Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a spadefoot, and I think it's time for her to start hibernating, but not sure. All the crickets are gone, along with every other type of bug. So how do I go about making her hibernate? Do I feed her a lot first and then just stick her outside where it's cold? also, she is in a plastic tank, and she sleeps down in the dirt at the very bottom, so wouldn't she nearly freeze with her sitting on plastic the same temp as the surface of the ground? Ok, next question, my toad got into a sink full of barely soapy water. It wasn't hot. It won't kill her will it? And last, how big of a cricket can she eat if she's 1.75 inches long and barely an inch wide? I'm not sure if she's grown...my other one that sadly passed a little over a year ago was about 2 1/2 inches long, an inch and a half wide and she was incredibly fat. Sorry it's so long, carol.

I currently have 4 spadefoots but I am by no means an expert. I do know that you shouldn't have to do anything to make them hibernate. My question is how much and what kind of substrate do you have in their container? I keep about 5 inches of moist Eco Earth substrate and they bury themselves in this. I hardly see them. The one thing I would tell you is not to take your amphibs outside in the winter. They will freeze and die.

thanks. I have had one before, but i found her in mid feb. and she died in october. Anyway, I don't have my toad anymore, because she hadn't eaten in 2 weeks, and I wasn't sure if she was depressed from the captivity or what so I let her go. They don't hibernate? I didn't know that. Thanks, will remember that next time i get a spadefoot, which I will eventually.

I'm sorry. I think I wasn't being clear. Spadefoots do hibernate, as a matter of fact, the majority of their lifecycle is in hibernation. I was saying you shouldn't have to do anything extra to help them hibernate. Just offer a lot of substrate for them to bury themselves in and they will be fine. Just remember that the substrate has to be kept moist (not wet) so it's best to use something like Eco-Earth.