Acquiring a Pet Toad and a Few Other Questions

[clemsonguy1123]

Hey,
Im new here and interested in a pet toad. I have experience in keeping tree frogs, geckos, fish, and just installed a small pond this week. I plan to build a enclosure from plywood with dimensions of 4x2x2. I know with geckos you should not use maple, is this true with toads as well. Also where are toads normally acquired. No local pet shops carry them. Are they normally wild caught or bought. I figure they will start showing up due to my pond so if I do need to catch one I doubt that will be a problem.
Thanks

[SethD]

Hey,
Im new here and interested in a pet toad. I have experience in keeping tree frogs, geckos, fish, and just installed a small pond this week. I plan to build a enclosure from plywood with dimensions of 4x2x2. I know with geckos you should not use maple, is this true with toads as well. Also where are toads normally acquired. No local pet shops carry them. Are they normally wild caught or bought. I figure they will start showing up due to my pond so if I do need to catch one I doubt that will be a problem.
Thanks

The fairly small number of wood enclosures I have built for toads were mainly plywood overlaid with various water proofing agents. If maple is a bad idea for geckos due to toxicity concerns then doubtless the same concerns would apply to toads. As far as "where toads are acquired" it all depends on what you want. Most north american toad species make decent captives and many tend to be common so if you want to collect a local toad there is nothing wrong with that if it is legal in your area. On the other hand if you want something more exotic you may get lucky and find something in a local pet shop, particularly if they know you are looking for toads. However by and large a better selection of exotic species can be found and purchased online though availability tends to be seasonal for most species. They will most likely be WC too as CB specimens of any species tend to be rare because no toad species is regularly bred for the pet trade at this time.

[clemsonguy1123]

Ok,thanks, as for water proofing, Im not really worried., Ill pt a sheet of thick plastic on the bottom and use a large water dish. The top will be screen and the front will either be a sheet of thin plexi-glass or a plywood panel with window panes siliconed in, depending on prices and what I can find. I want a normal american toad so I guess Ill go with wild caught. Would it be safe to keep multiple together? I have mealworm colonies to feed my gecko, will toads eat these? I can feed these as well as feeder fish and crickets. I plan to try breeding crickets so food shouldn't be an issue.

[SethD]

Ok,thanks, as for water proofing, Im not really worried., Ill pt a sheet of thick plastic on the bottom and use a large water dish. he top will be screen and the front will either be a sheet of thin plexi-glass or a plywood panel with window panes siliconed in, depending on prices and what I can find.

The water proofing is more so the wood will be able to hold up to humidity and damp conditions rather than standing water. If you have built wood enclosures for herps before I am sure you can work something out.

Would it be safe to keep multiple together?

Yes, as long as they are similar in size, they will try to eat anything significantly smaller than they are.

I have mealworm colonies to feed my gecko, will toads eat these? I can feed these as well as feeder fish and crickets. I plan to try breeding crickets so food shouldn't be an issue.

Feeding some mealworms is fine, as is feeding crickets, feeder fish would not be likely to work though. I would also recommend getting some repashy ICB to dust the food with. It is probably the best choice in supplements on the market and can be purchased online or at some reptile shows.