Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi i have some baby american toads. i have been feeding them very small ants that i find outside(they dont bit the toads). Are there any other bugs i can feed these little guys? any help would be appriciated
-Max

I must edmit I don't know anything about these toads, but i asume you could try with crickets. Crickets are good for almost anything!

Oh, if you feed small ants that would meed small crickets too...Just wanted to make that clear

Good luck!

Depending on just how small these lil guys are you can also feed them Pinhead crickets, fruit flies, springtails, termites and if you look around in the grass (that hasn't been sprayed with pesticide) you can find little green leaf hoppers. (they kinf of look like moths but real small and jump like grasshoppers) Any kind of invertibrate can be offered really. Try a few things and see what they like best. I don't know much about American Toads but I can't imagin them being all too picky.
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Heather

Chilean Christmas Toad
(B.Varigatus)

Well if you wanna catch things from outside I would also try some rollie pollies. Mine loved feeding on those when I caught my first american. Earth worms also could be fed and like the others have sain pin head crickets
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Aaron aka Doofy

Knowledge is not power; APPLIED knowledge is power
What is Victory worth without sacrifice

I have 4 toads that I recently raised from tadpoles and they have been feeding solely on fruit flies. They are growing quite nicely on them too. Soon I will be able to switch them over to 1/4" crickets.

You can feed springtails and pin head crickets too, but I just found that dealing with one type of feeder animal to start out with was best for me.

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alstiver@hotmail.com

1.0 '01 Hypo snow cornsnake (Tesla)
0.1 '02 Ghost (pastel) cornsnake (Banshee)
1.1 '02 Bloodred cornsnakes (Desi and Luci Too)
0.0.4 '03 American toads
0.0.3 Goldfish (Kabuki, Isamu, and Yuki)
1.0 American Eskimo mutt (Rusty)

I raised my baby toads on mostly fruit flies. Once I got some fruit flies into the room, I'd put a fresh piece of fruit- like an apple slice or a cut in half grape in the toad tank. The fruit flies were always around, always reproducing - OH and if you do this, I wouldn't let that piece of fruit stay in the tank too long, I'd say 3 days max. (Though rotting fruit just attracts fruit flies more, I'd be cautious of fermentation/molds and the likes)
One other way was I took a standard pillow case and a sturdy wooden quilting ring (you can find these at craft stores -they also sell metal ones which probably would work better for this. They just cost more) and made a bug net out of it which works very well for catching bugs. There are always teeny tiny bugs in the pillowcase after you do a couple 'swoops' in the grass (high grass has more bugs per swoop usually). You will catch mainly leaf hoppers (or, rather, i guess I should ask first where you are located since I"m not sure leaf hoppers exist in your neck of the woods!) I always look like a dork outside when trying to catch bugs, but its all worth seeing how excited my toads get when I pour the bugs in! Its also worth checking up on what bugs may be poisonous first. I've heard some bugs such as lightning bugs, stink bugs, and lady bugs may be harmful - so if you see any of those pick them out before you put them in the tank.
If you'd like to hear more on the homemade pillowcase bug net and the technique I use to catch the bugs, let me know. I'd be happy to give anyone instructions. IMPORTANT: only gather bugs from an area that is pesticide/chemical free!
-Laurah

Better late then never I guess. sigh...Also try aphids. These are found in many colors usually growing on the tender tips of many plants outside like rose bushes for example. Look at the new shoots closely and also under leaves. They can camoflauge themselves quite well. They'll be clumped together, so just pick off what you need. By all means check that whatever plant you use hasn't been sprayed for insects first! Good luck!