Breeding pair of toads! :D

[Deku]

I raise toad tads every year, and its not hard at all. Until they become toadlets, then they are pretty much impossible to feed. Once they get front legs, I would reccomend letting most of the go and keep maybe 5 at the most. They will still be incredibly difficult to feed, sometimes fruitflies are to big. However if you go back to the same location you found the adults in in about a month, you should find lots of little toadlets that are big enough to feed. On a side note, the toads here are going crazy. i got several dood pics of pairs in amplexus. I'll post them if anyones interested. I'm currently working on a documentary of the life cycle of the American toad.

I understand. I may even do that. I was just thinking of when it comes to the front legs Ill keep maybe 20. I am hoping to get a viable source of food. I always wanted to do this ever since I got into this hobby 8years ago. Like I got into the reptile/amphibian hobby through buying a RES turtle in nyc. I was literary a newbie to the world of herps. Knew nothing about nothing. But unlike most people--- I have a strong perseverance and stubborn streak and I kept the turtle, and upgraded the tank to a proper tank. And thats how it all started. Its a long story.


But yes I know they can be hard to feed. Which is why Iam going tommorrow over to the woods and find some spring tails. Ill catch alot and breed them. I been reading alot about them. Springtails are pretty small too. So they would be good food. Iam also going to try finding pillbugs and breed them too. They will serve food to them when they are bigger, but not big enough to eat a big cricket.

Right now about a great deal of them have hatched. Weird thing is--- some are still in the egg but are wriggling, they look like small noodles. While some came out of the egg before in the shape of a ball and started turning into a noodle outside of the egg. They're still taking a bit to grow. But I notice alot of movement. Alot of the tadpoles still in the eggs are turning from black to white.

Which leads me to another question. Are those okay? And I have a small filter asides the 3g filter which is a filter but actually serves as a water mover(very gentle).

but I have another filter a bit stronger its ment for 20gallons. Its an older model I dont even know what kind it is. But I do know it doesn't have a strong pull. I used it with guppies, small shrimp, etc.

Could I turn that filter on? I am thinking of covering it with a cup and poking very very small numerous holes in the cup, and covering any large gaps to prevent the tadpoles from getting sucked up. But will this do harm to them? Its because the water is now turning cloudish.. Not soo cloudy but starting to get cloudier. Iam thinking of doing a small water change soon. Like a 20% water change.

I know rearing tadpoles isn't hard. I didn't want to go out back in the wild and do that. Because Iam thinking of releasing the adults I caught. Exception of the one I reared from a toadlet last summer. Iam keeping her no matter what.


Shes my favorite one and I have a strong bond towards her(parental-ish, possessive). Iam thinking of releasing the two toads I caught in that place trying to mate. So I can raise the toadlets to adulthood and keep those. I didn't want to buy the toads online because. For some reason with amphibians I don't tend to get interested in too many things I don't catch.


Like I do. But not with certain ones. I guess it brings back certain memories to catch them and keep them. But I rather rear them since eggs. In total for myself I'd keep 4-5 of those toadlets. Like Ill keep 20-30 just to increase my chances of getting that amount. No matter what, not all tadpoles and toadlets will make it to adulthood. It doesn't matter if the conditions are extremely perfect. its just not quite possible imo. Because the reason they lay many eggs is because they know that many of them will die.

Personally I think Iam increasing their mortality rate though. Like saying throw it back in the pond--- sure I get the sentiment. But think about it. Where I found them, is connected to a canal/creek water way. It's also home to many fish like bass, sunnies, pike, catfish, birds, and many other animals.

Tadpoles and toadlets have many predators. It doesn't matter that they're toxic. There are still many many predators out there. In reality I am not saying Iam their savior. But iam not their killer either.

Sorry I just wanted to throw an opinion out there.

But my question is, the tadpole eggs and tadpoles turning white. Are they becomming albino or just dying? Cause I defenitely know not all will hatch and survive. But I wanna know. I do have a freshwater clam in there with them thats alive.

I put it there because I read up on clams and they are filterfeeders. So they're like a filter persay. One clam is not enough, but it does help keep the water slightly cleaner I think. I think theres actually like 500eggs/tadpoles in total. But Idk ill just keep it as is. When I see a great deal hatching, the ones that aren't hatching Ill put them in a seperate container and give them an extra few days for hatching. If I don't see improvement on that ill have to throw em out.

Also other potential food sources Iam thinking about are aphids. They are very small bright green insects that are very common in my neck of the woods. I know they are a pest species so they shouldn't be hard to breed once I figure out their lifecycle.

There's so many things I can breed(i feel like there is). Now I'm also going to look for other food sources for the adults as a staple diet. Crickets are okay so if I can't do anything else ill stick to crickets.

I heard roaches are good for breeding and are healthy as a staple diet. Thing is, are there any that don't fly or have a potential to escape and infest the house?

