Set up for Cane Taod

[5boysmom]

I am hoping someone out there can help me. My 13 yr old son LOVES frogs/toads. His cane toad does not look very happy. When we bought him from the store he was living in a red bark much like my other son keeps his Boa's in. The store owner said this would be best as he was use to it. We found it was making him turn red and his water was very red. My son did some research and found they absorb things thru their skin. We have put him in top soil and given him a hide hole and water dish. But he LOOKS miserable. There are no holes dug and he never gets in his water dish that we can tell. His main diet is crickets, we have tried Dubia but he doesn't seem to like them. And it doesn't seem like he eats a lot. We were told they eat tons and our Bull Frog eats 3x what the cane toad will consume. Room temp is 75-80. He gets indirect sunlight. I also don't think he's growing. (I use he as general, sex is not known) thank you in advance for any positive feed back.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Frogs and toads do absorb their water and chemicals through skin so it's important it has no chemicals that could harm them. Tap water treated with a dechlorinator (Seachem Prime or ExoTerra Aquatize are good) is fine. If a soaking dish it should be cleaned and refilled daily. Do not use distilled, R/O, de-ionized or any purified water that could cause minerals to move out of frog into water.

Your temps are OK (keep between 73-82F with slight drop at night). Substrate can be unfertilized top soil (no chemicals) or shredded coco (Plantation Soil or EcoEarth) mixed with dechlorinated water so it's slightly damp (clumps in fist but does not drip water out). Spot clean daily and replace it once a month.

Toads eat many things, young ones can be fed daily; just remember to size insects same a distance between it's eyes and earthworms as long as toad is. BTW, how long is your toad from snout to vent (SVL) and how large is it's enclosure? If young it's food should be dusted with CA/D3 2X and vitamins 1X on different days with skip day in between. Once full grown can feed couple times a week and reduce supplemental dustings too. Have you tried offering undyed night crawlers (Walmarts sports section or bait shops)? They are very nutritious and most toad and land frogs will eat them.

Maybe it will help if it has more than one hide hole. You can use a new plastic pot cut in 1/2 and placed on ground or a slab of cork bark angled against a corner to provide another hideout. Please post a pic of your toad and enclosure to get a better idea of set-up. Thanks and good luck !

[Truffs1178]

Mentat has you covered. My Cane Toad ate way more than my african bullfrog. It's a female toad though and they eat LOTS. Try feeding it earthworms because they seem to like them best. You can offer them dog food as a treat about once a month. They can also eat plant matter like some types of lettuce and kale. They prefer a hide like a cave or a log to hide under instead of holes. Post some pics of him and his setup. Most adult frogs should be fed once or twice a week but you should feed cane toads more often even when adult.