Can you domesticate a young wild toad?

[Poly]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this site AND amphibian care, so I have a few questions...

First of all, I caught a wild toad that is under 1 year old, and would like to know if it is possible to domesticate it for a pet.

I have had it now for about 4 days, and on the first day it refused to eat, same as the second day, but on the third day (yesterday) it tried to eat a slug that was dangleing in front of it, but it couldn't get it with it's tongue, today it tried the same thing with a grass-hopper, but it didn't get it either, and it will only try to eat 2 or 3 times them will just stop, and go about hopping around the terrarium.

How do I get it to eat? Is it going to eventually stop trying to "escape"?

Also, here is the tank I am keeping it in, it is a 25 gallon fish tank, I have approximately 3-4 inches of soil on the bottom, a large chunck of moss, many small plants, an appropriate sized water bowl (I use tap water, but where I live, I draw from a well, so it's underground water, no chlorine!) and a flat piece of rock for it to burrow under. So far it has just sat on the moss most of the time, sat/swam in the water, and tried to climb out of the tank... I keep the tank moist, I mist it about 10 times a day. It dosen't have a lid, but should it? Should I have some type of lamp or light shining on it sometimes? This is all new to me, so any help would be greatly appreciated! The tank also has a thermometer, and it stayes between 22C and 30C (72-80F) at this tempature do it still need to "bask" in sunlight? Thanks!


This is a photo of my toad, the coin beside him is a penny.

[Pete]

Sure you can keep them, although I'm not sure domesticate is the correct word for it.

Be sure to check out the basic toad care article http://www.frogforum.net/toad-care-a...pelobates.html

As for getting it to eat, it sounds like it's trying to eat. It looks a bit small, so you may want to try some smaller bugs. slugs can be slimy and a little bit of a challenge to eat. Try picking up some small crickets at a petstore or look for some small rolie-polie/pill bugs under a log. Ants might work for you, too.

[LilyPad]

He is pretty tiny yet. The toads I have that are about that size are still eating fruit flies (dusted in calcium and vitamins) though last night I did cut up some red wiggler worms and they munched them down very quickly and happily! Yours looks like he could take down some small crickets. I bet if you get some appropriately sized food in there, he would eat like crazy.

10 times a day is a bit excessive for misting, you should get a hydrometer to see what your humidity is like. My toads do go back and forth between the lighted side and the cooler darker side of the tank. They don't need a hot basking light like reptiles though, I have a 25 watt light on the toads, though when I upgrade their tank, I will put a 40 watt blue daylight bulb in there.

I would get a cover on the tank, you never know what trickery is up the sleeves of frogs and toads! You should be able to get a decently priced screen cover at your local pet store.

The toad should settle in soon. We have 4 toadlets, and they are like puppies. I walk up to the tank and they get all excited because they want food Only 2 of mine ever burrow so far, the other 2 just find cracks in the moss to sit in or are just out there without hiding at all.

[Poly]

Okay, well I just mist enough to keep the soil moist, about 10min ago, I held a grasshopper in front of him for about 4 minutes until it got his attention, then set it down, he went for it, but by the time he got his tongue out, the grasshopper hopped away... Should I get smaller grasshoppers? I know they eat pill-bugs too, I'll look for some on those...

Should I feed it in it's normal tank, or should I have a seperate one? I have read many how-to articles on toads, but they all seem to be for "tame" toads, when I go up to the tank, the toad just hops away, and when I leave, I watch it go and try to climb out of the tank (it can't) and I can only get it's attention with food for a minute or two, then it goes back to trying to escape, how long will it take for it to "settle down"?

Oh, and slugs arn't the best choice? I figured because there soft they'd do well as food, so what right now try for some pill-bugs and small grasshoppers & crickets?

Thanks

[LilyPad]

You can try feeding it crickets in a shallow glass bowl, they shouldn't be able to get out and it will give your toad some time to do some hunting. You don't want to overdo pill bugs, that is not a good staple food for your toad, but occasional feedings is okay. If the grasshoppers are small enough, they are a good choice for your toad, but it is best to pick the long rear legs off as they can cause impaction. Like I said, you can try cutting up some worms, as long as the pieces are wiggly, they should catch his attention. And they are slow, so he shouldn't have a problem snapping them up.

Because the toad is so young, you really need to get some calcium and vitamin dust. If it doesn't get those essential nutrients, it will end up with deformities because it is in such a critical growing stage right now.

You have to give him some time too, it's going to take a bit for him to get used to his new environment. You can try covering 3 sides of the tank so he has some privacy to get accustomed to it. When you're feeding, just drop the food in and walk away, no toad taken out of the wild 4 days ago is going to be okay with taking it from your fingers or tongs. If you really want to keep an eye on how much it is eating, do the bowl trick. Keep your hands out as much as possible for the time being.

[Poly]

Thanks! I'm just worried about him starving... he's not skinny, but I want to make sure he eats!