Worms are a possibility, but oddly they keep dying in the container a week later. I think Iam getting a bad source of them. Since I used to have a container full of earthworms a year ago that were in the same container for months and were alive or reproducing.

[Zach]

Ok to start of, yes the eggs turning white are dieing. Don't worry unless more than 1/4 of them turn white. As for the others, some hatch earlier, while others wait until they are more developed in the egg to hatch. You want to have some water movement but not enough that it tosses the tads around. Make sure there isn't a yucky film on the surface of the water. Mortality rate is going to be very high in the wild or captivity, their is no way around that. Personally I don't think you can feed 20 toadlets. Keep in mind that in the wild they would eat countless amounts of insects every night. You should let the majority go. Also let the parents go. When you found them the female was carrying the male to a spot to lay eggs, which wouldn't have been the creek you found them by. Well best of luck with those tadpoles, currently iam raising 200+ wood frog tads.

[Zach]

Also other potential food sources Iam thinking about are aphids. They are very small bright green insects that are very common in my neck of the woods. I know they are a pest species so they shouldn't be hard to breed once I figure out their lifecycle.

There's so many things I can breed(i feel like there is). Now I'm also going to look for other food sources for the adults as a staple diet. Crickets are okay so if I can't do anything else ill stick to crickets.

I heard roaches are good for breeding and are healthy as a staple diet. Thing is, are there any that don't fly or have a potential to escape and infest the house?

Worms are a possibility, but oddly they keep dying in the container a week later. I think Iam getting a bad source of them. Since I used to have a container full of earthworms a year ago that were in the same container for months and were alive or reproducing.

One way I feed my Cope's Gray treefrog is too turn on my porchlight for a couple hous at night. I bring him out and let him eat the moths and other stuff. This is good for several reasons
1.Easy to do.
2.Good variety
3.It's probably what treefrogs and toads would eat in the wild.

[Whistly]

Zach photos please would love to see them thanks.

[Zach]

Zach photos please would love to see them thanks.

Look in my album "Various frogs"

[Deku]

Ok to start of, yes the eggs turning white are dieing. Don't worry unless more than 1/4 of them turn white. As for the others, some hatch earlier, while others wait until they are more developed in the egg to hatch. You want to have some water movement but not enough that it tosses the tads around. Make sure there isn't a yucky film on the surface of the water. Mortality rate is going to be very high in the wild or captivity, their is no way around that. Personally I don't think you can feed 20 toadlets. Keep in mind that in the wild they would eat countless amounts of insects every night. You should let the majority go. Also let the parents go. When you found them the female was carrying the male to a spot to lay eggs, which wouldn't have been the creek you found them by. Well best of luck with those tadpoles, currently iam raising 200+ wood frog tads.

I don't think she was going to take him anywhere since theres only that creek around.. and I always see the eggs where the female was by(not kidding--- ill take pictures if I ever see them again).

I will put the adults back EXCEPTION of the very first toad I had. I had her since she was a toadlet. Iam quite fond of her and attached to her. I'ved had her for a year and she seems quite content and plump.

As for the moth idea. That seems like a good idea; but not the best since I tried doing something LIKE that with a box turtle once. It ended escaping and I was in grief. Rather not have that happen again----for whatever reason.

Look up the fruit fly culture. Look at how easy it is to breed fruitflies. lol. I thought the same way as you did. But, when I found out how easy it is to breed them--- then I figured why not go for it. I will release alot of them when they turn already into toadlets. But not by that creek. I find it they will do better in another woodlands where I found a great deal of toads last summer(5-7 please note Iam very clumsy and have not the best pair of eyes) lol.

The male and female I found mating I will release them where I found them. But not exactly WHERE i found them. Same area, but more in the land portion of where I found them. They're quite done with mating, so Ill find a good area that they will hide and find lots of bugs then ill release em there, within the week(after I fed them a bit--- it would be quite mean of me if I let them go without feeding them for the road ill make sure to get extra large dusted crickets for them lol).

As for the white taddies its only a small percentage of the dying eggs. I can count 20eggs(not kidding) so far that turned white lol. The rest seem to be hatching.

[Deku]

One way I feed my Cope's Gray treefrog is too turn on my porchlight for a couple hous at night. I bring him out and let him eat the moths and other stuff. This is good for several reasons
1.Easy to do.
2.Good variety
3.It's probably what treefrogs and toads would eat in the wild.

I think I answered this already... but.... I'd rather not....... Chances are it could escape. lol. Had something happen with a three toed box turtle before. Never got to find it.

[Whistly]

Love the Toads Zach they have quite big ear drums I've never seen anything like them.

Deku I was expecting a lot more than 20 dead eggs sounds like your doing pretty well keep it up.

[Zach]

I don't think she was going to take him anywhere since theres only that creek around.. and I always see the eggs where the female was by(not kidding--- ill take pictures if I ever see them again).

