Hi
I last wrote about my 2 firebellies on here in 2011. I just logged on to check the date. At the time of writing my two FBs were 18 and 19.
The younger one passed away 2 years ago.
The older one died on Monday. He had stopped eating and I watched him stretch out his legs, close his eyes and he just peacefully died.
I bought him from a long- gone pet shop fully grown. I was doing a foundation course at the time. Since I bought him I have got a degree, had 2 long term jobs, etc., just life passing by but I remember like it was yesytetday buying him from a tank of salamanders. The pet shop owner didn't know he was squashed in among them. He had been feeding the salamanders crickets bigger than the toad, so he was very thin. I bought him a friend from a reputable dealer.
Originally their tank was full of stones, moss and growing plants but my older toad got bloat twice and both times I cured it by totally getting rid of all the plants and just having shallow fresh water, a tile and a terracotta pot for shade. The tank was only heated by a 20 w bulb. The water was not filtered so I changed it weekly with boiled & cooled water. When the younger toad lost the use of one of his back legs I reduced the depth of the water to just 1 cm, with a flat tile he could climb onto.
They both ate small garden worms and the odd fly. I gave them mealworms when the ground was frozen, but they didn't like the legs. They didn't like wax worms either. Sometimes they went off a particular type of worm, even, like the dark red ones.
Anyway, I am surprised its been over 6 years since I wrote about them here, then forgot my password and didn't bother re-setting it. Where has the time gone?
I'm no expert at all, but when I read some of the problems other owners have I do wonder what I did that was obviously a success, so I decided to log back on and share my experience. I have to conclude that I think the most important factor is cleanliness. Remove droppings and uneaten food daily. Change water weekly. Clean the entire tank regularly and hopefully you will enjoy your toads for years to come.