How to Take Care of Toads!
Video Credits: Snake Discovery
What do you know about the toads of the USA? They are so welcomed by everyone on the streets as garden inhabitants. They also are good since they eat bad bugs that also eat vegetables. No one would ever get stressed out even if one lives on their property. Even some encourage toads to stay in their residence by placing the flat pavers in the gardens. One rock is placed beneath the corner that elevates it. This now establishes a crawlspace for the toads to live beneath. As you locate this hiding place, you’ll realize it is an exceptional and favorable wild toad habitat.
Encounter the many toads of the USA like the bullfrogs, pickerel frogs, and leopard. They are special kinds that make leaping over great distances easier to elude their nets and hands. They are creatures that hop slowly, and that can be found in the neighborhoods.
But one thing to keep in mind is that not all frogs are toads and vice versa. The term toads represent the anurans of a dry and high counterpart of the water-bound frogs. The simple understanding is that toads are frogs that emerge from the watery birthplaces. And yet, they spend their adulting life on land. They also have wartier and drier skin while they live far from the water sources.
Indeed, toads make a better choice of pets as compared to frogs. They are also less nervous and “boingy.” What will impress you more about them is that they do not bash their snouts opposite to the terrarium walls. You’d like it holding them the easier way possible.
Tips in Caring for Them
Keep any of the common and chosen North American as a pet. But, bear in mind that they would hide most of the time. Enjoy them by digging them out from their hidden holes. Be patient enough to observe them as they become active during the night. After emerging after the sunset, the toads of the USA would show enthusiasm chasing down any of the worms and small insects you brought into their enclosure. They also feed themselves during the night.
Set Up Their Cage
Set up a cage enclosure for the toads of the USA. This could be just so easy for you to do so. The essential thing about the setup is to get the correct substrate. Make it deep enough. Keep the items below that you will need.
-Non-particulate substrate
-10-gallon tank in minimum size
-Small water dish
-Decorations for the hiding
-Screen lid
-Spray bottle
-Thermometer Hygrometer
Toads will never require much space. But when you give it more space, the better it will be. A simple rule is usually followed as per ten-gallons for every frog. This is true when it comes to the toads of the USA. This will be enough to house one toad. Now for a 30-gallon aquarium, it could hold three or four toads of USA. For a 50-gallon aquarium just for a single toad, it’s perfectly fine as well. There will never be a limit when it comes to size. Fit the enclosure with a screen lid that prevents the toad from escaping.
Change their Several Inches of Mulch or Soil Cage Substrate
One more trick to maintain them over time is to change their several inches of mulch or soil cage substrate regularly. This should at least fall every couple of weeks. The toads will move in a constant way possible. And they never forced to sit in soiled breeding.
Toxins and moisture are absorbed by the skin of the legs and belly of the toads. The bacteria found in the substrate tend to build up fast because of uneaten bugs and feces. This now, even more, contaminate the soil. That is when skin infections become the effect.
Prepare for a Shallow Water Dish
Make sure that the shallow water dish is available. It should be filled halfway with clean water. This will best avoid excess in the overflow once when the toad plops down and soak itself in it. Leave it inside the cage throughout the night. It will stay completely filthy in the morning. That’s when the toad hops in and out from it. Sterilize the water dish and wash it completely. Allow it to dry in between uses. Re-introduce the water dish every after several days.
Add Some Lighting
Toads of the USA are classified as a nocturnal type of toads. They spend most of their days hiding below the leaves. They also burrow themselves in the soil and also relax in cooler temperatures. They also like to wait until the nightfall so they could go out for feeding. In this case, UVB lighting is not a good suggestion to consider.
If you put some live plants inside the enclosure, an LED light in full-spectrum would seem a viable option. It is designed to grow plants making them a welcoming addition to the enclosure of the toad. The pet should have a day in and a day-night cycle. This is true if you decide to keep it in a room that does not receive lighting from the windows. But, better to provide it with light. It is recommended that twelve to fifteen hours of light be given each day.
Expose Them on a Specific Temperature
House the toads of the USA in your house’ room temperature of 70-degrees. That is just a good way to go. During the night, the temperature might fall a few degrees, not putting harm on your pet. Provide a hiding place for the toad during the day. As mentioned, leaf litter, cork bark flats, and decorations seem so valuable to use. Have these hiding areas that enable them to just stay cool.
Give Them Quality Water
Filling a water dish with tap water may seem a good idea. This is one of the easiest and quickest ways that you can do so far. But it is believed to be quite dangerous because of the local water supply. Some tap water also contains chloramine, fluoride, chlorine, and all other chemicals. And they prove to bring harm to amphibians.
Not even distilled water makes a better alternative. The best solution to ever think of the water conditioners such as the bottled water or ReptiSafe. Fill a shallow water dish with a dechlorinated and clean water. Never let the toads of the USA run out of water. Change the water so it can be kept clean as always. They should not dump or knock-over the water dish.
Keep Them In a Good Humidity
Toads are known to survive in a range of humidity levels. But the important thing is that you put a small water dish in it filled with clean water. It must be available all the time, allowing them to soak their skin.
Their humidity level should fall exactly around fifty percent humidity. Know that this also tends to fluctuate 15 percent up and down at a given time.
Use a hygrometer that reads the humidity level in the tank. It is nice to have a hygrometer, although it is not a requirement. Keep the water dish as always full. Mist its enclosure two to three times a day. Increase its humidity level that can be just so easy as misting it with a spray bottle.
Provide Plenty of Food
With the presence of feeder insects, it just could be easy for you to provide toads with plenty of food. It will never be a problem on your part. They also adapt to feeding themselves.
Feed on the juvenile toads with sized insects. One-eight inch fruit flies or crickets will always be enough. The adult toads can eat all of the insects and full-grown insects.
Feed them three to six crickets every day. It is best to have different kinds of foods. Their main food source is crickets. So, give them the occasional waxworm or mealworm as a treat.
Feed them with mineral and vitamin supplements. Consult a vet for the right amounts. Dust with a calcium supplement daily. Make use of a vitamin and mineral supplement two to three times a week.
Reproduce Them with Luck
Toads of the USA can go in successful reproduction. Only special conditions must be followed to get the toads to breed. Simulate their natural environment throughout the breeding season.
Simulate the winter periods with less water, less humidity, and cooler temperatures for over two to four weeks. Raise the temperature and add some more water. Increase the humidity level for several weeks. This mimics the transition from the winter to spring.
Get Them to Breed
When you get the toads of the USA to breed, lower their temperature in the enclosure of five to ten degrees. Stop misting for about two to four weeks. They will just be fine for as long as they have access to water in their dish. Decrease their day time light cycle from ten to twelve hours every day.
Simulate their springtime by an increase in temperature to normal. Change their cycle day and night. This now provides fourteen hours of light and eight hours of darkness. Mist their cage and add some more water dish. Swap their current dish with an even bigger dish.
The male toads of the USA will begin calling around at night. The female toads will pass their eggs through the cloaca. While the male will fertilize the eggs outside their body.
Handle Them With Care
Do not handle toads of the USA more often as their skin absorbs things they get in contact with. The chemicals on your hands will also be absorbed by them. And this can also be potentially harmful. Before you hold these toads, your hands should be slightly wet and clean. Thoroughly wash your hands afterward using anti-bacterial soap.
Transfer your pet to another container, too. Clean their enclosure as always. And do your best to limit the time handling them.
