New Fire Belly Toad Owner With Questions

[spock22a]

I just got my first fire belly toad over the weekend for my birthday. I'd been doing a lot of research both before and after getting my toad, but am finding that I still have some questions. Right now I have one, which most of the sources I had read said was ok, but was thinking about getting another. I'm just not sure if the tank size I have is ok for multiple fire bellies, sense all of the things I have read talk about what is ok for four or five+ toads. My tank is 5.5 gallons, which is the largest size the college I am attending lets you keep in a dorm room. Would this be ok for two, or should I stick with one? And if I get two, and they end up being one male and one female, how do I keep them from mating? Is there anything I could do with the environment (ex- temperature) that would keep them from mating? I don't have room for a bunch of tadpoles, and don't know who I could give them to when they're adults.

My second question relates to feeding. I had initially tried dried crickets dusted in a calcium supplement, but it didn't seem as though my toad could see them sense he wasn't eating (and I later found out that they need movement to see). Right now I have a few live crickets, but I'm not sure if this will work long term for me. I'm not supposed to have live bugs in my dorm room, the person in charge of my floor lives next door to me, and I'm worried about the noise they'll make. Is it possible to convince or train fire belly toads to eat dried food? I was thinking of training them to associate the feeding tweasers I bought with live food, and then switching to dried food, but was curious if anyone had tried this before (I think the psych major is starting to rub off on me, lol).

Thanks for your help!!!! Live long and prosper!!!

[Mentat]

FBTs require live foods! If dorm rules prohibit bugs; then my recommendation would be to return frog to store and trade for a couple of African Dwarf Frogs. Presuming you have a 5 gal aquarium with a cover and can fill with dechlorinated tap; you could turn it into an aquatic environment and keep frogs that will eat thawed frozen foods and Tetramin or similar frog pellets.

If that is not an option and you can get earthworms like night crawlers (not Red Wrigglers) can try to feed pieces of them to your FBT. Cut them from the pointy end in a piece around your frog's mouth width and see if it will take it. Worms will need a refrigerated storage area, so if you have no ref in room, the worms won't work either. Good luck !

[spock22a]

The tank I have was made for reptiles/amphibians, and says not to use it like an aquarium. I could get night crawlers. Do crickets go into hibernation when put into a fridge the way other insects do? If they do then I can do that easily. I had been thinking of getting some night crawlers or meal worms to give him as snacks, so they could go in there too. I know that other students keep worms and things in fridges as fish food. This dorm is also used as a dining hall, but as long as the bugs are knocked out (until they're in with the frog) then there's no problem.

[Mentat]

Yes, do not fill a reptile/amphibian tank with water; it will crack. Crickets will die in a refrigerator, it's too cold for them; but mealworms and night crawlers will be fine. Mealworms are fatty and have a hard exoskeleton that can cause impaction, which makes them a poor food. Too bad you are not a science major and could keep your crickets or some Dubia roaches in a lab. By the way; your 5 gal is barely adequate for 1 FBT; please don't get a second one in there .

[spock22a]

Actually, I am a science major. Psychology is a science (particularly sense I am focusing on animal behavior), and I am also double majoring in wildlife biology and ecology. They don't let you keep other bugs in labs because it could contaminate the actual experiment, or other materials kept in the lab. If mealworms aren't good for them because of the exoskeleton, then why are crickets ok? They have exoskeleton too. Also, the care sheet for FBTs said that ten gallons was good for three to four frogs, and I have read other sources that have had numbers larger than that. I may not be a math major, but given those numbers it seem as though one FBT should do fine in 5.5gals.

[mapdoggis]

I have 5 FBTs and they live in a mostly aquatic setup with lots of land mass to crawl up on. It's only been a few weeks that I've had mine and I used to lay out a paper towel on the water for the crickets to walk on and the frogs to see and seize. If the crickets were super jumpy, I put them in the freezer for a few seconds to cool them off without killing them. Then I use chopsticks (instead of buying feeding tongs) to keep the crickets on the towel. The frogs are now just taking the crickets from the chopsticks. They don't even wait for the crickets to wiggle... so I wonder if they would eat them if they were dead...

On a side note, I also have a vermicomposting bin with European Nightcrawlers instead of red wigglers (I was told that reds emit a foul taste when injured). The bin is odorless, so might that be an option for you?

I've never heard the crickets that I have make noise. Now the frogs - they bark all night! I guess that means they're happy... or horny... or both?

[deranged chipmunk]

Actually, I am a science major. Psychology is a science (particularly sense I am focusing on animal behavior), and I am also double majoring in wildlife biology and ecology. They don't let you keep other bugs in labs because it could contaminate the actual experiment, or other materials kept in the lab. If mealworms aren't good for them because of the exoskeleton, then why are crickets ok? They have exoskeleton too. Also, the care sheet for FBTs said that ten gallons was good for three to four frogs, and I have read other sources that have had numbers larger than that. I may not be a math major, but given those numbers it seem as though one FBT should do fine in 5.5gals.

