Reptile & Amphibian Forums

today i fed and cleaned my juvenile bufo punctatus. when they were back in the cage after being fed and cleaned the fattest one started acting funny. at first i thought maybe he was chirping and i couldnt here it because his mouth was opening and closing for no apparant reason. but he kept opening it wider and wider. eventually when it began to look like he was in pain i got in close, and then it was really weird. there was this brown slimy stuff on his sides that he was pushing forward into his mouth, first whith his back legs, then with his front legs. i wonder was he eating his feces? or did he throw something up then eat it again? or did he shed his skin then eat it? even though i have had these toads for a couple weeks and have seen them eat i have never seen their feces. at first i assumed it was because they were too small, the toads themselves are only 1 1/2 inch at most. well any help on this question would be greatly apreciated. thankyou

ps maybe it was some kinda crazy parasite?

Such a worried toad parent. No need for alarm, he's just shedding. Their shed skin contains nutrient there for they eat it. The opening and closing of his mouth and any stretching is to loosen the soon to be shed skin. They will them rub their bodies with theie front and back legs. Other things that they may do as well is puff up their bodies. This can sometimes last for quite a while. One of my toads was so puffed for nearly a whole day. When I then noticed the rubbing I knew what was going on. Sometimes it can be kind of freaky to see, especially if you've never heard of it happening before. It's good that you came here to ask.

But no worries, you're toad is just fine.
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Heather
Dozer & ZeroCool