I will put the adults back EXCEPTION of the very first toad I had. I had her since she was a toadlet. Iam quite fond of her and attached to her. I'ved had her for a year and she seems quite content and plump.

As for the moth idea. That seems like a good idea; but not the best since I tried doing something LIKE that with a box turtle once. It ended escaping and I was in grief. Rather not have that happen again----for whatever reason.

Look up the fruit fly culture. Look at how easy it is to breed fruitflies. lol. I thought the same way as you did. But, when I found out how easy it is to breed them--- then I figured why not go for it. I will release alot of them when they turn already into toadlets. But not by that creek. I find it they will do better in another woodlands where I found a great deal of toads last summer(5-7 please note Iam very clumsy and have not the best pair of eyes) lol.

The male and female I found mating I will release them where I found them. But not exactly WHERE i found them. Same area, but more in the land portion of where I found them. They're quite done with mating, so Ill find a good area that they will hide and find lots of bugs then ill release em there, within the week(after I fed them a bit--- it would be quite mean of me if I let them go without feeding them for the road ill make sure to get extra large dusted crickets for them lol).

As for the white taddies its only a small percentage of the dying eggs. I can count 20eggs(not kidding) so far that turned white lol. The rest seem to be hatching.

Thats interesting, they don't usually breed in creeks because they prefer still quit water. For the bugs, you don't have to take them outside, you can make a bug trap around the light and bring the bugs in. This video is pretty good about how to feed YouTube - Raising tadpoles into Frogs /Toads pt . 2 of 3 -How 2 feed Fruit flies are harder than you would think, trust me I've done it several times with several species and you just aren't going to get by with just fruit flies. It probably doesn't matter where you release the parents, as long as its the same general area.

[Zach]

Love the Toads Zach they have quite big ear drums I've never seen anything like them.

Thank you, the bullfrogs eardrums are even bigger.

[Wormwood]

Thanks Zach, a very informative video.

[Deku]

Love the Toads Zach they have quite big ear drums I've never seen anything like them.

Deku I was expecting a lot more than 20 dead eggs sounds like your doing pretty well keep it up.

The tadpoles look weird though lol. I think they may just need a day or two of further developing. There are some smaller taddies, and some larger taddies. ALL of which are at the same step of development. I was too. Maybe there will be more deads later on. The taddies look sorta flattened. Starting to swim around somewhat but not too much. Most are just clining to the wall(i let the light on all day and night for the past week for algea growth---it worked) and some are just on the ground gravel, but move around occassionally like the others.

I feel as if I shouldn't turn the equipment on yet. Like I feel I should wait up until they are slightly more developed. lol. maybe ill put in another air stone.

[Deku]

Thats interesting, they don't usually breed in creeks because they prefer still quit water. For the bugs, you don't have to take them outside, you can make a bug trap around the light and bring the bugs in. This video is pretty good about how to feed YouTube - Raising tadpoles into Frogs /Toads pt . 2 of 3 -How 2 feed Fruit flies are harder than you would think, trust me I've done it several times with several species and you just aren't going to get by with just fruit flies. It probably doesn't matter where you release the parents, as long as its the same general area.

So fruitflies will be hard to culture? ill still give em a whirl, and today Iam going to get some of those springtails and breeding them.
Ill see what other things I can find. Im going to put the toadlets once they are fully toadlets into small containers big enough for them to not be cramped too much. The ones they use at reptileshows to carry out other animals. That will be a better solution for me. Since I can specially focus on one toad per container, keep their data, write up how they are doing, etc.

But I wouldn't keep more than 20toadlets I guess if a few people are suggesting me on not to. Thanks! Ill keep some of the smaller toadlets as my 10/10 10of the smallest and 10 of the largest. I do like it when I find petite toads like that. Though I won't mind what they actually grow into. lol. I just wanna have something I raised. I guess it gives me a stronger bond/interest into what Iam owning. That's what happened with my toad kero/krote(her name changes constantly).

It's a weird instinct I have call it at that. If I catch it and its adult, ill take interest in it; but its most likely to study it for the week and release it the next week. I do that sometimes.

Most of my stuff I had as a baby so I guess it brings me closer to them. Not sure how other people are. But that's how I work I guess. My turtle I had it as a hatchling. My goldfish I had em since they were 1inch long. Guppies= ehh I just like em lol.

The pacman I have, my friend gave it to me when it was an inch big, basically when it was fully morphed from a froglet-- he kept it for an extra month to make sure it was fine.

