My toads are turning black!!!

[roxy1043]

I am getting really worried - I have two FBs, have had them for a few months. I have had FBs before while I was going up, so I thought I knew everything but now they are turning really dark! They were slightly different shades when we brought them home but now they are both so dark you can barely see their spots! Should I get them a special lamp or could they be sick?? Help!

[Sunshine]

Can you post a pic of your enclosure?
Also can you repost and answer these questions http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...enclosure.html

[roxy1043]

I tried but my phone is acting weird. I have a 18x9x12 tank (lxwxh) that is glass. It is approximately half rocks and half water. I have larger rocks on top of the gravel so they don't accidently swallow small rocks when they are hunting. They have a large rock that is good for hiding and climbing. I also have a small submersible heater to keep the water temp up. They are eating and are active. Bark a lot and try to mate. It is just their color that is off. We feed them twice a week - about a dozen small crickets at a time from Petsmart.

[roxy1043]

1. Size of enclosure - approximately 18x9x12
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences 2 FBs, think 1 male and 1 female. Female is noticably larger and fatter
3. Humidity - unknown - mist 1- 2xs /week
4. Temperature 65-70
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish - use room temp water after sitting out 24-48 hrs
6. Materials used for substrate - basic fish gravel to create a "hill", covered with larger glass rocks (approx quarter size)
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials. - had live plants for the first month - they died and I have not replaced. I also think the frogs may have been eating them? or just destroying them from chasing each other. Have a large plastic rock with lots of hiding places and climbability
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv. - everything was rinsed in very hot water - larger rocks were wiped down.
8. Main food source - crickets (small)
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often) - have not used
10. Lighting - natural light and standard room lamps, no special reptile or aquarium lighting
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure- there is a small submersible heat unit under the gravel
12. When is the last time he/she ate - today
13. Have you found poop lately -no. but i never found poop with any of my FBs. Have found cricket carcasses after they have been sucked of nutrients
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine) - my cell phone is being weird, as soon as the pics are received in my email I will upload them here
15. How old is the frog - mature - age unknown
16. How long have you owned him/her - bought from petstore two months ago
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred - believed to be captive bred
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats - basic crickets - approx 12 at a time, 2x a week.
19. How often the frog is handled - about once a week to remove during tank cleaning
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area - high traffic room - in the corner. Just two adults in the home
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc) i refill with fresh water about twice a week, try to take larger peices out to wipe down weekly, sometimes every other week

[Sunshine]

Ok, I should have said this before but my FBTs turn a very dark color sometimes. I think it has to do with stress, mood, time of day and mine also seem to like to try to blend in to their surroundings.

First thing I would do is take the heater out of the water because they like the water a little cooler. Between 68-75F I would suggest a water conditioner for the water just to make sure there is no chlorine or heavy metals since these are toxic. They usually wont show symptoms right away but over time they may start to 'tox out'. Some popular brands are Reptisafe, Prime, and API Stress Coat.

Your setup sounds good. They wont eat live plants, so you don't have to worry about that. However, mine seem to love to trample them.

Food should be dusted with a vitamin supplement every other feeding and dusted with calcium once a week but never both on the same day. Unless using Repashy's Calcium Plus vit. and cal. supplement. Another good brand is Rep-Cal calcium with D3, and Rep-Cal Herptivite. You might want to consider feeding earthworms as well. You will have to cut them up though, into about 1" pieces. Earthworms are much more nutritious than crickets, which even when gut loaded don't have much nutritional value. The toads might not take the nightcrawlers though, since they probably wont move around as much as the crickets. Worth a try though. Baby Dubia Roaches are also a good feeder. I know they are gross though. If I am missing anything feel free to ask!

[Mentat]

...
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish - use room temp water after sitting out 24-48 hrs...
8. Main food source - crickets (small)
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often) - have not used...
Have found cricket carcasses after they have been sucked of nutrients...
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats - basic crickets - approx 12 at a time, 2x a week.
19. How often the frog is handled - about once a week to remove during tank cleaning...
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc) i refill with fresh water about twice a week, try to take larger peices out to wipe down weekly, sometimes every other week

OK, Sherry has pretty much covered all possible problem areas; just want to go over couple things.

