Rescued a sick FBT, won't eat. Any help would be great!

[privet01]

I don't know why mealworms seem to always be included in lists of acceptable food for FBT's. The ones you get at a pet store are never active enough to attract an FBT's attention. Maybe mealworms from the "wild" are more active. FBT's go after things that move. Crickets, small and recently fed/gutloaded are the primary food for my FBT's. Sometimes small earthworms like a red wiggler that flop around alot when you put them in the tank. I thinks others use waxworms, but again if they are not moving your FBT will likely ignore it.

Nor do they like to take food that you dangle in front of them..... at least mine won't. Do you know what the other guy was trying to feed them? If mealworms, then definitely try something else.

Do you know any details of the previous owners viv? If it had small gravel as you say you have, then there is the possibility of impaction. FBT's can't stick their tongue out, so they wind up having to open wide and lunge at their prey. Misses, of which mine have plenty, can result in a mouth full of substrate. Small gravel like you'd use in a fish aquarium might get swallowed but won't pass through and could plug them up. I don't know what the symptoms of impaction are but maybe that's something to look at.

It might just be that stress is keep it from eating. FBT's don't care much for being handled. Mine only get fed every two or three days and I've read that they are tolerant of missing meals occasionally for as much as a week to ten days with no ill effect.

[jasonm96]

The problem is with reading so many care sheets is that care sheets are not always a good source of information, which leads to conflicting info. What you want is a book by a reputable herpoculturist and breeder. Popular amphibians by Philippe de Vosjli is a book I would recommend.

Fire bellied toads are often wild caught, which is terrible as they're considered to be the easiest frogs to breed. So the frog your friend had died before could have been from parasites or stress. Your one may be fine, they will sometimes take a few weeks until they adjust and start feeding but I've never had this problem with fire bellied toads but have with other amphibians and reptiles.

I would avoid using gravel as the only substrate, it's abrasive but you can slope the gravel so half is land and half is water, then top the land with sphagnum moss but not green moss. Your temperature range is too cold, keep them warmer, between 72-78f during the day. If temps are too cold they may slow down their metabolism and go off food. A 5%uvb over the land area will provide the needed UV and some heat but if more heat is needed then you can use a heat lamp as well the UVB but I would avoid an aquarium heater, especially in such a small set up as the frog may come in contact with it and burn it's skin. Don't feed mealworms frequently, they're not healthy and can cause digestive problems. The toad will fatten up on crickets when it begins to feed, as they are gannets! Remember to lightly dust them on a calcium with d3 and multivitamin supplement such as Repashy calcium plus.

[leo]

Update on the FBT:

I managed to get him to eat a cricket by dangling it in front of him. I tried a few more times to get one in but he didn't seem to be any more interested in food, so I'm assuming he's just adjusting to eating food again.

Jason, privet:

Substrate: I only use the gravel as a base. He has no direct contact with it. I covered the entire land area with small rocks above the gravel (more like a natural creek bed) (they are definitely much too big to be ingested.



Here should be a picture of his enclosure.

and here is a picture of how skinny he is:



I moved his tank into my room where I have an additional space heater and the room stays about 70-72 degrees throughout the day, that's the best I can do for him short notice.

Thank you both for your comments, but would you recommend a way to feed him something other than mealworms and crickets? mealworms are bad, then. But the crickets also die within minutes because they are f-ing retarded and drown themselves.

[privet01]

Many times the crickets that jump in the water are just playing possum. Some will stay still for over a minute before they finally try to swim back to safety. Of course not all of them make it. I use a long handled spoon to get the drowned ones out after the feeding time is over. Sometimes the FBT's will grab the cricket as it attempts to swim out.

Crickets and the occasional earthworm are really all I give mine. But there are other threads here where others have discussed what they give their FBT's.

[cwebster]

Cute little FBT! Hope you will keep offering him tiny worms and crickets until he gains weight.

[jasonm96]

Your set up looks great! Although the rocks are too big to be ingested I'll still recommend a sheet of sphagnum moss over the top, so it's more softer on the toads skin and the toad can burrow into it for safety. Btw, I forgot to say, when keeping fire bellied toads, always at least have a pair or more. They're communal animals and prefer to be kept in small groups, they'll cuddle together and the completion for food gets them to eat better. Some crickets will go in the water and drown but the toads may still go in and snatch them, it's just the annoying thing about feeding these guys. Another food that is good to feed is waxworms but these shouldn't be fed too often as they are very fatty.

[privet01]

Jason, I agree with just about everything you said above, BUT... the OP need to also be aware they are also hierarchical and one will posture to show his dominance. The displays of dominance have disturbed many an FBT owner as evidenced by the numerous posts on the topic. I'd lean toward waiting till the OP is satisfied this FBT is healthy and as normal as conditions allow before introducing other FBT's.

[leo]

Jason, where would I go to get this moss? I don't think they have anything like that at pet smart.

Also, privet is right. I know that if you keep two leopard geckos together and one is much bigger, it attack the other and bully it. I figured the same would happen anyway.

Once he's fatter and healthier I'll be getting another.