Age-dependant behavior...

[Greg M]

I have four Woodhouse's toads, two large adults and two juveniles from this year. The two adults settled in for a "long winters nap" about 2 months ago and periodically peak up (looking for their shadows, I guess) before going back to sleep. In contrast, the two juveniles are active and eating and undergoing remarkable growth spurts - the larger male has added over an inch in length and probably doubled in mass in those six weeks. He went from eating two full-grown crickets every second day to ten plus large crickets or five plus large Dubia nymphs every day. All toads are living at room temperature (72F) - weird, no?

[Jace]

I have my room temperature at the same, and my juvenile Western toad is really active and eating as well. I don't have any adults to compare him to, but he has definitely chunked up and shows no sign of slowing down!

[Greg M]

Glad to hear Enoch is doing well!

Off topic - I really enjoy toads as pets - they are [relatively] smart, active and very individual in character! My two juvi's share a tank, and have their own defined territories and habbits. The larger (male) juvi lives in a hole he dug in the substrate and gets up in the morning as soon as he sees a person moving about. He then sits on the fake plant (as high as he can get) and waits to be fed. He also apparently has amorous designs on a large [male] horned frog in a nearby cage - when not eating or sleeping, he sings to the big oaf. The other juvi sleeps on the far side of the water dish where there is no substrate and never buries him/herself. He/she literally dances back and forth along the side of the cage waiting to be fed - looks like a small child in need of the bathroom !

[Wormwood]

My american toads are similiar, they tend to dig themselves in and sleep for most of the winter months , even when the temp of the house is around 65-72 degrees. They'll come once in a blue moon for water or bugs but they rarely need much feeding over these cold months as it seems like they let their metabolisms slow down.

[Greg M]

The big guys are up and about now, and eating on a regular basis.

My goodness are the younglings eating now! The young female ate 17 good size (1 inch) Dubia in two days! I normally feed every second day, but she was trying to eat a nightcrawler intended for a nearby horned frog through the glass, so I gave in! I only very rarely feed them mice (special treats), but I gave her 3 large pinkies on Saturday, and she scarfed them down like candy. They were frozen/thawed, but after the first, she would eat them without me moving them! Its been amazing to watch my little runt (she was about 1.5 inches long six weeks ago) approximately double in length and quadruple in mass over the last while!