Comments on: My Animal Collection: How a Herpetologist Keeps American Toads and Related Species, Part III

By: findiviglio

findiviglio — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:56:15 +0000

Hello Amanda,

Thanks for the feedback; sounds like you’re doing everything right; Best to use a powdered vitamin mineral supplement once weekly to start off, so as not to shock/overload his system. Can go to 2-3 x week, then back to once weekly if you introduce other types of insects, esp. wild-caught.

Toads are generally fairly rotund – bloating if different, often related to a bacterial infection. However, he would not likely be feeding if this were the case.

Good luck with him and the discus also, wonderful fish…Please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:21:18 +0000

We have super hard water, so we have a water softener. For this reason, we have a RO system for drinking water. Probably over kill, but…We do have tropical fish- mainly discus. I just cleaned Sir Toad’s tank out, washed and rinsed well, and gave him some more RO water with stress coat and the trace minerals you add to the water for discus. He burrowed into the bedding stuff and looks happy. I’m going to the pet store tonight for some vitamins and such for him. Hopefully, he will perk up and slim down a bit. He looks absolutely pitiful with his puffy belly and one eye. I have yet to hear him make a peep. Thanks for the information.

By: findiviglio

findiviglio — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:35:36 +0000

Hello Sue, Frank Indiviglio here.

Nice to hear from you again. The trace elements are those that come with RO units, and which are added to the water before it is used for tropical fishes. It’s a real concern with aquatic amphibs, more of a precaution w/toads so probably no harm done. Hard water is not great for most amphibians, except those specifically adapted to it. Bottled spring water is a useful option if your tap water is hard – Deer Park & Poland Spring are safe, noit sure if any others are drawn from hard water sources.

Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

By: findiviglio

findiviglio — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:23:22 +0000

Hello Amanda,

My pleasure…. I’m assuming that you keep fish and make your own RO? If so, use the water as you would for fish (usually a packet of salts etc is provided). If you are buying the water, check that it is ready for use with fish. Stress coat is a good idea as well. Usually, tap water is fine unless very hard – just be sure to use an Instant DeChlorinating Product.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

By: Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:40:14 +0000

Hi Mr. Indiviglio,
Haven’t written in a while as things have been going very well. We did release one more toad after he showed signs of trouble. We still have one toad and one gray tree frog. I was just reading your comment on RO water which I did not know would be bad. That is what we have been using. I feel silly that I did not ask about it. Would well water be ok? It does not have the red iron in it but it does have lime and calcium. Or you mention adding back trace elements, how is this done?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Sue

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:27:57 +0000

Thanks for your speedy reply. Sir Toad his burrowed beneath some moss and some wooden craft sticks my sons wanted to use as a “frog bridge.” (There’s no water under it.) What kind of trace elements should I use? I’ve only added the Stress Coat to his RO water.
Thanks!

By: findiviglio

findiviglio — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:11:35 +0000

Hello Amanda, Frank Indiviglio here.

Thanks for your interest in our blog; I commend you for your efforts on the toad’s behalf, you’re doing well.

As for general care, you can do as described in the article for American toads – they are closely related, even able to hybridize.

The weeping may be just irritation, as would be the case in a relatively new injury. If so, you can apply Turtle Eye Drops until healing is complete. Walking suggests a new injury as well – once adjusted, toads usually do well with 1 eye, even learning to adjust their “aim” quite accurately when catching insects. If the weeping is from an infection, a vet visit would be best, but human Triple Anti-Biotic Cream (over-counter type), placed on the wound once daily, is sometimes useful.

Certain fish medications do indeed work for amphibians, but best to know what sort of bacteria or parasite one is dealing with before trying, and also dosage needs to be modified. If you notice redness or other signs of infection or fungus, let me know and I’ll go over the use of Methylene Blue with you.

One thought, and I apologize if this is evident, but when using RO water be sure to reconstitute/add back trace elements before using – otherwise the water is more or less distilled, and will leach useful salts/minerals from the toad’s body.

Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:45:42 +0000

My children found a toad in our backyard and when we saw he only had one eye, we agreed to keep him inside, safe from predators. We’ve only had him for a week, but he doesn’t seem healthy. I know he is a male Gulf Coast Toad, but there is very little information on this species. His abdomen seems a bit bloated- not severely, but it is noticeable. Where his eye is missing, it weeps. He doesn’t hop- he walks…slowly, We are keeping him in a 10gal aquarium (temporarily) with a clay pot to hide in, a plant to hide under (dug from the yard- just a weed), terrarium moss, and a sandwich bowl of RO water. Since I know nothing about keeping toads, we’re learning as we go. I’m only feeding him small, live crickets so far, but will be adding vitamins and fresh bugs (when they start coming out) and possibly using gut load on the crickets. I read about giving toads an antibiotic like Maracyn or Maracyn 2- as you’d give fish. Is this a good idea? We are making a 40gal vivarium for him, but since it’s not done yet, we’re stuck with the 10 gal. Because he doesn’t see well, I’m careful about bug placement and so far, he’s eating well. He doesn’t seem fearful…more depressed. What can we do for this poor creature? Any help would be appreciated… my kids adore Sir Toad already.

By: findiviglio

findiviglio — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:04:46 +0000

Hello Sue, Frank Indiviglio here.

Thanks for the update.

You did the right thing in releasing the toad. It’s actually unusual that people were able to see it for a few days thereafter…usually they are hared to relocate; I wouldn’t count on seeing it again, but that does not mean it is not doing well, they are difficult to find even in large zoo exhibits.

Unfortunately there is not much more to be said re the gray treefrog, as we know so little about their needs. Good idea to keep it cool; they usually do not have problems shedding, unless it is very dry. Perhaps check the size of the insects it is eating, several small items are better than 1 large; stay with insects the size of a half grown cricket or smaller if possible.

Native amphibians can be very hardy, but when problems arise they are difficult to treat. We know more about some of the pet trade “staples”; White’s treefrogs are very robust, captive bred and can take temperature extremes more easily than native species. Just a thought, for the future…

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:26:24 +0000

Hi Mr. Indiviglio,
Just wanted to update you on the release of toads. We let her go Thursday before last. Put a big pile of her substrate and her water dish (as it had been dry and the ground was hard)in shady part of our garden. She seemed a bit confused as first but burrowed in the substrate. We checked her frequently. We had to go out of town for a couple of days so my neighbor checked in on her and she was doing fine. On Saturday it rained all day and she stayed close to where we put her. Later that afternoon my neighbor called and said she looked like she was shedding as she had some material still on her. Then that evening she had completed her shed and seemed fine. That was the last time she was seen. We came home and I check many times a day but have not seen her. So we hope she is better and has found a great place to live. Hopefully we will see her before summer is over. I know it will ease my sons mind to know she is ok. there are many toadlets out and about and they are enjoying soaking in her water dish, so we make sure there is water in them every day. We also put out a couple more as it has been very hot.

I do have a concern about our other grey treefrog. She is eating and soaking but when she rests she seems huntched over then she makes a clicking noise (which we have heard her do after eating before) and it looks like she is smacking her lips, then she stretches her mouth open and paws over it with a front foot. She seems uncomfortable. She also has a slight grimess on the left side of her mouth but it has always been there. We have witnessed her shedding before. Could she have to shed and is having a hard time with it? Or could she have something else going on? It has been really hot so I moved her to the basement which keeps her habitate about 75. I did notice some gnats in there would they be harmful? I will be cleaning her hab. as it is time to do so. I just feel like I am doing something wrong, but I don’t know what to do differently.
There are just so many questions. Thank you for trying to answer them for me.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Sue