Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased two FTB's yesterday. Out of the 15 FBT's they had i purchased the two largest and most alert ones. Out of the two, i have a small one, which is about 1 inch, and a large one which is around 1.25-1.5 inches and really fat. As i was trying to sex the small one by looking at his front claws for the pads he chirped. So i put him back in the tank because i know he is a male. Then he started to mount the other toad. So when i was about to check the other toad to see if it was a female it spun around and went on top of the male and started to mount the male. So does this mean I have two males if they are mounting eachother? Also is it ok, will they fight and injur eachother? Also, I was wondering how can i tell which ones are females when i am purchasing them from the pet store? I want to get 2 more toads and I would prefer if they are females. Any methods or things to look for to positivly identify their sex?

Also, could i house them with Fire Bellied Newts. I have seen it many times and they said it works out great. Could i put a crayfish with them because crayfish are really good cleaners.

Also, I have them in a 20 gallon tank that is 1/3 land and 2/3 water. The water is 4 inches deep at the deepest point. The 1/3 land is very moist and has moss and rocks. the 2/3 water is sloped up to the land and has a large log in it for basking, plus some live plants. I have a filter and a light. I do not have a top on it. there is a good 7-8 inches from the highest point in the cage to the top of the tank. So i know they cant burn themselves, and unless they can jump 8 inches straight up or climb on the glass which i didn't see. Is this ok or can they escape some how? Should i get a top?

Food, I was wondering if there is a simpler form of food than crickets. Can i feed them pellets, or dry-freeze food of some sort. I am just curious because i would rather not go to the pet store every week. right now i am feeding them wax worms but they wont eat any. Its been less than a day, so how long until they are acclimated and start eating?

At pet store it said oriental fbt's, but one of them appears to be a golden/grey color. It doesn't apear to be sheeding, and it is very alert and active. So is it possible i have a european fbt?

As for breeding are they easy to breed? Is it easy to raise their young or is it just a pain in the but, and very dissapointing(high rate of fatality)?

Thanks,
Mike

PS i am not new to the husbandry of exotics. In previous years i have bred malis Uromastyx, Bearded Dragons, Anoles, beta fish, and many more.

Ill try to answer all your questions. Its almost impossible to tell male and femal FBT apart by look. Also the ratios is 10 males to 1 female in petstores. I have been looking for one also and have had no luck.
The males will mount each other, but probably wont hurt one another. Usually the males will bark and mount another male. Than the male being mounted will give off a sound that kind sounds like a bird chirping to alert that he is a male also. Most often the male doing the mounting doesnt care and countinues.
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2 adult WTF's and 1 baby, all males.
3 male FBT's and 1 unknown still.
4 male Red Legged Walking Frogs (Kassina Maculata's)and 1 female.

I heard of people doing this, but I also hear tha FBN need more water while the toads don't. I guess as long as the tanks is large enough that htey dont interact that often. The toads are poisonous to other animals.
I wouldnt put crayfish in. They might hurt the frogs with their claws. I have a few guppies and a sucker fish that do the cleaning for me. I also have more of a water setup though. My tanks filled 1/3 the way up with all water. Than I have a few large rocks for the toads to climb out onto. Suckers grow fast and very large.
Yes, get a sreen lid top. FBT can climb a little bit. I've seen mine reach the top of the tank using the filter wire. They have been known to escape.
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2 adult WTF's and 1 baby, all males.
3 male FBT's and 1 unknown still.
4 male Red Legged Walking Frogs (Kassina Maculata's)and 1 female.

I was going to get some, but I would much rater buy one or two sucker fishies than to get a filter, do you absoloutly need a filter? (im okay with cleaning the tank on a regular basis)
~Sara
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Crickets are the best food. I wouldnt feed them the wax worms. If you dont feel like going to the petstore all the time, buy 50 of them and keep them in a container. You can also order online. They should be no larger than the half the size of the toad. I ffed mine one cricket a day each and eventually they will eat straight from your hand.
Petstores are idiots. They dont know what the hell they keep in stock. Most likely they are just normal FBT's. Where are you from, and how much did you pay for them?
I have not heard of anyone breeding these toads yet, but I'm also prettynew to this. I hear that all FBT are wild caught anyhow.
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2 adult WTF's and 1 baby, all males.
3 male FBT's and 1 unknown still.
4 male Red Legged Walking Frogs (Kassina Maculata's)and 1 female.

I live in chicago, so yes they probably are normal oriental FBT's. I paid around $4 for each of them. At the pet store they had about 15 FBT's in less than a 5 gallon tank. and only 1 water bowl which was low on water, and probably full of the frogs toxin/poison. I am going to feed them crickets for now, and try to see if they start eating the pellets. The can says its for newts, frogs, turtles, and other aquatic animals. So i will experiment with that.

One last thing, is it possible to start a homoestasis(sp) ecosystem. I have 4 guppies right now in the water portion of the tank. So they will probably have fry which could possibly feed small insects and themselves, and if the insects feed on the fry then they could survive and reproduce, and then the FBT's can eat the beatles/insects. Is this possible or do i need a huge tank for this to work. I dont want to put too many so the insects or beatles to eat the toads, but I think it would be really cool to have the cage take care of itself other than the bi weekly water change. also, if i have a lot of plants and a filter, couldn't they filter out all of the junk in the water? Or am i just dreaming a little to much. A self cleaning, and feeding toad tank, lol.

Mike

You probaly need a lot larger tank and more species of animals and plants to create a complete Bio dome. lol

In my tank, with the filter running, all I do is feed the frog once a day. The guppy and sucker pick up most of the material on the bottom of the tank. I change the water maybe once a year. i do howerver clean the filter every couple weeks and add water to the tank. It eveportates fast.
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2 adult WTF's and 1 baby, all males.
3 male FBT's and 1 unknown still.
4 male Red Legged Walking Frogs (Kassina Maculata's)and 1 female.

goodness, i think its important to clean your water much more often than that! the one thing the filters cannot pick up it the toad toxins. the toxins will build up and possibly hurt the frogs if you do not change the water more often. filters can not do this. the water has to actually be changed in order to do this. filters also cannot clean what is stuck under rocks, logs and such, so it is recommended that you clean your tanks every so often... perhaps every 3-6 months.