I aquired some new rescues.

[Essentia]

A lady contacted me last night saying she had 3 fire belly toads that she needed to rehome because her daughter, who is now 3, keeps trying to open the tank. I have no idea why she contacted me since I run a chinchilla rescue, but an animal in need is an animal in need.

So now I have these 3 guys. Lucky for me they are in a fairly decent setup. Half land, half water with a little waterfall/filter. The tank is small though, only 10 gallons. Is that ok? They mainly just lounge around, but I want to make sure.

Also, I've read a good amount on them this morning so I feel comfortable giving them basic care. Does anyone have any specific advice though? The new mommy needs a parenting class. :hilarious:

Pictures soon to come!

 

[Essentia]

Whole tank

Froggy on the waterfall.

Froggy hiding in the plants.

The guppy that was added into the tank over 6 months ago as a feeder fish who was never eaten.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

A 10g is fine for 3 FBT's ..and the set up sounds adequate. Be sure to keep the water clean and changed, even though there's a filter running. Keep their temps steady ..in the water, as well ....and be sure to dust their "bugs" with a good multivitamin (1x/week) and a calcium WITH D3 (~3x/week).

I had live plants in my enclosure, to boost humidity ..and I pulled any suicidal "bugs" that landed in the water reservoir.

Be absolutely sure the top on the enclosure is VERY SECURE ..as they are super escape artists ..and with the great camouflage, well.. yeah..

I fed mine crickets, mealworms, phoenix worms, tropical roaches (B. dubia) and the occasional guppy fry.


Good Luck! They are fun little "peoples"


Oh.. and NO unnecessary handling. Wash up!

---------------edit:

We were posting at the same time, I think..

The tank looks good for size, but that's a LOT of water for them ...and that gravel will fit in their mouths, while diving for food ..may cause impaction ..and could become a fatal situation.

Can you add another structure there to give them more "land" ? The "bugs" won't drown ..and waste... as quickly, with more "land" also.

Ideally, the tank would be partitioned with a piece of plexi glass about 3/8 of the way.. leaving one side for water ONLY ..and the other for a soil mixture (I like COIR, or coconut fiber) and plants, deco, etc.

 

[Essentia]

How often should I do a water change? Also, should I do half or all? Also, how often did you feed yours? She said she threw 20 small crickets in there 2 times a week. I know she didn't dust them but I am going to start now. She said they haven't been fed in 3 days so I am picking up some crickets today.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

I fed my FBT's every other day, mostly ...and I never fed them more than they could eat in a few minutes. The bugs get in the water, fouling up the water and worse ..or they feed on the FBT cuz they are hungry, too.

You can mix it up some, and give them other bugs.. mealworms and phoenix worms will stay in a dish, for the most part (and they wiggle, encouraging a good feeding response).

As for the water, 25% per week ..is average maintenance. If you have a test kit, you can monitor the water parameters and know precisely when the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are becoming an issue ...and then form your own healthy routine.

 

[Essentia]

Hmmm...just read your edit. I am trying to think of a way to do the land without the plexiglass. I only say that because I don't have another comfy place for them to be during the 24 hour drying period.

Just so you are sure of what you are looking at, the right hand side is "land" as well, not just the top of the waterfall. I'm trying to figure out how to add more land with the waterfall being in the way. Any good ideas?

 

[tunes]

Cool frogs Crysta!

Do you plan to keep them? Or how does one go about adopting out froggies?

 

[Essentia]

Cool frogs Crysta!

Do you plan to keep them? Or how does one go about adopting out froggies?

I haven't decided yet.

If I decide to adopt them out though I will throw them up on petfinder.com and see what happens. It isn't like they take up a whole lot of space/money for the time being.

Also, thought of one more question. Do I have to cut the heads off the mealies? I know with some animals you do (or so I've heard) so I want to make sure.

 

[Silverrose]

I used to also have 2 fire belly toads in a setup similar to yours. I fed them about 3 times a week. I did not find it reasonable to go to the petstore often just to get a few crickets. So I ordered a couple of hundred live crickets online and, kept them in another 10 gallon aquarium setup, and raised and bred those suckers myself! That way I knew what the crickets were being fed, they were fresh, and I could gut load them myself also. Otherwise, I do believe petstores will dust and gutload crickets for you. And like Aneesa said, whatever they don't eat in a few minutes, you want to remove right away.

I mostly stuck to feeding them crickets, since they are so easy to raise. But every so often (maybe every 2weeks to a month) they would get a waxworm treat.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

The right side has a plant ..and something underneath it?? The left side has the filter? I've yet to finish my first cup of joe, so I am confuzzled ..lol. Either way, you can increase the surface area with big stones or some type of decoration (mopani driftwood, or others.. big smooth rocks.. a very creative container that can sit IN the tank and hold some substrate ..like the COIR, etc. ...and so on).

