Basic Toad Keeping questions.

[clemsonguy1125]

Well I just installed my fish pond so Im expecting toad to start showing up when the weather warms up and Im hoping to keep 1-3. Ive done some research and 99 percent of toads that are sold in pet stores are wild caught and the american toad I want to keep is not breed for keeping as pets. I plan to build a 4x2x2 plywood enclosure with a thin plastic front and a screen lid. Do I need to water proof the plywood since they will just have a 2.5cm deep mid sized pool . I plan for there substrate to be mixed dirt and coco fiber. Ill have one hide made from a flower pot and a large half log. Will they eat mealworms or do I need buy crickets? Ive heard feeder fish is another food to feed them but that did not seem like a good idea. Am I missing any crucial points or do I have the basics covered. Also whats the best time of year to catch one.
Thanks,
Clemsonguy1125

 

[Dog Shrink]

Bufo americanus is a very easy toad to keep. My son had a wild caught for about 5 years, kept her in a glass tank with loose dirt/moss substrait, branches to hide and a water bowl just deep enough for her to sit in up to about her midline. She'd eat just about any bug you'd put in front of her, from earth worms to fireflys, crickets to super worms, cicadas etc. If we found it outdoors it was fed to her. They don't like it super mosit, and prefer to be able to burrow back into their substrait. I don't think they eat fish, never offered them to mine. They will hibernate if the weather gets too cold by burrowing deep down into the ground, but we never let it get cold enough to hibernate miss toad. We did keep a heat bulb on her in the winter but not in summer. The best time to get a wild caught is the summer between June and September here in Nw Pa. They come out at sunset.

Read... read... read Best thing I can offer http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=bufo+americanis&aq=f&oq=#hl=en&q=bufo+americanus+care&revid=389777752&sa=X&ei=wLfVTOW_DYO0lQfclO38CA&ved=0CFIQ1QIoAA&fp=4b3eeabb4c23868d

 

[T-ReXx]

Well I just installed my fish pond so Im expecting toad to start showing up when the weather warms up and Im hoping to keep 1-3. Ive done some research and 99 percent of toads that are sold in pet stores are wild caught and the american toad I want to keep is not breed for keeping as pets. I plan to build a 4x2x2 plywood enclosure with a thin plastic front and a screen lid. Do I need to water proof the plywood since they will just have a 2.5cm deep mid sized pool . I plan for there substrate to be mixed dirt and coco fiber. Ill have one hide made from a flower pot and a large half log. Will they eat mealworms or do I need buy crickets? Ive heard feeder fish is another food to feed them but that did not seem like a good idea. Am I missing any crucial points or do I have the basics covered. Also whats the best time of year to catch one.
Thanks,
Clemsonguy1125

Toads in general are pretty easy to keep. Most will eat just about anything that moves that they can fit in their mouths, but I wouldn't feed meal worms alone, variety is a good idea. You will need to water proof the wood or else it's going to mold and rot from moisture buildup in the substrate and from splashed water from the dish.

I see toads active most often in spring and early summer.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Is there a cheap water proofing method? If not Ive heard they do well in a 10g. Ive got a few spares. Would plastic on the base where water would build up and splash work.

 

[Dog Shrink]

A lot of this is going to depend on whether you want to keep the toad indoors or out. IDK why but from yiour original post I assumed you were looking for something to build outdoors. I guess my son't toad could have lived in a 10 gallon but I don't think she'd have been as happy. Waterproof, look for deck sealer like Thompsons or Baer but I don't know what the residue will do to the toad.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Im planning on having them in my garage. Its not heated so I my move them into my room in the winter or I may let them hibernate. Im working on a bug trap so they can have variety .
Thanks,

 

[Dog Shrink]

Why not just keep them inside? Can't really enjoy them in the garage and if you have only females they're not likely to croak or make noise. That's usually the males.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Honestly I spend more time in my garage workshop than my room. I keep my frogs, geckos, and fish that need the heat inside. I want to build a large housing for them and I have more room outside. Ill probably let them spend winter and summer inside and let them enjoy the spring and fall in the garage. I may end up keeping them inside when I gett around to building the rack set up ive been planning. But it sounds like Ill have to wait until spring to capture one. I guess I have a few months to plan.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Yeah in the winter they're all buried below the frost line right about now. If you wait to collect them til fall they're already going into hybernation mode, and if the garage is heated I don't think you're going to hibernate them right? I think if you're going to get one wc then it may be best to wait until early summer, after hibernation breaks and they get back into condition, but before mating season.