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

[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.

[jasonm96]

I've never noticed any fighting or dominance, infact mine just stay together most of time. But I can't see the problem with a little fighting for food or a mate every so often, providing the tank is big enough and not over stocked, so the animals can get away from each other. Ive read that in the wild so many frogs can be found close to each other. For this reason long term I'd house these frogs in a larger tank than the small, often recommended, 10 gallons. It is best though that the animal proves healthy first before introducing more but they will also need quarantined for at least 30 days before introduced. I'd recommend at least two or more if you do get more and in the long run go for a bigger tank.

They usually sell it at pet shops in bricks or bags. Zoo meds sphagnum moss is what I use and can easily be ordered online if needed. Just be sure never to use green moss, it's really loose and had small strands which could cause impaction if ingested

[leo]

Hey everyone! Quick update on this little guy:


He is a voracious eater! I went to petsmart yesterday and got some feeding tongs to help him eat, and I accidently dropped it in the cage and as soon as it started moving on its own, he pounced and chowed it down immediately.


I also bought a brick of sphagnum moss and laid it down in his substrate. He loves it and now I can feel comfortable dropping multiple crickets in and walking away, there is now no possibility of him ingesting the gravel and I think he'll be alright with regular feeding and love.


Here's a few updated pics:














The only problem is that he seems to be REALLY bad at catching anything as if he can barely see it. Is this normal?

[jasonm96]

Hey! I don't think that's sphagnum, I think it's that green moss. Sphagnum comes in thick strands and can be white/cream colour. Sphagnum is safer because of their thicker and longer strands are hard for the frog to swallow and it holds more moisture and so pats down better.

My fire bellies aren't the best at catching stuff because dont use their tongue to catch prey. Are you providing a light that gives out UVA? It should also give it low levels of UVB. A 5% tube or compact would be needed for that size of tank.

[leo]

That's the only thing they have I'm afraid.

I'm quite deep in this monetarily already. It's not clear yet whether he'll live as it could still be a parasite. As time goes on I may consider getting one.