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.

[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]

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?)

[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.

[yoshimi]

Definitely sounds like a shed. Sometimes Uki (american toad) will have a bubble on her head when in shed. I have a pic but it's blurry. Anyway, it's normal.

I would focus more on soft-bodied or more nutritious feeders than crickets as their staple. As in, crickets as a treat, since you have to gut load them with veggies and whatnot first anyway. Watch for mold, i dunno why but my cricket bin had issues. The oats would get moldy. Not enough ventilation, I suppose. I bred dubia roaches for a while and it was fun and easy once it got going. My toads loved them and they're good for dusting with supplements. A trusted source on here for feeder info said that most roaches are about the same as far as nutrition. If you go the roach route, the type is up to your preference in how you want to keep them. Definitely do your research to pick what's best for you and the toads. Healthy feeder insects = healthy frogs. My Banjo grew so fast after the introduction of dubia. All the protein i guess.

I buy my worms from wal-mart's fishing section and get adamant when the selection is bad. Very particular. But you can keep them in the fridge (butter compartment is good) which is handy. $3.25 for 30. Rinse them off in treated water, pat dry with paper towel, and you can either dust with calcium/d3 or feed naked, depending on their supplement schedule. (i mean the worms, not you) Putting them on a plate and placing toads where they can see them if they're off somewhere else will usually get their attention. They'll try to flick it with their tongue and fail maybe, but eventually they'll get it. hopefully.

If either are male, they won't grow much more, but a lady toad could grow another inch and a half. I would consider them adults, but still offer food almost every night. If they would be eating outside, they should be eating inside.

So basically, what Gail said, haha.

[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?

[Psychotic]

Everyone has given good advice. But I really wouldn't worry about feeding crickets. Before I got my roaches going I fed crickets. All of my frogs eat crickets. Now that I breed roaches I also feed the roaches. However not all of my frogs and toads will eat the roaches. The same with earthworms. My toads won't touch worms but my frogs love them. However my toads will eat silkworms, and hornworms. But I rarely get them because they are expensive.

I generally feed out of a bowl because a lot of feeders like to burrow.

I use eco earth for the substrate and I do not keep it moist because mine always molds when I do. I provide a very large water bowl for them. They love to soak in it. They will make a mess of it though by tracking the substrate into the water. I keep them at room temperature and don't provide any special lighting or humidity.
I don't use moss.

Also Tito was most likely shedding and that is nothing to worry about. First time I witnessed one of my frogs shedding I was freaked out. Puffed up like a balloon, started opening and closing it's mouth and rubbing its sides with its back legs. The secretions helps the old skin come off. Also they eat the skin.

[yoshimi]

I was thinking about it and it doesn't sound like you had 1st toad long enough for his passing to be your fault. Tap water won't kill them that quickly, and unless you grabbed pillbug from an area with an abundance of chemicals, that wouldn't be it either. He may have been sick.

Anyway, best of luck and fun with new toads. Your daughter will hopefully carry this with her, and we'll see her on here when she grows up into a happy herper.

[calmeat]

Hey just wanted to thank everyone for their comments. Toads are all good and yeah i guess tito was just shedding. I have been feeding them crickets and now have the dust so i will start using that. Also got some food for the crickets and keeping them in a cricket keeper. I bought some nightcrawlers so im gonna give that a shot but the thought of cutting up the worms is kinda making me sick. Those look huge i believe they are canadian nightcrawlers so not sure if there is a difference but those things are big and will have to cut them up for the little guys. Thanks again for all your help!

[FriedrichsFrogs]

Tito's "slime" does sound like hes shedding, i agree with Gail. They'll shed starting from their hind legs and end at their mouth, usually theyll eat it (yum) that would also explain Tito's "scratching" because theyll use their legs to help remove the dead skin off of themselves