Western Toad update.

[SethD]

It does seem like he should have grown more than that in two months, but I wouldn't worry much about it as long as he keeps growing and has a good appetite. BTW I like that nice green color.

[Paul Rust]

Jo, look at the two pictures with the coin a bit more objectively. He has grown quite a lot and about what I would expect. He does look very healthy.

[Kevin1]

Judging by his color, looks like you have the Boreal subspecies. I used to keep (and produce) the other subspecies Halophilus. How long have you had this little guy?

[Jace]

Judging by his color, looks like you have the Boreal subspecies. I used to keep (and produce) the other subspecies Halophilus. How long have you had this little guy?

Sorry, Kevin, but what do you mean by Boreal subspecies? And how would you be able to tell? I have had Enoch since August 27. No idea whether it is a boy or a girl, but with a name like Enoch, I naturally just call it a he. Does he look healthy and growing to you? Thanks for any info.

[Kevin1]

The western toad comes in two subspecies. Bufo Boreas Boreas and Bufo Boreas Halophilus.The B.b. Halophilus ranges mostly in california and parts of nevada. While B. b. Boreas ranges in california and farther north. The California toad(B.b.h.) has more red to it than the Boreal toad(B.b.b.) particularly on the "warts". From my experience in raising hundreds of these guys, I'd say your frog seems a bit small to me. Like Seth said though as long as he's eating and growing he should be ok. He's looks healthy for what it's worth. Do you give him supplements?(calcium vitamins)

Here's a pic of 2 breeding pairs and some eggs of the other subspecies. enjoy

[Jace]

Thanks, Kevin. Enoch gets fed every day with a 2 days in a row calcium dusting followed by 1 day vitamin dusting. He gets 4-5 crickets per feeding, each dusted with one or the other, depending on the day. He was being fed on pinheads, but he has since graduated to 1-2 weeks, depending on size. He used to hide in his rock cave all the time, but the last couple of weeks, he has been out in the open, hunting crickets and soaking in his indoor tub.

[Greg M]

Hi Jo,

Pretty little guy! It seems to me that he is doing just fine - appetite is good and he looks plump. A few things that might help. One is to feed something like waxworms or other high fat food - this was a suggestion by SethD, who commented [essentially] that they can use the calories when they are growing quickly. I think this is a good idea, and I would further add that diversity in feeders is also good idea - I have been using isopods (which are very high in calcium), dubia roach nymphs, little silkworms and butterworms. Another thing I would think about is temperature. I noted that Seth keeps his toads at a bit higher temperature than I do, and I think that may account for some of the difference in growth rate. I have encountered articles on the web looking at toad growth rate, and one conclusion was that the growth rate (both linear and weight) increased between 14 and 27 degrees Celcius (Lillywhite et al., 1973 (Ecology)). I would consider increasing your temperature to 25 - 27 degrees Celcius (about 75 - 80 degrees Farenheit) to maximize growth. Also, bear in mind that toads seem quite variable in growth rate - I have individuals who are almost twice the size of their healthy contemporaries. There is some notion that variability in growth rate has some species survival advantage...

Cheers!
Greg

[Jace]

Okay. I just read on the Forum from other threads that toads in general usually have fairly rapid growth spurts so I was expecting bigger, sooner. But he eats whatever is dropped into his home, is active, likes to skinny dip, and is nicely plump.

Thanks, Seth. Most pictures I have seen of Western Toads show them to be mostly brown, so I have quite the colouring on Enoch. I hope he keeps the different shades the older he gets.