5. The days of aerating water for 24-48 hours to vent out chlorine went away when more stable chloramines were introduced. Also, as stated, there are heavy metals in water too. Need to get water conditioner and start using it now.

8. Are you gut loading crickets for couple days before feeding them to frogs? I use Repashy's Bug Burger for that.

9. CA X2, multivitamins X1 every week. Do not use on same day and alternate with plain feeding between. Again, I use the Repashy stuff.

18. Try to get some night crawlers or red worms (smaller) into that diet. Can use ones from bait shops, Walmart, etc. as long as they are free of additives like dyes. Remember to cut worm into smaller pieces. If one worm is too much for your 2 frogs can cut rear half (pointy end) and feed that first. Worm will heal; so just feed the other half next time.

19 & 21. With current routine you are wiping out your beneficial Ammonia/Nitrite reducing bacteria once a week during tank cleaning. There is possibility your frogs are exposed to both toxic elements; use de-chlorinated water for wiping tank stuff and cleaning. Good luck !

[Creamballman]

One of my FBT turns dark every night then turns normal in the day, while the other one i have maintains its color. If it is still active and seems happy, I wouldn't worry

[Firebellyman]

OK, Sherry has pretty much covered all possible problem areas; just want to go over couple things.

5. The days of aerating water for 24-48 hours to vent out chlorine went away when more stable chloramines were introduced. Also, as stated, there are heavy metals in water too. Need to get water conditioner and start using it now.

8. Are you gut loading crickets for couple days before feeding them to frogs? I use Repashy's Bug Burger for that.

9. CA X2, multivitamins X1 every week. Do not use on same day and alternate with plain feeding between. Again, I use the Repashy stuff.

18. Try to get some night crawlers or red worms (smaller) into that diet. Can use ones from bait shops, Walmart, etc. as long as they are free of additives like dyes. Remember to cut worm into smaller pieces. If one worm is too much for your 2 frogs can cut rear half (pointy end) and feed that first. Worm will heal; so just feed the other half next time.

19 & 21. With current routine you are wiping out your beneficial Ammonia/Nitrite reducing bacteria once a week during tank cleaning. There is possibility your frogs are exposed to both toxic elements; use de-chlorinated water for wiping tank stuff and cleaning. Good luck !

lucky you I have never had them eat worms as much as I have offered picky little stinkers

[DDskary]

I am more of a hobbyist terrarium builder but within the past year or so i decided to start putting live animals in them. I have been using non-toxic and safe food coloring to apply fake blue tones to the water. I've noticed after cleaning my tank (once per month about) and adding the coloring that by the next day one frog remains normal color, the other becomes dark or black, AND the shade of the water is considerably less blue, thus leading me to believe that he is absorbing the food coloring. Not that you would be using food coloring in your setup, but the fact that one or more is changing to a darker color could indicate he is absorbing something from the water/environment, OR that he is simply under stress. after a couple days his color usually returns to normal and i can add more food coloring without any change to his color or the water, indicating to me his stress levels have lowered and he is calmer in his surroundings. If the tank is cleaned and no coloring is added to the water, he still becomes darker, leading me to believe that it is almost entirely stress related, which may be brought on by the fresh, yet de-chlorinated, water being replaced, though it does not seem to happen when only adding water to the existing water.

[elliotulysses]

From what I know, it's not uncommon for fbts to have some color differences. In my tank of four about three of them are really bright, but one is definitely darker(not black like others have mentioned), but his belly is very bright and he's one active dude; he will lunge from across the tank when I get out the feeding tongs. While I am far from an expert, I think that behavior, eating, and belly color might be more important. My little girl that had an impaction was very bright green, but her belly was faded and she was super lethargic/would not eat. Sadly, she passed, but IME those things are more concerning than just her back color. From what I've heard ftbs can even come in a brown shade, so who knows?

[japa]

Colour change (turnig dark)is normal for FBTs. It is about nervous and hormonal basis.
This is a complex process which plays a role Intermedin hormone concentration in the blood. Most bellied darken only a couple of days, about a week or 14 days, so you do not have any concerns.