Reptile & Amphibian Forums

first thing i'd like to do is say thanks to all the people that answered my first question. but now i have another.

my american toad is about 1 1/2-2 in. and i bought small crickets. before i feed them to her i do dust them and also make sure they are gutloaded. when i feed her, however, she seems like she'd eat every single one i put in there. how many should i feed her? i don't know whether to keep it to a certain amount, or just keep putting more in. at the rate she's eating right now i'll go broke on crickets!

Well, since it's still growing I would feed her as much as she will eat in 30 minutes twice daily. I dust my crickets lightly every other day. If you like you can feed wild caught insects, so it can benefit from getting all the proper nutrients. Make sure the insects that you feed to it are from pesticide free area and non-toxic insects. You can keep it in jar for 24/7 to see if it's dying from pesticide poisoning. Oh...and look up which insects are toxic, ok. I know that moths and butterflies are their favorites. I fed one to my baby toad...and some small jumping spiders and daddy long legs. Stay away from fire flies they are toxic to other animals that eat them.

Don't forget to try him on earthworms,(cut them up if you have to at first)pillbugs,(they also go by the handle of sow bugs, rollie pollies)even nightcrawlers as he gets bigger=Free food at times. You can also raise redworms and pillbugs quite easily if you'd want to go that route.With my experience in having an American Toad, I find that this guy is the most accepting of foods offered. If it moves, he'll try it. He's also most undemanding when it comes to habitat set up and he seems happy no matter what.

Well, base on my personal experience, and I'm putting you down, ok...pillbugs are nothing more than shells. It's not very nutritious, but you can feed it to him on ocassion as treat, and it should not be the main staple of the toad's diet. Butterflies and spiders are very nutritious.

Sorry...that's, I don't meant to put you down.

Didn't say that Pillbugs should be a staple diet. They are just to throw in as a variety thing; variety should be the main focus on a healthy herp such as this toad like I've suggested a few posts down. Not to worry, no offense taken either.

You're right in that there's not much meat on a pillbug, but they have two important advantages: variety (as others have said), and they are comparatively rich in calcium (compared to most other insects), so they are good for that reason too. Variety is the key, but toads have been raised to reproductively maturity on a diet consisting solely of earthworms. I'm not recommending that, but it shows that you can't go far wrong if thay are a major part of the diet. Most toads like small slugs too. Mix it up!

Mike.
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Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net

Yes, you are right...but there is a better source of calcium such as earthworms and nightcrawlers. Besides, eating too much of one food can be potentially harmful to health, not to mention not getting proper nutrients. I heard that if you feed to much earthworms as a stable food you can overdose on calcium, I think. Toads in the wild eat a varieties of food, insects, spiders, mollusks, etc... If fed well on variety of food, the toads will mature much quicker and will be healthier. Have you ever wonder why kids in the US are going through pubity fasters than kids from poor countries...that's because the US produce much better food than those poor countries and we eat a lot more. The people in the US are bigger and taller right now than ever before. Back during George Washington period...a 6' foot man is considered to be pretty tall.

I would stick to a diet of mainly store-bought crickets, because they are quite easy to obtain and it is simple to put the vitamin powder on them. You just moisten them a bit with water from your frogs' bowl and pour some powder into the bag they come in, shake it, and it's a nutritious treat. but vitamin powder should only be used every so often, maybe every third or fourth feeding. I do catch foods outside in the summer months, but only useful ones like nightcrawlers; my frogs tend to reject the legs of grasshoppers and they usually rip the wins off of butterflies/moths.
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*~Ginevive~*

I've never had problem with the moths and butterflies, though. Usually, when my toad gets a hold of it it's hard to tear the wings. Even when I cliped the wings for the toad, it's difficult with the dull scissors. Mine is a great eater and will accept food readily. He's a little piggy. He just keeps swallowing what I put in the cage.

I put my bufo americanus in a small critter keeper the other day. She tried crawling up the sides and man...she looked fat.

So this brings up the question, how fat is too fat?
Sure toads in the wild look pretty chubby. Mine has a hell of an appetite. "all she can eat in 30 minutes" would be pretty impressive.

Do american toads gorge to obesity like some Pacman frogs?

Yes, they toads will gorge themselves if opportunities arrises. They can eat, I think, 1000 insects a night and more if they can catch more. I would cut back gradually if your toad looks fat, that is if she's fully grown. From my experience with my frogs and FBT's, they tend to be more active and alert if you don't feed them everyday or every other day, and will accept food more readily if offer maybe once a week for full grown. I feed my FBT's and fully grown leopard frog only once a week and they get fat on that very easily. Can you imagine if I feed them everyday or every other day. So, I would just cut back gradually and feed it only once a week. But I would feed the baby everyday or every other day though since it's still growing.

I've been giving her only a couple every other day PLUS ive been chasing the cricket around the tank with a stick so she'll chase it
Heh....giving her some exercise