Reptile & Amphibian Forums

About 2 months ago an american toad laid eggs in my neighbor's koi pond. He was not entirely thrilled, due to the thousands of hungry tadpoles devouring his koi food. After two koi deaths, I took several buckets of tadpoles to the lake in our neighborhood, but I kept about 30 in a large plastic tub for the 2 year old I babysit. Now there are only 12 left, because this 2 year old thinks they like to be held. They are now fully formed toads, mini sized, still need a lot of moisture. Up until now I've fed them HBH aquatic frog/tadpole bites, and I think they're ready for some pinhead crickets and flightless fruitflies. They are about the size of my pinky finger nail, and they aren't accepting the pellets as readily as before. Any suggestions on food, or basic care? Thanks :]

Very nice! The little guys won't eat much for a while, as their mouthparts transition from the larval to the adult configuration. The little ones can take fruitflies, gnats, springtails, and other tiny prey; day-old crickets may be all right, but any older may be too large.

Thanks, they're slowly eating flightless fruitflies, and it's so funny! I think they're still working on their bug catching techniques. A few aren't eating them yet, so I've been leaving the tadpole pellets in the tank just for backup. I bought some pinhead crickets, but I'm reluctant to leave them in the tank, they seem to latch onto the toads, and from what I understand they can bite. I've been gutloading the flies and crickets. Any idea if I should dust them every now and then? I plan to get some powdered supplements as soon as they're totally acclimated to the live food.