2 new toads!!

[calmeat]

Hello all,
So when i was a kid (im 31 now) i used to have pet toads all the time never had an issue taking care of them (even made a snake throw up my pet toad). I now have a 4 yr old daughter who loves them and we found one 2 weekends ago and brought it home as a pet. Unfortunately i forgot all the things that i did to take care of the toad. Unfortunately the toad passed away after 2 days( it was a very small toad and i just didnt do the right things. For one i used tap water (didnt even think about chlorine). we didnt have food so i read they would eat pill bugs so i went outside and grabbed a couple to feed the toad. I got the smallest ones i could find and they were def small enough. Anyway we were very sad when he passed.

So i found a person who had a bunch of toads and im determined to have some pet toads. I got 2 of them and my daughter named them Tito and Kiko (teeto, Keeko). I have a couple questions. i will add pictures of them and where they are located. Right now im giving them store bought crickets, they are small and the right size for them. These toads are small i would say 2 inches and i have read so many different things concerning care for toads. Some sites say feed them every day some say 2-3 times a week some say moss some say dont do moss in thier habitat etc. So questions
1. How often do you feed toads. i have fed them yesterday and today (i got them yesterday) 2 crickets each.
2. Any idea what kind of toads i have (i think American toad)
3. What temps and humidity should the habitat have?
4. Any improvements i should make to the habitat. Its a 10 gallon tank

1 concern question. Today i saw the one toad on top of the rock and he/she (Tito) is looking kinda bloated. I put some crickets in and the 2 of the gobbled them up (2 each). The toad on the rock seemed to have some issues though. Tito started secereting fluids and then started using his back legs like a dog and get "scratching" at its sides. Then Tito started swatting at mouth and i thought it was going to vomit the cricket up but Tito did not do that. He has been chilling on the since he ate he moves slightly but not much. Kiko on the other hand looks great and is very active. They both were pretty active yesterday. Is this something i should be concerned with? Sorry for the long post and any help would be appreciated.
Bob
pics

[COOCOpUcHoo]

You got a nice set up there. Each if those toads will easily take in about 6 crickets. Your substrate looks a bit dry. You will want to mist them daily, i don't think you want to worry about the humidity too much because I'm pretty sure those are wild caught, and they live in the same area. You definitely want to moisten up the substrate. Don't only feed them crickets because those are not very nutritious. Try getting night crawlers and other feeders.

[calmeat]

thanks for the reply COOCOpUcHoo i mist the substrate in the morning so yeah it gets dry, should i invest into a mister? or just mist maybe twice a day? What other feeders are good. and what are night crawlers (they sell them at pet smart?)

[COOCOpUcHoo]

Also, the fluids secreted, were they white? Or clear, if they were clear then it is probably to dry, if they are white, it is probably feeling threatened.

[calmeat]

it was almost like a slime, looked clear after a bit the Tito dried up and looks normal besides the bloating look. I could see the slime when tito was swatting at his mouth i could see a web of the slime between his top arm and bottom part of the arm when it was bent. Im just hoping its nothing serious and just a reaction to having issue eating the cricket.

[rikkitiger]

I would say it would be nice for them to have a mister although its not nessesary. Yes they are american toads, and beautiful ones too!

i would also say keep an eye on tito is it? I am sorry i get confused with names, but the not so good one keep an eye one.

nightcrawlers are really big earthworms. I have never seen them at petsmart, though i might be wrong, you can also usually get em at ANY fishing/ bait shop. I agree it is good for them to have variety.

just a couple questions for you:

what do they have for light?
and what are you feeding the crickets/are you dusting them?

They look to be good for now, although i would say make absolutely sure they are moist. Never spray the toad, but make sure the substrate is nice and moist.

congrats on two beautiful american toads!

[calmeat]

thanks rikkitiger, Ok i think i saw them at a mom and pop pet shot by me so ill look into getting them. The crickets i got are ones in a small container sold at petsmart they have some blue cube in it(im guessing food/water). I just purchased some of the dusting so ill be doing that as well. I just went to check on them before your post and sprayed the substrate and of course sprayed the toads a little with the mist so ill make sure to stay away from them when misting. As for light there is a big bay window with "sheer" curtains so light gets through onto them during the day. Otherwise we have recessed lighting so at night usually about till midnight they are on in the same room as the toads (one light is above the tank).
As for Tito he was just hoping around when i went up there so im hoping he is better.

Thanks

[kueluck]

Sounds like he was shedding his skin. They do this quite often, at least mine do. My main food source are turish roaches, I get them from www.feedersource.com along with crickets, wax & butter worms. Occationally I'll catch large moths and trim the wings so that they can catch them. But if you can get them to eat worms that would be great, only one of my 3 will eat worms. Here's a good caresheet also. I would also add a few more hides. Happy toading. Amphibian Care >> American Toad (Bufo americanus) Care

it was almost like a slime, looked clear after a bit the Tito dried up and looks normal besides the bloating look. I could see the slime when tito was swatting at his mouth i could see a web of the slime between his top arm and bottom part of the arm when it was bent. Im just hoping its nothing serious and just a reaction to having issue eating the cricket.

[calmeat]

Thanks for the responses. So Tito is looking good today I was a bit worried. Thanks for the links i looked over the sheet cause my main concern now is food. Since my toads are about 2 inches are they considered adult toads?
"A feeding schedule of three to six food items every two or three days generally works well for most adult toads". So with that statement about 3-4 crickets every 2 days should be good and some worms as a special treat kind of thing? The other thing is i have a tree in my front yard and some stones around the tree if i lift up a stone there are tons of pill bugs that range from big ones to very small baby ones. Can i feed them to the toads with no concern or should i stay away from them.

Also Gail, when you order the roaches or crickets how do you keep them between feedings?

[kueluck]

I'll post info on this when I get home from work today. I don't have the pics I would like to send on this with me. Also, I put food out for the toads every night, some times they eat some times they don't, I leave the choice up to them. And pill bugs are good, just make sure there are no chemicals in the area that you collect them in. That goes for all wild caught bugs & worms.

[kueluck]

I use a plastic tote, the darker the better for the roaches. The stuff on the bottom is the oder control from Feedersource, it works great cause bugs can and do get stinky if you don't keep the bin clean. I feed all my feeder bugs Repashy Bug Burger, even tuck a little under a rock or piece of bark for the pill bugs, dry cricket chow, fish flake food, fresh greens and oranges. What goes in the bug, goes in the toad and I wanna keep them as healthy as possible. I also LOVE the water crystals, make it so much easier than using the wet cotton balls, or those water pillows. I use the PT and TP rolls because you can pick one end up with a tweezer and shake it out into a cup (like the plastic containers fruit flies come in), for .me this is easier than egg crate stuff. Hope this helps you out, I'll be back in the am, time to feed some critters & one husband.

Also Gail, when you order the roaches or crickets how do you keep them between feedings?