FBT's have to be kept in groups?

[spendday]

On another forum I was shot down when some1 asked if fbt's have to be kept in groups. I said no as most of the care information I have read says this but 2 other poster said yes they do much better in groups and solitary animals tend not the thrive. I just assumed most people kept them in groups as it was the "done thing" since they are cheap, small and easy to keep in groups. Am I just out of date with my knowledge?

cheers

J

[bshmerlie]

FBT do interact with each other. Whether they need that social interaction or not its hard to say. I think they prefer groups and in the wild im sure they are found in huge populations. Besides, why keep just one? They are cheap enough.

[Mushrooms]

It's an odd situation with FBT where most frogs/toads seem to like being solitary in my -limited- experience they seem to do well in pairs or a very small group. When i had a single FBT all it did when it wasn't eating was sit on a flower pot, and only went into the water if he was scared ... so he was physically ok at least. When i added more he suddenly began moving about and making noise, interacting with the others - it's turned out i have 3 much more interesting and entertaining pets then i would have had if i had only kept one.
However i do not think that it is essential to keep them in pairs or groups, they certainly don't seem to fade away and lose their lust for life. I do think part of the problem is the way we anthropomorphise pets, failing to relise that herps do not behave the same as mammals.

[JeffX]

I think they really do do better with company. I kept several at once and they all interacting with one another. I ended up losing them all (death) and you could tell the last one that remained wasn't as active without the others. That's just my personal experience from keeping them.