American Toad Diet Questions

[Lindz]

I'm planning on getting myself a few American toads this Spring, currently working on their habitat.

I've also been trying to figure out what the best sort of diet would be for them. When I was a kid I fed them whatever I could find, but I also had some casualties due to my inexperience / lack of knowledge and don't want that again.

I figure variety is probably good (but then again, not sure, as some materials have advised feeding them mostly crickets). Would you say variety is good, or sticking to a staple is best?

Whatever I feed them needs to be things I can purchase in stores, because I'm not keen on feeding them insects from outside. Where I live is somewhat urban and I'm worried about pesticides, and I also worry about parasites. I would rather not chance it (I'm a bit of a worry wart mother hen sort of pet owner).

I've considered breeding my own pill bugs and after a few generations of having the colony isolated indoors, I could use them as part of the diet (but not sure if pill bugs are all that nutritious? What if I fed them fish flakes and potatoes?). I've successfully bred pill bugs before feeding them fish flakes, algae wafers and red skin potatoes.

I figure I should add in earthworms (I can buy the bait nightcrawlers) and dust them with mineral powder, but not sure how often I should offer this treat, or if it should be a staple.

There's also crickets, but I worry about the crickets biting the toads' insides, after I read some stuff on mealworms and how they can be dangerous (but not sure if true?).

Also, how big should my toads be before I consider offering them pinkies as a treat?