New to toads. Suggestions?

[stevegrimes]

We have some toads...1 fire bellied toad purchased, 1 gray tree frog and 3 toads caught on the family farm. The 2 big toads are by themselves, while the tree frog, fire bellied toad and small american toad are together. Tanks are 10 gallon aquariums.

I have them on aquarium gravel at the moment, but will get substrate. I also plan on putting a couple of branches in for the tree frog to climb. The large toads have a potted bonzai tree in there at the moment (needed light as wife had it in a dark room and the leaves fell off).

We feed them crickets. I have a plant strip light that I sort of go back and forth with from the tanks. I just bought a plant/aquarium light to go in an aquarium fixture, but the kid broke the starter, so I have to get another one.

We also have a heat lamp bulb in a brooder lamp from Wal Mart's pet section (I got the purple, night use one), but I'm not sure if we really need it. The screen top is hard plastic on the sides with a middle strip of screen where a hood light would go. It's easy to put melt marks in the plastic of the light is not centered. It is easy to use as it has slide slips to fasten down, and round ports that come out to feed them.

I have a heat rock (from a snake a long time ago) that I'm thinking of using. Again, not really sure if we need it. I'm going to put thermometers in the tanks. Temps stay from about 68-70 with a/c on high up to mid-70s. Not sure about this winter. Will the toads hibernate in this environment? I know our box turtles shut down, regardless. We keep them in a tub full of topsoil and mulch in a back room over the winter.

At the present time, we have water in the tanks with a depression in the middle of the gravel in one; a pet water bowl in the other tank. We mist both tanks daily with a spray bottle.

We feed them crickets a couple of times a week. The little ones get .12 each crickets from Petco, while the big toads get large crickets from Gander Mountain ($1.99 for a "suck-a-tube full"...). I'll probably dust them with vitamins.

We keep screen tops on the tanks and they are kept next to a window which has subdued lighting from the backyard.

Anyway, that's about it. Any suggestions?

[Jace]

First, welcome to the forum!

Second, it is NOT a good idea to mix different species of frogs and toads together. Not only do the three species you have together require different habitats, but all frogs and toads have various levels of toxins on their skins that can be potentially fatal to those not of the same species. I would have to recommend that you separate them sooner rather than later. As well, smaller frogs/toads make a delicious snack for anything that can fit into a large mouth....it could end badly all the way around.

There are some excellent care articles available on the Forum to teach you about each of the frogs that you have. We also have a special section to discuss setups and habitats and there are members of the Forum that can share their amazing talents of tank setups to help you construct proper homes for your amphibian friends. But please, separate them first!!

[Kurt]

First get rid of the gravel it poses a risk for gastrointestinal impaction.

Second seperate the different species. Each enclosure should only house a single species. The reasons are many. Most frogs are toxic, this is especially true of the fire-bellied toad, Bombina orientalis, while at the same time their skin is porus and can absorb all kinds of stuff including the toxins from the frogs they are housed with. Over a period of time the different frogs will be slowly poisoning each other.
Another reason is most frogs available are wild caught and as such will have an intestinal load of parasites. Normally, this isn't a problem for the frog unless it becomes stressed out and it's immune system is weakened. However, frogs from different parts of the world will have different gut loads of parasites and have no immunity from the parasites from frogs from other parts of the world.
Third it's hard to satify all the different habitat requirements for the differnet species. Fire-bellies are semi-aquatic (and from Korea, China, and far eastern Russia), toads are terrestrial, and the gray treefrog is arboreal. THe good new is they are all temperate zone animals. Which leads me to my next point.
Get rid of the heat rock. They are known for burning animals. Personally I don't use heat lamps either. I think most amphibians are ok at room temperature.

That being said, Welcome aboard.

[Deku]

In my opinion. At the risk of restating the obvious. Those toads you found around your farm have poison gland called paratoid glands. Where they expell a heavy dose of concentrated toxins. As for firebelly toads, they are supposed to be more toxic than the gray treefrog which in turn may end up killing the treefrog quicker.
Trust me in the long run its not pretty. If the treefrog tries to eat the fire belly the treefrog will die through poisoning and the toad will die off from suffocation.
Also heat rocks are not safe for any animal even less an amphibian! Which skin is more sensitive than a reptiles!
Also seperate the fire belly toad to its own tank(try semi aquatic), and DONT USE GRAVEL!!. As for the two toads you caught put them in a 20g long tank with SOIL(no additives, pesticides or fertilizers). As for the treefrog put it in a 20high gallon tank because they are arboreal species.
I would take those amphibians to the vets asap! Get them checked for parasites.

[stevegrimes]

Wow... I had no idea of the consequences and I'm not new to keeping pets. I want to thank you for the quick and detailed replies. Fortunately, we don't have the heat rock hooked up as it's in the attic at the moment. I've been aiming to get substrate...will do asap. I'll talk to the little boy about perhaps letting the large toads go back on the family farm...if we don't have enough room. We'll separate the toads/tree frog/fire belly. As he's been with them, does he need a stool sample looked at? The toad and he both like to sit in the water. I'm presuming he's captive bred. The tree frog mostly hangs onto the glass until I get him some branches. The bonzai tree is only there for the moment as it is a good source of plant-friendly light. As I wasn't totally certain if toads/frogs needed supplemental lighting, we've had a strip plant light over the tanks. I'll check the forum frequently in case anybody has other suggestions. Thanks again, Steve

[Deku]

Yes I would defenitely try that in my opinion. I mean for all you know it could have contracted something. Especially since it was sitting in the water where lots of micro-organisms grow. To get a stool sample just put the specimens in a terrarium with nothing but paper towels. Give it a water dish and feed it. Pick up the sample with tweezers if possible and put it in a small ziplock bag. MAke sure its fresh before you give it to the vet. Also label it by name of the animal, species of the animal and date it was produced. As for the toads being let go. As long as the toads are native to your region and they were not in the same container as the other amphibians then you can release them. But if they were you cannot because it may introduce new bacteria and parasites to the ecosystems which the native animals cannot fight off.

In any case if you cannot keep it find a wild life rehabilitator or a school and give it to them. I would also throughly clean out the tanks with hot boiling water and viniger a few times. Make sure that you take the animals to the vet before you put them in the new tank otherwise its pointless and they will once again contract what they just got rid off. You know? So for the mean time quarantine them. Clean out their enclosures and when you take them to the vet give the vet the sample after which she will give you meds for the amphibians. When you take them home throughly clean out the tank prior to putting the amphibian in there. This will lower the chances of it getting the same issue again. Personally Id clean it after too or just keep them in a seperate quarantine tank to prevent the main one from harboring those parasites. I mean you want SOME parasites and bacteria in the amphibians but not to the point where it will kill them.

Well seeing as you have fire belly toads, common toads, and a tree frog stay away from gravel, and sand as substrate. Just use regular soil without all that junk in them. You can also use this mixture that is peat moss and something else but its just like that soil.
This is in my opinion though.

If I were you Id check out some caresheets before you do anything as well. Just so you get familiarized with the animals you currently have.
Make sure that anything that is not native or is captive bred or captive born is not being released into the wild.