How to hibernate common toads?

[victorsgrace]

Hi eveybody out there!

I have two male Bufo bufo (common toad) in my care, wild caught. They were rescued this summer and I've taken care to get the correct information on care, so both are doing very well and have almost doubled in size, since caught.

I've looked around this and other sites, but still haven't found a "walkthrough" to put them in hibernation, gradually. I'm from Denmark where our winther period is the same as Britains (aproximately from october tofebuary/march). Temperatures can go down to - 21 degrees at night at a very hard winther, but normally is around -11 to -15, midwinther. I don't use artificial lighting in my terrarium and as thye are near a window, they will sense the day shortening automatically.

- Does anyone have, or are able to make a step by step guide to a frist time hibernator?

- Is it actually necessary for their health to go into hibernation or exclusively a survival mechanism, to cope the winther?

Hope you guys can help!

[redeyedtreefrog123451]

You should probley let them go but ypu can just get a tank heater for my wild caught i just put almost three feet of soil and he did hibernate

[Psychotic]

I don't know about your toads. I have American toads. So the process and temperatures may differ.

You do not have to cool your toads for the winter. You can keep them warm and active if you want. However instinct might kick in. They will burrow and not come out and/or refuse to eat. Personally with my own toads they went so long without eating that I decided to cool them in order to slow their metabolisms down (so they would not starve).

Last winter I brumated my toads in an unheated basement (you can also use a garage). The temperature inside would change as the temperature outside changed. It was of course warmer inside than outside even with no heat source. If the temperature dropped below 40F I would turn on a small space heater to bump the temperature up. I know they can go lower in the wild. But I didn't want to risk it.
I kept them inside their regular bin with 5 inches of eco earth. I left the water in with them and kept it fresh. Though they never came topside. So, I'm not sure if water is needed once deep into brumation.

I checked on them everyday and once the weather started warming up my toads came out and I started feeding them again.

This is an account of my own experience. This was the first time I had ever brumated an amphibian. I have experience when it comes to brumating my snakes.

My point being that I am no expert.

[victorsgrace]

Allright.

Thank you for your reply, guys. I will see what happens and keep and eye on them.