i put in his tank, he'd get one too! lol

[heyjude2200]

What kind of heater do you have, Kristie? I've been looking online & the vast majority of submersible heaters are vertical & won't work because the water in my tank is only a few inches. I found a couple of small submersible ones on Amazon that look like they might work, but they have poor reviews, and also no thermostat controls, which would make me nervous--I don't want to have to check the water temp constantly. Anyone have any ideas?

[kroberts009]

What kind of heater do you have, Kristie? I've been looking online & the vast majority of submersible heaters are vertical & won't work because the water in my tank is only a few inches. I found a couple of small submersible ones on Amazon that look like they might work, but they have poor reviews, and also no thermostat controls, which would make me nervous--I don't want to have to check the water temp constantly. Anyone have any ideas?

I have my two in a much smaller enclosure than you have, mines similiar to this one, but mine always stays on, at least this one shuts off. however i think its too small for your enclosure (gallon wise)
Marina Submersible Mini Aquarium Heaters - Heaters & Accessories - Fish - PetSmart

the one i put in my tank, i found on the fish aisle in my petstore, and its actually listed for a beta (it has a fill line, but i turned it sideways (diagonal) as i only have about 3 inches of water myself)

do you have a petstore close by, that you go head into and go down the fish aisle? reptile/amphibian heaters were much to big for the space i had available

[heyjude2200]

Thanks again, Kristie. Yes, I have a pet store nearby, which I will check out today. I was under the impression that the long ones had to be installed vertically.

[kroberts009]

Thanks again, Kristie. Yes, I have a pet store nearby, which I will check out today. I was under the impression that the long ones had to be installed vertically.

good luck.... if you wouldnt mind an update in a few days would be awesome

[kroberts009]

good luck.... if you wouldnt mind an update in a few days would be awesome

any updates? would love to know if they are doing any better?

[heyjude2200]

An update...I bought a heater & raised the temp to about 75, but it didn't seem to make much difference, they still weren't very interested in eating. I have been planning for a while to redo their tank, so I set up a smaller 20G long with just rocks, plants and water, and moved them there temporarily while I work on the big one. They were more active the first few days in the new tank, exploring, but they have settled in again, and still aren't eager to eat. I really think it is the shorter days. In my previous apartment there was very little natural sunlight, and so their days & nights were dictated by the tank lighting. Where I live now has a lot of windows and is very bright, so the natural light prevails, and I use one tank light on cloudy days. So, I'm just waiting to see if they continue to become more active & hungrier as the days get longer. In the meantime, I'm making them a very cool rock wall. :-)