Hello all, meet my american toad friend, Banjo.

[yoshimi]

This is Banjo the night I found him hopping down the street. Sept 28th 2012, a dark and rainy night in MA, and I scooped him up walking home from work. Pretty sure it's an Eastern American toad, no idea if it's a boy or a girl, so I just called it a "he". Better than "it". Don't know when he was born, but my guess is Spring 2012. If anyone has any other guesses on anything, it'd be appreciated. I've seen him shed twice, about a month apart, and he's grown considerably. Here he is Dec 20th 2012 He's not hibernating; instead he eats like a pig and climbs that plant to get some rest. He used to burrow and he still does sometimes, by the food bowl waiting for a refill. It's really cute to see him climb the fake plants (1st time he did it, was the real plant I have in there with leaves that look like lily pads. I took him out of it only to have him climb back up and sit on the leaves.), but I am concerned as this doesn't seem to be normal toad behavior. I thought maybe he needed more ground covering so I cut down the stem on a fake plant so it was more like a bush, but he climbs that too. Even when he's way up (he lives in a 56-qt sterlite tub minus the cat who only did this once) , he doesn't hop out when the lid's off. I use EcoEarth coconut substrate (the bricks), and recently I was told it can cause problems if ingested. I'm bummed that I have to find another substrate when I thought I'd found the best one. It's the dirt that's on his skin when he sheds that I'm concerned about.
He eats out of a plastic salsa bowl that I found at the grocery store. Smooth sides means no escapees. I feed him baby dubia roaches (have a (mostly) adult set-up, currently waiting for them to breed), phoenix worms, and very seldom and only recently, mealworms. Fed off the last of the crickets about a month ago.
I don't know what the future holds for us. I tried to let him go free twice before it got cold, and he just sat there, looking so small and vulnerable. I'd love to keep him forever, but his happiness matters more than what I want. Here he is just being awesome:
Toadily yours,
Crystal