American Toadlet Question

[kellie]

Hi guys! I have an American Toadlet .. I feed him flightless fruit flies and I've seen him eat before .. he used to go after them as soon as I dropped them in the tank. But, I haven't seen him do that in a while. He seems happy, hopping around and whatnot. And in the morning, I don't see any flies in the tank. But, this morning I saw a bunch of them. So, I don't know if he's eating. I can't tell if he's thin or not. I mean, shouldn't he a plump little thing? I was using coconut fiber as a substrate in the beginning, but when I misted his tank, he'd hop around and it seemed to stick to him, giving him a hard time. So, I switched to frog moss with a few places to hide, with a small water dish, that i only keep very shallow with a little sponge, just in case he tries to escape and don't have that problem anymore and he seems to enjoy sitting on the sponge .. but, like I said, I can't tell if he's eating. Any advice or tips would be helpful, thanks!!

[John]

You could try putting him in an opaque tupperware container (one you can't see into or out of clearly, so he's not disturbed by movement outside the container) with a small, known number, of fruit flies, and put the lid on and leave him alone somewhere cosy and not very bright for a few hours, then see if he has eaten any. Alternatively, if you're feeding him every day, try skipping a day, or even 2 and see if his appetite makes him eat in front of you again. Another idea would be to try very small or pinhead crickets.

[kellie]

awesome. thanks for the suggestions. i'll try them all .. but, in a way, i think he's not eating, because he seems thin. but, then again, i don't know how chubby ad toad the size of pinky fingernail would be. LOL

[John]

If he's not eating then something is likely wrong with the conditions in which you are keeping him. Please refer to the Toad Care article linked on the left and on the top of every page of the forum.

[Kurt]

You could always post photos as well. That way we can tell you if he is thin or not.

[Deku]

Hmm you should switch to real dirt. Toads love dirt. Not any of that coconut husk thing. Just REAL dirt, without pesticides, additives or anything. Like john said, try putting it in an opaque place. Also try misting before feeding. Feed every other day. Try pin heads, boll weavils, and small insects. If you can find a tiny moth, I can guarantee you he will eat it. Try keeping him in a warm, damp, dark place. Like fungus. XD

[Iratus ranunculus]

If you know of a place you can go that has a lot of clean (no pesticides etc) grass or plants you can take a butterfly net and do some sweep-netting. Just sweep the net back and forth and you will get all kinds of little flies, springtails etc.