I.Love.Toads

[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

[Greg M]

Another option, if you have a pesticide-free place to dig for earthwworms, is to chop up very small earthworms - I used to raise baby pacific chorus (tree) frogs largely on chopped up earthworms. Even very small sections of small worms wiggle nicely and can be fed to small herps. I used to dice them up and thread them onto a piece of fishing line to feed very small salamanders. Some species of toads don't seem to be very good at eating large earthworms - some of my Woodhouse's toads just can't seem to grab the worm. However, small sections (that can be pulled into the mouth with the tongue) generally work fine.

[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"

[Greg M]

Hey nicodimus,

Good job on finding and posting that ESA article - I found it and read it a while ago, but I couldn't remember where I'd read it! I tend to put more credence in the ESA article...

I think the take home message here is: 1) each species has an optimal temperature for growth and foraging, 2) toads thermoregulate by moving to warmer or cooler areas to optimize their metabolisms for the available conditions, and 3) overheating an amphibian is a bad idea!

If the toads are exhibiting less-than-optimal growth, look to your growth conditions - is temperature too low (or high), etc., etc. A good metric, when available, are comparably aged wild grown specimens. One thing researchers noticed with the Boreal toads was that lab-grown toads often lagged behind their wild contemporaries in growth, and this is what pointed them towards temperature (and ability to thermoregulate) as contributing factors.

One possibility is to use a low-wattage (40) ceramic heater at one end of the tank (assuming you are using at least a 10 gallon tank) and see which end they prefer! As I mentioned, mine hang out at the side of the tank which abuts the horned frog enclosure and runs about 80 - 85 degrees. Toad growth can be very fast - by way of an example, my albino Woodhouse's toad grew from 1.25 to 3.25 inches in two months, and my large female went from 1.25 to 4.5 inches in three months. Under optimal condition, you can go from 0.5 inch toadlet to sexually mature 3 - 4+ inch Woodhouse's toad in under 1 year....

[nicodimus22]

If the toads are exhibiting less-than-optimal growth, look to your growth conditions - is temperature too low (or high), etc., etc. A good metric, when available, are comparably aged wild grown specimens.

Occasionally during my daily walks, I do see wild toadlets, and they are the same size as mine are (although they have moved up to a mile from where I found mine.) If all the wild ones I saw were big and fat, I would be more concerned. I'm relying on the assumption that they all morphed around the same time in early June.

On a different note...my toads ate like hogs about 48 hours ago, and I haven't seen them since. They have been buried all this time. I hate digging them up to feed them, as it seems unnatural to me and a little dangerous for them. The consensus seems to be that young toadlets should be fed daily, but if they don't ever come out...bleh. I have looked for them at all times of day and night, but they just don't come out lately, even to soak in the water dish.

A couple of weeks ago, I made some changes to their home, because I thought maybe there wasn't enough privacy the way I had it set up initially. I printed out some greenish forest photos on letter-sized paper and taped it up as backing on 3 sides of the tank to make them feel more secure. I also added an extra inch of substrate to burrow in and 2 hides (cutting a black DVD case in half sideways, and standing up both ends tent-style as hides in different corners.) It doesn't look like it in these photos because of the flash, but it gets pretty dark in the hides even in the daytime.






I was hoping that these changes would make them feel more comfortable and secure, and that maybe they would come out more. Instead, the opposite seems to be happening. I have also taken to feeding them in a separate container, hoping they would associate me with food, but so far they seem indifferent to me. Thoughts on any of the above?

[LilyPad]

I have a bunch of leaf litter in mine, they are out all the time! If they get scared, then they just pop into the leaves. I think because there is so much cover for them in there, they are happy coming out.

[nicodimus22]

I have a bunch of leaf litter in mine, they are out all the time! If they get scared, then they just pop into the leaves. I think because there is so much cover for them in there, they are happy coming out.

The thought of putting leaf litter in there had crossed my mind, but I am wary of introducing any parasites or pesticides that might be in the leaves. Perhaps I'm just a worrywart.

[Pete]

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"

Well, after reading this, I took my Bufo boreas halophilus toadlets out in the early morning sun and evening sun this past weekend and watched their behavior. I was surprised to see that sometimes they would flatten out on the surface of the ground and darken up, much like lizards do when they bask, and sit still for about 15 min. So, I don't know about growth rates, but I thinking that they do bask. Maybe it differs by species, but I'll have to consider this in their setups. Thanks for the post.

[tgampper]

Well, after reading this, I took my Bufo boreas halophilus toadlets out in the early morning sun and evening sun this past weekend and watched their behavior. I was surprised to see that sometimes they would flatten out on the surface of the ground and darken up, much like lizards do when they bask, and sit still for about 15 min. So, I don't know about growth rates, but I thinking that they do bask. Maybe it differs by species, but I'll have to consider this in their setups. Thanks for the post.

I was also surprised when I learned that toads love basking in the sun. I was an amphibian keeper at the zoo and took care of several endangered toad species, such as Anaxyrus baxteri (Wyoming Toad), Atelopus zeteki (Panamanian Golden Toad) and Peltophryne lemur (Puerto Rican Crested Toad),. We had basking lights for all these species. I have included basking lights for my Anaxyrus woodhousii (Woodhouse toads) and they just love it.

[LilyPad]

I have a 50 watt blue daylight bulb for my tree frogs because they like to bask. I didn't know the same was true for toads though, I think I will have to put a different lamp on them. Right now I have a 15 watt blue bulb on their tank.

[Greg M]

Amen Terry! Woodhouse's toads love to bask - I get "toad pyramids" (sometimes three or four toads high) near the light source!

Frogs and toads are poikilotherms, but that doesn't mean that they are passive with respect to temperature. Frogs and toads appear to actively regulate their body temperature (and hence metabolism) by moving to warmer or cooler areas. Giving them a thermogradient in captivity allows them to thermoregulate in a manner analogous to how they do "in nature". A most cases, a low-wattage bulb or ceramic heater at one end will allow the toad to choose an optimal temperature. Obviously, one has to be careful to not overheat or desiccate the animal...

[nicodimus22]

I have included basking lights for my Anaxyrus woodhousii (Woodhouse toads) and they just love it.

What wattage/type of bulb would you recommend? (I have what I think are Fowler's toads, practically the same species as Woodhouse.)

[LilyPad]

I put the under tank heater on one side of the tank. When I got home from work they were all hanging out on that side of the tank. It'll be interesting to see if they have a growth spurt from the warmer temps. My house has been cool with the a/c running nonstop (can you say HEAT WAVE)

[tgampper]

What wattage/type of bulb would you recommend? (I have what I think are Fowler's toads, practically the same species as Woodhouse.)

I use a small 50-watt bulb (regular incandescent) for basking and a moonlight for night viewing. I have a light bar with space for two bulbs. Since they are mostly nocturnal, the moonlight bulb helps me enjoy their activity.