wkeep wild caught toad from spawn/tadpoles?

[jasonm96]

hi people of frogforum! i have fire bellied toads just now but i want a bigger toad at one point when i have the space. my fire bellied toads were a nightmare to get a hold of where i'm from and most stores only stocked WC ones, so settled with them. probably one of my favourite amphibians though, is the common toad (bufo bufo) and in the future i was thinking of keeping one or two as a pet. i've heard most true toads in the pet trade are WC and transported here, so i was thinking of collecting some tadpoles out a pond and raising them, letting all the toadlets back to where i found them, well all but 2 so i can keep them as a pet. opinions?

[Frogman1031]

Normally I would advise against taking tadpoles out of the wild but since you will be helping the little guys survive I think it'll be alright. Just make sure to check your local laws about how many you can collect.

[jasonm96]

thanks for your reply! the local toads breeding spot is quite disgusting and poluted so yeah i think i'd be helping them out a bit in return to keep two of them

[gut]

In my personal opinion its all right, especially if the toads are collected from an area with high human traffic where they'd probably be squished anyway. If they come from a more rural place where they're being eaten by other critters, well that's just nature, but if you're like me and see a lot of frogs wind up dead just due to unfortunate placement, it can't hurt to just take one or two, I think.

[jasonm96]

it's right next to a high school, probably the school kids that cause all of the litter in the pond. there's loads in that pond though, it's fun to go down at night and see them all standing about, you could almost walk on one on the footpath because of they're execellent camouflage! by the looks of things, they all gather there on the path to look for a mate before heading down to the pond

[DIDITHEDAD]

I would, like Eli said, oppose taking one out of the wild. But if what you say is true, go ahead. Check local laws, and make sure it is not illegal to do it. It is better to try your best to take care of them than it is for them to just die because of pollution/squishing.

[BrittsBugs]

Your fire-bellies are entirely possible to be wild caught, but they are bred in captivity. They from Southeast Asia. There is a high stick of them in the pet trade. Just locally here speaking of Petco's and pet smarts we regularly have 20-25 available for purchase, they're very cheap compared to most amphibians petco and Petsmart sell. Pacmans being $30 and whites being $20.

As for catching Toads from the wild as tadpoles and raising them I can't see the harm. As the first two populations of animals in an ecosystem to die off is frogs and toads. If anything positive human intervention is a very good thing for the natural populations to continue to thrive and exist. Just make sure your laws and any city ordinances state that you can, I know my local area requires a fishing license and a permit to herp.


-BrittsBugs
5 AUS White's
1 Hon Milk
1 SM Corn
1 BP
5 HC
1 CG
4 RB Newts
6 Betas
5 MHR

[jasonm96]

thanks for the replies guys. in scotland there's no laws against taking a common toad