I mean ill take on adults no doubt. But it won't be the same way ill look at them as. lol hard to explain. xD
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Yeah like I said they were breeding in the creek just in a quieter part of the creek. I don't know how to fully explain it. But

There's a part that branches off from the creek--it still gets some water movement but its not a powerfulll flow. Its ussually covered by aquatic weeds too --- allover. The toads just blend into their environment. So its sorta hard to spot them there. lol. Maybe why they like it there. xD

[Zach]

So fruitflies will be hard to culture? ill still give em a whirl, and today Iam going to get some of those springtails and breeding them.
Ill see what other things I can find. Im going to put the toadlets once they are fully toadlets into small containers big enough for them to not be cramped too much. The ones they use at reptileshows to carry out other animals. That will be a better solution for me. Since I can specially focus on one toad per container, keep their data, write up how they are doing, etc.

But I wouldn't keep more than 20toadlets I guess if a few people are suggesting me on not to. Thanks! Ill keep some of the smaller toadlets as my 10/10 10of the smallest and 10 of the largest. I do like it when I find petite toads like that. Though I won't mind what they actually grow into. lol. I just wanna have something I raised. I guess it gives me a stronger bond/interest into what Iam owning. That's what happened with my toad kero/krote(her name changes constantly).

It's a weird instinct I have call it at that. If I catch it and its adult, ill take interest in it; but its most likely to study it for the week and release it the next week. I do that sometimes.

Most of my stuff I had as a baby so I guess it brings me closer to them. Not sure how other people are. But that's how I work I guess. My turtle I had it as a hatchling. My goldfish I had em since they were 1inch long. Guppies= ehh I just like em lol.

The pacman I have, my friend gave it to me when it was an inch big, basically when it was fully morphed from a froglet-- he kept it for an extra month to make sure it was fine.

I mean ill take on adults no doubt. But it won't be the same way ill look at them as. lol hard to explain. xD
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Yeah like I said they were breeding in the creek just in a quieter part of the creek. I don't know how to fully explain it. But

There's a part that branches off from the creek--it still gets some water movement but its not a powerfulll flow. Its ussually covered by aquatic weeds too --- allover. The toads just blend into their environment. So its sorta hard to spot them there. lol. Maybe why they like it there. xD

Its not that they are hard, its that you will need a ton of them. Kepping one toadlet per container sounds like a great idea. Keep us updated on their development.

[Zach]

Thanks Zach, a very informative video.

I thought so too. It helped me a lot with my froglets.

[Whistly]

What about woodlice for food I have a colony and they are easy to breed all they need is leaf litter, food and a couple of weeks of breeding to get going. When they are young they have soft exoskeletons and are only about 1mm long so after a couple of weeks they will be perfect size. They get nutrients from fruit and vege and there exoskeletons are high in calcium so that will help with bone development.

[Deku]

Its not that they are hard, its that you will need a ton of them. Kepping one toadlet per container sounds like a great idea. Keep us updated on their development.

I guess. Jeez the tadpoles are a mm long.... they seem to be doing okay. But lay on the bottom alot, then move from time to time to feed. But are not acting like regular sized toad tadpoles that are like half an inch long. These are tinier than them. One algea disk I think would feed the whole crew. That's how small they are. Maybe two algea disks. I tried taking out the white eggs and threw em out. I got alot out---- but a great deal of them broke and the pearls stayed in the water but not the gelatin thing(gross btw).

Iam afraid of using the water vacuum since some of the taddies bury themselves in the gravel a bit. Well hang about on the nooks and crannies. The tadies are the size of a black ant--- maybe a LITTLE bit larger.

[Deku]

What about woodlice for food I have a colony and they are easy to breed all they need is leaf litter, food and a couple of weeks of breeding to get going. When they are young they have soft exoskeletons and are only about 1mm long so after a couple of weeks they will be perfect size. They get nutrients from fruit and vege and there exoskeletons are high in calcium so that will help with bone development.

That sounds great, woodlice are pillbugs are they not? But when the tadpoles turn into toadlets, I don't think the woodlice will be appropriate for them. Because they maybe too big for the toadlets.

[Whistly]

I'm not sure what they're called in other countries but this is what I mean I think the baby woodlice should be fine as they are only a couple of mm long.

[Zach]

I guess. Jeez the tadpoles are a mm long.... they seem to be doing okay. But lay on the bottom alot, then move from time to time to feed. But are not acting like regular sized toad tadpoles that are like half an inch long. These are tinier than them. One algea disk I think would feed the whole crew. That's how small they are. Maybe two algea disks. I tried taking out the white eggs and threw em out. I got alot out---- but a great deal of them broke and the pearls stayed in the water but not the gelatin thing(gross btw).

Iam afraid of using the water vacuum since some of the taddies bury themselves in the gravel a bit. Well hang about on the nooks and crannies. The tadies are the size of a black ant--- maybe a LITTLE bit larger.

Yea for the first few days they will hang on the sides of the tank or other things as they absorb their yolk sack. You don't need to feed the until they are free swimming and have the normal tadpole shape.

Wood lice should be fine to feed as long as they are the right size.