Mealworms have a higher concentration of chitin in their exoskeletons, making them harder to digest. Over feeding them mealworms will eventually cause an impaction.

One frog in the 5.5 is cutting it a bit tight, but should be ok. Keep in mind that care sheets are written by regular folk, like us, so size of habitation may just be an opinion of the author. If you're having issues housing food, it doesn't really make sense to add more mouths to feed anyway ;-)

Your best bet may just be to plan a weekly feeding schedule and buy crickets as needed, then you don't need to store the extras.

[spock22a]

Mealworms have a higher concentration of chitin in their exoskeletons, making them harder to digest. Over feeding them mealworms will eventually cause an impaction.

One frog in the 5.5 is cutting it a bit tight, but should be ok. Keep in mind that care sheets are written by regular folk, like us, so size of habitation may just be an opinion of the author. If you're having issues housing food, it doesn't really make sense to add more mouths to feed anyway ;-)

Your best bet may just be to plan a weekly feeding schedule and buy crickets as needed, then you don't need to store the extras.

That makes sense with the higher amount of chitin. I'll be sure not to over feed them.

I'm not planning on getting another anymore. Pip had just seemed confused, and wasn't eating, so I was thinking he could be lonely. It looks like he's finally eating some of the crickets I left in the tank for him and he's becoming much more active, so I'm not worried about that now.

I'll try to think of a way I could set up a regular schedule.... Classes and the pet store's location will complicate this, but I may be able to work something out with that....

[mapdoggis]

A worm bin is nothing more than a rubbermaid tote with holes drilled in it, worms, food scraps, and newspaper/bedding. It can be as simple or complicated as you like. The worms should be going through the scraps quickly enough that the scraps shouldn't mold. Also, I like to pile a lot of newspaper shreds on top so that if anyone looks in the bin it looks like a paper recycling bin.

Here's my friend's website on vermicomposting: http://www.wormcompostinghq.com/

My bin only has holes drilled near the top. Unlike some composters, I don't add water to my bin or moisten my bedding because my food scraps are fairly moist already and too much water can make the bin stink and the worms will evacuate the bin. My bin is on the larger side (20 gallons I think) because I compost for 4 people. My worms don't crawl out (unless they're starving - I've forgotten to feed them on occasion) unless it's moist enough to do so - but my house is on the dryer side, so the air that goes in those ventilation holes is undesirably dry and keeps them under.


The most you'll spend if you can't find any worm wranglers near you will be $30 (free shipping) for a pound of European Nightcrawlers to get you started. Red Earth Worms - Red Worms Make Good Dirt

[spock22a]

A worm bin is nothing more than a rubbermaid tote with holes drilled in it, worms, food scraps, and newspaper/bedding. It can be as simple or complicated as you like. The worms should be going through the scraps quickly enough that the scraps shouldn't mold. Also, I like to pile a lot of newspaper shreds on top so that if anyone looks in the bin it looks like a paper recycling bin.

Here's my friend's website on vermicomposting: http://www.wormcompostinghq.com/

My bin only has holes drilled near the top. Unlike some composters, I don't add water to my bin or moisten my bedding because my food scraps are fairly moist already and too much water can make the bin stink and the worms will evacuate the bin. My bin is on the larger side (20 gallons I think) because I compost for 4 people. My worms don't crawl out (unless they're starving - I've forgotten to feed them on occasion) unless it's moist enough to do so - but my house is on the dryer side, so the air that goes in those ventilation holes is undesirably dry and keeps them under.


The most you'll spend if you can't find any worm wranglers near you will be $30 (free shipping) for a pound of European Nightcrawlers to get you started. Red Earth Worms - Red Worms Make Good Dirt

That seems like something I will definitely use once I have an apartment.... I don't think it would work too well in my dorm though. That seems like the type of thing that would really affect my asthma, especially in a small space like my dorm room. I'm planning on getting something along the lines of a small cooler, so I can put some night crawlers and a few other types of bugs in there....

[spock22a]

Another quick question. What type of supplies do you keep on hand for emergency situations (ex- fire, ect). Right now I have a paper to go cup from the dining hall at my school. Once it's warmer I'm going to get a critter cage from walmart or someplace, but I can't find any in the stores right now because we have about a foot of snow on the ground.... Anyways, I figured that having something on hand for a temporary cage was better than nothing. Now at least if the fire alarm goes off I can just grab my frog (cage is small enough that I can catch him for cage cleanings with out a problem) and head out side. I was just wondering if there were other things people would grab in a situation like that. Admittedly, if the alarm goes off it's more likely that someone burnt their popcorn, but with the way the dorm is set up there isn't any way to know for sure.

[deranged chipmunk]

I always have deli cups for fruit flies. But seriously, if my house catches fire, my frogs will unfortunately be on their own. My wife, kids, dog and cat are priorities. Searching for frogs while smoke builds up in the house are not.