Also, you don't need to keep them in anything "pretty" or "fancy" for 24 hours ..or long enough for the silicone to set on the plexi partition. They won't mind a clean rubbermaid tub or tupperware ..even a bucket (that has no residue of soap or chemicals, etc.).

The thing about the mealworms is a MYTH! A huge myth! I have all sorts of reptiles and amphibians here ..from fresh out of an egg, just hatched ..to old geezers that have lived very hard lives........... and I have never once "cut off the head of a mealworm" nor had ANY issue with them "eating their way out of one of my "kids"

 

[Essentia]

Yeah, the right side has a plant with a platform covered in moss underneath it. The waterfall/filter is to the left and that also has a flat surface on the top.

I just got back from the petstore and got crickets, mealworms, and guppies. I didn't know which they would like. The guppies I am just going to throw in there for in between time feedings if they want. If not, they will just live with the other lowly one already in there. I think I am going to try the mealies first to see how they like them.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

You can put the mealworms in a little dish with some supplements dusted on them, and they should stay there ..well, until they are eaten, of course.

Be careful with the guppies. The "inch per gallon" rule still applies ..even in this type of set up ..and the more fish you have in there, the larger the bio load, the quicker your water parameters are off healthy range.

Oh.. and if you decide to add any type of driftwood to the tank, beware the tannins that leech out of it. The water will be the color of tea for a bit, but it is usually harmless. (You can presoak any new driftwood, to prevent some of the leeching in your tank.)

And don't forget to treat the water replacement with Prime (by Seachem), or some other product that removes chlorine, etc. .

 

[Essentia]

I have the chlorine treatment for my fishtank, so we are good there. I put the mealies in there and they honestly didn't care about them. I left them in there for 5 minutes and one frog went for one, but after he didn't get it in his mouth he gave up and hopped away. Hmmm. I went ahead and took the mealies out for the time being and threw a few crickets in there. Unfortunately the store was out of the small ones, so I had to get regular size. Here's hoping they go for it.

And got it on the guppies. I have another 10 gallon tank that I am going to throw the guppies into and just put a few in with the frogs at a time. I honestly didn't even think about that, so thanks for bringing it up.

 

[Sasha]

I know nothing about them, but good for you for taking them in. And Good luck

 

[Essentia]

So they didn't eat a single cricket. I ended up having to kill a few just to get them out of the tank. I am going to try the mealies again tomorrow.

 

[alli713]

Awww I love frogs!! I don't have any experience with fire belly toads, but they're cute!

Personally I wouldn't be too terribly worried about them not eating anything yet. They could be stressed with the move. Even being in the same tank just the moving around and things can throw them off.

I'd be inclined to leave just a couple crickets in, not many but just a few in case later tonight when you're not around they feel like eating some. If they don't eat them by tomorrow I'd take them out and try again later.

 

[JennyBug]

I know with chameleons, you don't want to feed them food that's bigger than the space between their eyes (especially crickets), but I'm not sure if it's the same for frogs... :hmm:

The set up looks REALLY nice, but I have to agree that is a LOT of water! You might have to make a bit of a barrier with some plexiglass, or they do sell walls at pet stores (usually meant to climb on, but hey, whatever works) that might work for you.

It is kind of weird that you were contacted for froggies as a chin rescue, but our local pet store asks my husband and I to foster and adopt animals that they cannot sell (there is one Tokay gecko that we might take in ::shudders at the thought of being severely bitten:. I think people just know they can trust you to do what's best for their animals!! So flattering!

P.S. If I didn't live in IN, I would take the froggies in a heartbeat!! We have a frog setup already with a little froggy in it, and I'm sure he would like a friend!!

 

[alli713]

The frogs that I've worked with will eat bugs so long as it fits in their mouth lol. I've seen baby mink frogs each little waxworms that they had to eat like spaghetti since they couldn't swallow it all at once.

And I agree, I'd take frogs in too even if I weren't a frog rescue. I love frogs and can't wait til I can work with some poison dart frogs again.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

Don't get discouraged about them not eating just yet.. as mentioned, stress from the move may be affecting their appetite. They should be ready to eat in a couple days ..and you can just try ONE cricket ..until they show some serious interest. If they don't go for the cricket, take it out.

ONE cricket can eat a substantial sized hole in one of the FBT's ..just overnight. It's not worth the risk.

As far as size goes, the general rule for insectivorous reptiles and amphibians ..I did say, "general" ...is what will fit in the space between their eyes, but frogs and toads are really the exception. I mean, don't offer them something half their total size... but a bug as long as their head/mouth is wide ..is perfectly acceptable.

 

[alli713]

Well interesting, we must have had well fed crickets at the aquarium or something because we never had an issue with any of them eating holes in our herps.

And I know for a fact that at some points there were crickets left over.

But oh well, if it's an issue take the crickets out and just try feeding again some time.