Toad Tub Cleaning Day

[Greatballzofire]

Some shots of them while their tub soil is changed. Not happy campers! LOL! A lot of chirping in complaint when somebody sat on somebody.

Back in clean tub.

Tub in front garden getting morning sun. Shade cloth is mounted on the fence and over head to mute the rays. By mid day the cabin is shading the porch garden so it doesn't get too hot for the toads. The toads really love the sun, and like to sit on their log hides basking or floating in their pool. At night they bury themselves in the soil and sleep. The wire lid is bungeed on to prevent raccoons and other pests from bothering them, although the only wild animal that has ever come into the fenced porch garden was a little skunk, who actually came right in the house...he was coaxed successfully to leave..

These are California toads. I have ten of them. They are awesome pets! Although I highly recommend anyone keeping these little eating machines to grow their own crickets like I do!

Edit:
some interior shots of their tub:


They have plenty of room to walk around in.

[Jace]

Thanks for sharing your pictures. I quite like your setup for your toads-they look might happy in there. I take it, being in California, that you can keep them outside year round in this setup? How often do you have to clean it out?

[Deku]

Geebuz. Thats a nice looking set up! Congrats! You outdid yourself on that.

[Kurt]

I think your tubs could benefit from having plants in them.

[Deku]

I think your tubs could benefit from having plants in them.

Possibly ferns? Ived had some experience with phelodendruns. They are nice plants to have in a terrarium.

[Greatballzofire]

Thanks for sharing your pictures. I quite like your setup for your toads-they look might happy in there. I take it, being in California, that you can keep them outside year round in this setup? How often do you have to clean it out?

In the winter they can go in the greenhouse with my citrus trees, and when we get those really severe freezing days they can be brought indoors. They have a tub just for that purpose which is a 24 x 36 x 8 inch concrete mixing tub.

They poop up a storm, so I think I will change the soil every two weeks. The green tub takes a cubic foot of plain topsoil. I've been throwing their pooped in water into the citrus tubs and the plants really have responded to the extra fertilizer.

[Greatballzofire]

Geebuz. Thats a nice looking set up! Congrats! You outdid yourself on that.

Thanks! I have never bothered to keep toads as pets before , but this spring when I started finding these little toads on my property, I thought why not! They were the size of my thumb and now some of them can cover the palm of my hand.

[Deku]

Thanks! I have never bothered to keep toads as pets before , but this spring when I started finding these little toads on my property, I thought why not! They were the size of my thumb and now some of them can cover the palm of my hand.

They ar adorable!

[Greatballzofire]

I think your tubs could benefit from having plants in them.

I was going to try plants but the toads trample or uproot the plants, and also because I change the soil frequently the plants would have a hard time. I might experiment with plants in little pots that can be removed on cleaning days without hurting the roots. Some ivys might be nice and I have some humongous ivy plants to take cuttings from.

[Greatballzofire]

A baby picture from April 24, 2010. We had an exceptionally cool wet spring here in the Sierra Foothills, hence there were many more toads than in past years. Most of them were even smaller than these pudgies when I first found them. I am thinking they hatched last year.

[Jace]

I'm with Kevin-they are very adorable!!

[Ebony]

...and I'm with Kevin & Jace, Very adorable!!

[1beataway]

....and I'm with Kevin, Jace, and Ebony. Very adorable.

[Greatballzofire]

Blind shooting into one of their bark hides at dawn; we are still in bed...don't bother us!

Taking a morning dip (and dump, most likely!) Water is changed every time I see a turd, which is several times a day!

I like the nature of toads. They are calm once they associate a human with food and not as a giant predator. When they see me with the egg crate full of fresh crickets they approach and wait for me to tap the crate into their habitat. How odd this must be; a giant hand raining crickets from the sky! But they are adaptable, a sign of intelligence in my opinion.