Cane toad food.

[Truffs1178]

I have heard that I can feed my cane toad dog food. I f you can it would help save a lot of money coz I already have a dog. And is this all dog food or just some. The stuff I get is pedigree and bakers which is pretty much the best in the U.K. but I don't know if you get that in the U.S. for any American users.

[never quit]

Well, while dog food is a great staple……..for dogs, I don’t think it would be best for a cane toad. Yes, I’ve read where they come to the back porch of houses in Australia and eat the dog food out of the bowl. But you have to realize they’re opportunistic feeders, and if the dog food is handy, easy to get to, why not?...I think a varied diet that includes WHOLE bodied insects/animals is best…I’m sure there’s some micronutrients in the gut that help with the frog’s maintenance, and especially in the long term and I doubt those same micronutrients are in the dog food.
As I’ve stated in another post, there’s countless generations of captive snakes who ONLY eat mice…The whole body, that is….I really doubt a collection of snakes would thrive the same way if they were fed some kind of meat that was scented with a mouse to induce feeding.
Unfortunately, that’s just my opinion, and I don’t have any data to support it. If you find that your toad thrives on dog food, let us know, I’d be interested!

Lloyd

[jelkins]

My personal suggestion is variety, and including dog food certainly isn't going to hurt your animal. I've recently purchased one of these toads and have been reading quite a bit on their husbandry...this species seems very opportunistic when it comes to it's dietary habits; probably one of the reasons it's become such a nuisance species in some countries.

[Truffs1178]

I just want to clarify that I wasn't planning to feed her dog food as a staple diet. In fact I was intending to only use it one day a month just like how I give my frogs and toads one mouse an month. Obviously her diet would still mainly consist of earthworms and Dubias. Anyway I actually tried her last night and every time she tried to eat it she would just spit it back out lol must be to hard for her liking. Which brings me to another question, do you think she would enjoy softer food such as small pieces of cooked steak or ham?

[never quit]

Well, once a month is fine…From what I read of your initial post, I just assumed it was a staple, sorry. As far as the toad spitting it up, is it soft or the dry food? I would think if it’s dry and hard, the toad isn’t expecting that, and spits it out. Even the dry dog food you add water to may not be soaked all the way through and the first hard piece of food the toad encounters he doesn’t want anything to do with it.
Good question on the cooked meat/ham….Over all the years of keeping carnivorous reptiles I’ve never given them cooked meat, or for that matter raw meat. Maybe someone else has had experience with that, I certainly don't.

Good luck, let us know how you do with your toad.

Lloyd

[jelkins]

I think I read somewhere this species will accept lean pieces of raw meat from time to time...Probably best to offer it once or so a month. From what I've read these guys are big into insects and small frogs. I've been feeding mine lots of June Beetles recently and it loves them.

[never quit]

My personal suggestion is variety, and including dog food certainly isn't going to hurt your animal. I've recently purchased one of these toads and have been reading quite a bit on their husbandry...this species seems very opportunistic when it comes to it's dietary habits; probably one of the reasons it's become such a nuisance species in some countries.

Justin: I'm looking to get a couple toads also.....Where did you get yours?
What size did you get?
Thanks
Lloyd

[Truffs1178]

Well, once a month is fine…From what I read of your initial post, I just assumed it was a staple, sorry.

Lloyd

Thats ok, my fault really for not explaining the question enough. I tried her with a small piece of steak butshe wouldn't go near it. I don't know if its the smell or what but she even inflated and hissed at it by blowing air out her nose. So I backed off so as not to stress her.

[demon amphibians]

I would not feed cooked meat if you can hand feed i would try raw beef. no pork, believe it or not pork has a very high probability of having parasites. I would not feed much raw meat it may be hard to digest some what like a mouse would be but small amounts wont hurt. cane toads are extremely hearty compared to any other species of toads or frogs. In the wild they eat a very large variety of foods such as beetles, ants, small mammals, larvae and even crabs in some areas. I have had my toads eat dog food but only once when i could not get them to eat anything else due to a rough trip in a shipping box. I also feed my toads moths which they seem to like the most. My personal advice is have 3 types of staple items such as crickets, roaches and some sort of larva. Mice once a month is perfect but avoid pinky's due to the possibility that they can cause calcium deficiencies. Cane toads unlike most frogs and other amphibians hunt with site and smell. with that said you can use dried gut loaded crickets they may not eat it right off the bat but just like many other food items it takes time to get the to warm up to new things.

[jelkins]

Lloyd...sorry for the delayed response. I purchased mine from Backwater Reptiles.