I.Love.Toads

[LilyPad]

Okay, these little baby toads we have are the friendliest little things!!! It's amazing how much more quickly these toads adapt to humans and look forward to feeding them. Every time I go near the cage, they all pop out of their hiding places to see if it is feeding time!

Right now I have them all housed together in a 10 gallon tank, they are so tiny that I know the size isn't important quite yet. But what size tank will they need when they are big and fat?

I hate trying to find decent fruit flies and pinheads though. The pinheads are either more like 'small" crickets and nearly as big as the toads, or the fruit flies are half dead yet they're charging me a fortune for them! How long are these toadlets going to need fruit flies? These toads definitely morphed this week, they are TINY. Is it worth starting a culture that I wont use once they are adults?

[John]

You should culture your own fruit flies. They will need them for a few months I think.

It will take you a few weeks to have production of flies so you need to persevere in the mean time. Tiny frogs and toads are a pain to raise because of the tiny foods, unless you are already culturing fruit flies for darts, etc.

As to size of terrarium, have a look at the basic toad care article - I think it has someone on that.

[nicodimus22]

I hear ya Amy. Fruit flies are not cheap to keep buying. I have been feeding mine each
night (fruit flies powdered with Repashy ICB+) and they are growing slowly, but won't be
able to handle crickets for a while. I'm not planning on culturing fruit flies, but if I had
much more than three toads, I might. I measured them tonight and they are still only
between 3/4" and 7/8" from nose to rump. I have had them for about 5 weeks now.
You can see how much they have grown in roughly a month's time:





As far as the space goes, what I have heard from numerous sources is for adult
(American, and I would assume most Bufo) toads, the rule of thumb for minimum space
is 10 gallons for one toad, and add 5 gallons for each additional toad. In other words:

1 toad = 10 gallon minimum
2 toads = 15 gallon minimum
3 toads = 20 gallon minimum

...and so forth. Of course, that is if you're using an aquarium. Floor space and room to
burrow are more important than climbing height for them, and you can also make a nice
home out of a wide plastic storage bin or similar container (with plenty of ventilation, of
course.) Mine are currently living in a 10 gallon tank, which will work for a while, but
eventually I plan on upgrading to a 29.

I demand more pictures of your babies!

[LilyPad]

They're about the size of your toads in the first picture! I will get more pics now that they are comfy and popping out. The leaf litter really made it hard to keep track of them, but I will get on it tomorrow! I have a 29 gallon also, so I'll probably pop them in there when they get bigger!

[Greg M]

I've found that a bit of heat on one side of the tank (low-wattage bulb, etc) seems to encourage rapid growth. Mine are next to a horned frog enclosure and they bask in the radiating heat. I read an article on the importance of thermoregulation for optimal growth (with respect to Boreal toads) and it seems to hold true for other toads as well. Under optimal conditions, toads grow very quickly and fruit flies become unnecessary. I transition to little Dubia nymphs and isopods (high in calcium) pretty quickly (I find little crickets to be annoying, but that's just me...).

[LilyPad]

Very interesting. I have a 15 watt bulb on it right now but I do have a UTH on the tank that I haven't used yet. I have the a/c off today and it is warm, so I think I'll leave it for now but if it cools off, I'll turn on the UTH.

[Curb71]

I can't get find pinheads anywhere and fruit flies I've done and they are just to expensive. I've been buying small crickets which are cheap and chopping them in half and feeding them to the toads. quite gross but cost-wise it works for me and the toads love it. they eat them right off the forceps sometimes

[nicodimus22]

I've found that a bit of heat on one side of the tank (low-wattage bulb, etc) seems to encourage rapid growth. Mine are next to a horned frog enclosure and they bask in the radiating heat. I read an article on the importance of thermoregulation for optimal growth (with respect to Boreal toads) and it seems to hold true for other toads as well. Under optimal conditions, toads grow very quickly and fruit flies become unnecessary. I transition to little Dubia nymphs and isopods (high in calcium) pretty quickly (I find little crickets to be annoying, but that's just me...).

Interesting. My toadlets have taken to burying themselves during most of the day lately. I wonder if getting a low-wattage lamp of some kind would be beneficial, or if it would just be a total waste of time since they're underground most of the time and wouldn't even notice. Right now, the room they are in is kept in the mid-70s, temperature-wise. Their tank is plenty big for how tiny they are at the moment (3 toadlets that are about 3/4" long in a 10-gallon aquarium.) It doesn't seem like they are growing very quickly any more, despite eating a lot and getting good nutrition. I am wishing that they would grow faster because right now I am going through a lot of fruit flies, and it's expensive.

[nicodimus22]

Seeing some seemingly conflicting information out there on whether to use a lamp or not:

How to Care for an American Toad | eHow.com

"Maintain the temperature of the habitat between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike reptiles, toads don't require supplemental heat lamps for health. In fact, toads overheat easily so you must protect them from summer's elements."



versus



ESA Online Journals - The Role of Behavioral Thermoregulation in the Growth Energetics of the Toad, Bufo Boreas

"In the laboratory, toads thermoregulate by basking beneath incandescent lamps when placed within a photothermal gradient. Basking depends on feeding, and when food is withheld, individuals abandon the available heat source and assume lower body temperatures. The preferred temperature of feeding individuals is around 26—27 degrees C as determined from animals both in the laboratory and in nature"