Toad Question

[lowerdegrl]

I had a toad show up in my house last night and I saved him from my cats. He is the size of a silver dollar and I have no clue what kind he might be, he is kinda gray. In good conscious I can not put him outside because it is too cold and I am pretty sure he would freeze. I got an aquarium and put moss in it. I will get him some shelter tomorrow for now he is in a dark place. and I also got him wax worms. I hope this is something he can eat. my question is he looks like he is hyperventilating his throat moves real fast is this normal? and how do I know if he decides to hibernate or not. He also likes to cling to the side of the aquarium but I hope that when he gets shelter he will relax a bit.
So if anyone can give me advise on how we can care for him I would appreciate it. the plan is to release him back to nature when it warms up but I want to make him as happy as I can for the next 4 months or so.

[Wormwood]

The first question would be, what state are you in? How cold does it get there in the winter? Whats the normal temp in your house or where you plan to keep him? That'll help me judge the breed, a picture could help to.

Wax worms, small meal worms (from a pet store) and small crickets should be fine to tide him over for those few months. If he looks skinny feed him, toads should never look skinny.

I wouldn't worry about his throat, that's normal from being picked up and handled. Try not to handle him much as it will stress them.

My suggestion would be to go to home depo and get some play sand, get it damp and put it in his tank. Most toads like something to burrow in. Keep the moss on top. Pet stores also have 4x8 blocks of coconuts fibers for $5-6 bucks and one block of that should fill a 10 gallon tank with enough bedding. Get a little log, a pot cut in half or something cave like for him to hide in. If your house is over 70 degrees in the winter he/she shouldn't hiberate but if he's anything like my local american toads they tend to dig in for the the winter still (almost like clockwork) although they will come out once a week or so to eat a few meal worms from their food dish.

Be sure to have a dish of water in the tank 24/7 and change it when it looks dirty. If you don't have a 10 gallon tank already I'd suggest that for such a little toad. You can get them for $20 bucks at most pet stores and often MUCH cheap on www.craigslist.com, just gotta search in your area.