Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well, i found out she caught the toad almost 8 miles away from wround creek bottom, not just out in her back yard...which is right beside a main road.realisticly i dont think it is right to take the toad from the wild in the first place but it is also not right to take him a world away(to him) and then put him in a tiny yard with a road, lawnmowers, o and there cats. before i left yesterday she handed me the little container and said "heres your toad!" needless to say i was a little surprised. right now he is in his big 10 gallon(yes i realize they arent big (actually its the smallest tank i have)but i wanted to be able to keep an eye on him and he is pretty small)with water bed a beast/ exo terra bark mix rock formations fake plants and vines and the ultimate, food! i breed mealies for my other herps so i have some now that are about the size of the metal part of a push pin/thumb tack thing. he ate some of those and he ate a medium/large cricket(not a prewing)he is really fat and doing well but i dont know what kind he is, if anyone can help i live in central pennsylvania(in york county)if that helps with identification.normally he just digs down in the bed a beast and covers himself in it, although it was pretty late when i got there, that may be an indication. am i doing anything wrong? my normal area is in lizards, treefrogs, and occasionally snakes...i dont usually keep toads so i am not sure if im doing anything wrong. thanks
~icy(sara)

has anyone read this?! its been here like 3-4 days!

Your setup sounds good; just make sure the water bowl is easily accessible to him. Sounds like you have either an american or fowler's toad. Mine spends most of his time buried halfway in the subsrate.
She probably lost interest in the toad then? that happens with kids a lot. A friend of mine's daughter, a surprisingly mature-acting 10-year old, recently gave up an oldish american toad to me after losing interest in it after a few months of captivity. So things like this do happen.
They really do make good captives. I do not really think that letting the toad go is an option anymore anyway, beause he could have gotten some kind of bacteria on him that could threaten the wild populi. I'd keep him if I were you; luckily for the toad you already know about herp keeping. And just for good measure, I'd go find the kids who were feeding toads to piranhas and smack them upside the head, but that is not recommended
-----
*~Ginevive~*

I wouldn't give the mealies too often or at least not as the staple of the diet because they can, in the long run cause impactions. I'd offer small crickets as the main food and maybe the mealies once a week. You can feed it daily while it's still young and rowing but once it starts to get bigger, start backing off to every other day feedings of crix, dust them every third feeding or so with a calcuim suppliment and vitamins.

Hope this helps
-----
Heather

actually she didnt lose interest in it at all. i told her that she could "keep it at my house" so i could feed him and basically keep him alive... i knew he would die if she was keeping him. she said ok but she comes over all the time to see him... its cute really. shes always in my room watching him and my other herps.

yea he burries himself in the eco earth stuff a lot too but he comes out and sits on the fake leaves in the water dish too. he is getting really fat though and he is an inch and a quarter, i measured him yesterday.

thanks