My toads are turning black!!!

[Froggie85]

Ya I have no clue either he still is active and eats but does the strangest thing and he actually has mean behavior towards one of my toads he will bark and bark at it and then swim over or jump on it and hold him in the water . and no they are not mating he just seems to be mean , there is def food competition with him and its tough cause he wont eat unless hes in the terrarium they all are like that soooo I have been trying to come up with ideas and I just don't have the right one I don't want to handle them every feeding plus they don't eat hand fed or when taken out so Mr spasm eats and eats one of my other ones eat one is all and my other toad that's as big as my pinky seems like hes getting smaller and I've only seen him eat a few times in the month ive had them other then that he hides in the dark under a rock all day long . It is def complicated to me to try and do whats best for them and nothing still changes. I was hoping with raising my water temp up they would be more active and its been about a week since I rose the temps up and they still are not active at all I never see them hoping around just kinda peeking out and going back in there hiding places but that's it .

[privet01]

.......... and he actually has mean behavior towards one of my toads he will bark and bark at it and then swim over or jump on it and hold him in the water . and no they are not mating he just seems to be mean .......

Though many of the care sheets don't mention it most of us here with two or more FBT's can tell you that they seem to have a social pecking order. One of the males will dominate the other males and females. And this does include jumping on the backs of others and holding them tightly in an embrace similar to mating at which time you might hear the submissive toad let out a sort of warbling noise. I take that as it saying "Uncle".

At times this does include holding the other underwater for lengthy periods of time. Sometimes it seems to be very violent, but they are not going to do any damage to each other. And FBT's can handle an extended period under water with no harm. They are amphibians and they can absorb oxygen from the water through their skin. Or so I've read.

If you browse the forum you'll see many a newb asking about this behavior. It's just something you have to get used to.

As for them hiding all day. Many do. My dominate male is the only one that stays out and about most of the "day". The others spend more time hiding. Though some do come out for a little. Many times just to have the dominate one jump on them.

As for lack of activity................... well they don't do a lot. They tend to just lounge around thinking about their next meal. It's not like they hunt all day or have stuff to do.

[Froggie85]

Yours sounds like mine my dominate one will be out 90 percent of the day . one of my others ones will venture out and bark and then the dominate one and him will wrestle and then they go about there own but for my other one he hides all day and is only out at night I think mostly cause when I get up in the morning to turn there UVB light on they are all out but once I do that my little guy will go hide in the same spot all day long , my worry with that is him and maybe sometimes my other one that likes to argue with my dominate one not being able to eat cause they or at least the little one most times dont come out when its feeding time I watch to see if he eats but its really hard to tell when hes stuck in a corner under a rock where its dark and I can't see well my other issue with that is the little one hiding is him not getting the UVB he needs ..

[privet01]

I don't worry about them eating. They'll get it when they need it. Even my dominate male hasn't been seen grabbing a cricket for the last two or three feedings, which is over eight days. But I know he will when he wants one.

As far as them hiding and not getting any UVb. They probably are getting out, just not when you are looking. I assume that your viv is new as are your FBT's. So likely they are all a little skittish and just need time to get used to the new surroundings and new social order.

[Froggie85]

I have had them for 4 to 6 weeks .. I had them in a 15 gallon I use to have fish in then I felt better to buy a new tank so I bought a new 10 gallon and changed that one around at least three times to suit them and myself then I decided to get a 20 gallon tall and change it completely with a lot of new things and have changed that one twice but the second time I changed that one I kept everything in it the same I didnt move anything around I mistakenly thought when you cleaned it once a week that meant emptying the whole thing out and cleaning it completely.. The only activness I see is the barking I cant see them but I can hear them the only one I see is my retarded from and sometimes one of my smaller ones but thats the most active I get out of them is the barking and thats cause the other fire bellies get close and they bark like get out of here this is my spot type a thing !

[alane]

Tonight, all six of mine are fairly dark. So many changes to the tank recently, who can tell why.

[Froggie85]

Jason would be best to tell you . I am still learning . I have one that is 4 years old that was given to me and I bought two more but only have had all three for about 6 weeks. When I received the 4 year old fire belly he was dark with a lime green splotch on his head he has shed twice since I have had him and he has never went back to the normal lime bright green ever ... I noticed with my other two if they sit in the water a really long time they darken up a bit ,but always seem to go back to the the lime green I only have one that has stayed really bright from the others thats how I tell them apart lol ..