Hello all, meet my american toad friend, Banjo.

[yoshimi]

finally, he's burrowing, instead of climbing. under the fake plant i cut down for ground cover, he's dug himself a little bed beside his rock steps. he didn't give a poop about the hide i gave him, so i took it out. more room for hopping and now i have a cereal bowl with a doorway in it. it'll come in handy if i ever need to go on a diet.

[kueluck]

I would leave the other hide in there, maybe lay some fake plants over it to give him a more secure feeling.

[Heatheranne]

Cute toad! I agree, I'd leave the hide too. He may find he likes its when he comes up again. My toad used to hibernate on his own too. He'd come out every month or so for a good meal and a soak and then under he'd go again. I love the little guys. They have the cutest faces. They remind me of little grumpy old men, ha ha!

Gail, are your toads of the babies you raised back when?

[yoshimi]

Cute toad! I agree, I'd leave the hide too. He may find he likes its when he comes up again. My toad used to hibernate on his own too. He'd come out every month or so for a good meal and a soak and then under he'd go again. I love the little guys. They have the cutest faces. They remind me of little grumpy old men, ha ha!

they so do! so serious. banjo doesn't hibernate, just takes naps or rests or whatever. every morning when i get up, he's up too. that's usually when i feed him unless i fed him the night before. not sure what he does all night besides stand around and soak, but if i feed him in the morning, he eats (so cute how intent he is on food), then goes to bed. bed used to be a plant, but i'm very pleased that now he has a burrow. i may try a smaller hide. the cereal bowl was a little big. his home is only about 15gallons, so until i upgrade, i don't want to overload it.

[Heatheranne]

Awe . Good thinking. Any new photos?

[yoshimi]

Awe . Good thinking. Any new photos?

just this: he knows he's beautiful. And fat. Belly full of crickets. Too fat?

[kueluck]

Heather – yes they are the babies and I'll release most of them come spring.

Crystal – looks good. I don't think a toad can be to fat, can they?? One good pee or poop and they'll look slimmed down.

[Heatheranne]

just this: he knows he's beautiful. And fat. Belly full of crickets. Too fat?

Looks like he could have a good poop. If he doesn't poop tonight, sneak 3 drops of honey in his water bowl and mix it up. If he has a good honey soak, He'll likely go . Give him a regular soak after to rinse off the excess honey. He's super cute .

[Heatheranne]

Heather – yes they are the babies and I'll release most of them come spring.

Crystal – looks good. I don't think a toad can be to fat, can they?? One good pee or poop and they'll look slimmed down.

That's awesome! We released all of our babies in the fall. It was tough to see them go, but hopefully there out there enjoying the big world. Lots of yummy little bugs and wild crickets where we set them free. There was also a nice large bush to hide under .

[yoshimi]

i thought the same thing about needing a poo after i took pic. gave him warm water soak, think all he did was pee. then when i woke up this morning he was sitting in food bowl which always makes me feel bad for him, cuz i know nothing's going to just appear in there. so a few more crickets and fresh warm water bath. i shouldn't be feeding him if i'm not sure if he's going. took a flashlight to his burrow and didn't see anything. putting honey on shopping list. what else works as toad laxative?

and you guys are so awesome and lucky to find baby toads and release them without having a breakdown about it. i just never see them unless i'm in a car and i've lived here for 5yrs.

still unsure about letting him go in the spring. we have a nature trail where he'd be safe from cars if he stays off the roads (found him on sidewalk), and lawnmowers, but not nature itself. of course i'd rather he be eaten then smooshed before his time. brings me back to thinking that with me, he's safe. no badgers or snakes here, just 2 cats who'd get the fur beaten off of them if they messed with him. and of course me, who is likely his biggest threat. but i have the rest of the winter to love him without having to think about saying good bye.

UPDATE: another warm water bath and he pooped out 12 more phoenix worms and 2 were still wriggling in the water. wtheck?? there were a few casings but mostly whole worms. it's my fault cuz i thought i could dust them with reptivite and not waste them, but that was days ago and i don't recall giving him 12. so no, they're going into the freezer to die along with the cup of poop water. feel bad for them, but worse for my toad who was walking around with them in his belly.

[Heatheranne]

Try night crawlers cut to proper size. He'll love them and they're easy to digest . I think I'd keep him if it were me .

[kueluck]

<~~feels no guilt killing bugs for the welfare of the toad. Definitely keep him, definitely. (using Rainman inflections, if you're old enough to know what that means)

[yoshimi]

Oh sweet geebus, i kept the phoenix worms in a styrofoam cooler with an ice pack and when i went to go get the cup and freeze them, the cup lid was off a bit and they were loose in there. mostly black ones, but a few white. i'm used to dealing with them, but it was a gross shock. used feeding tongs to get them all back into cup (all were on bottom of cooler, none had climbed sides, phew), and into the freezer they went. no guilt. little sh*ts. i'll try earthworms eventually, maybe when he's bigger (i've seen toads eat them whole), and until then it's crickets, dubia roaches (breeding them), and an occasional bran-fed mealworm. he only gets them when i know he's pooped, and never very many. i've gotten good at finding the newly molted ones. so of course i want to keep him. and i still want a friend for him. all he has is me, with my giant planet head, peering at him.
i'd just turned 6 when Rain Man came out. i should probably watch it someday. i've been busy these past 24yrs.

[GrifTheGreat]

Welcome!!