Surinam Toads (Pipa pipa) as Pets: Acclimating New Animals and Special Considerations – Part 1
You’ll need to search long and hard to find a frog more bizarre than South America’s Surinam toad. Large and flat, with a pointed head and star-shaped sensory organs tipping the fingers, this tongue-less aquatic beast broods tadpoles below the skin of its back….need I say more?
“Handle With Care”
Surinam toads make wonderful aquarium subjects, but a bit of special care and planning are necessary if one is to succeed with them. Although captive breeding is possible (I wrote about this recently, please see below), it is not common; hence most of the animals available in the trade are wild-caught adults.
Surinam toads seem to be gaining in popularity lately…I’ve had several questions concerning newly acquired animals posed recently, and so thought this a good time to go into the topic a bit further.
Stress and Wild-Caught Frogs
Surinam toads collected as adults have lived in my collection for over 12 years, but most wild caught individuals presented some problems when first obtained. With their permanent, upward-directed stares and relative immobility, these frogs seem so “expressionless” that it’s hard to imagine their being stressed…but internally a great deal is going on.
They are quite sensitive to change – a wild caught frog will have been through a series of traumas by the time it reaches your tank, and will usually not feed until it feels secure and out of danger (i.e. able to hide). Stress is usually very difficult to detect in amphibians, but do not be misled – it is as serious a problem for frogs as for a high strung bird (or us!).
Avoiding Injuries
Until the animal adjusts to its new surroundings, you should secure a towel or other material between the screen top and the water’s surface, as the frog will likely jump at night and may injure its snout against the screening. Be sure to secure the top with screen clips; these will hold the towel in place and prevent an escape.
Temperature
The water temperature should be maintained at 78-79F. Be sure to adjust your frog to any temperature changes slowly…gradually mix new water in with old, if necessary. Dramatic temperature changes will stress the immune system and can easily lead to some of the same health problems (i.e. Ick outbreaks) as affect tropical fish in similar circumstances.
Aquarium Size
A large, deep aquarium is best. Sometimes these frogs do fine in shallow water, but they are more comfortable in deep tanks – during field research I’ve observed them being collected from 3-4 feet of water. An adult will require an aquarium of at least 20 gallons capacity, with a 30 gallon tank being preferable (a 30 gallon can house a pair as well).
Substrate
Surinam toads have a very vigorous feeding response, and quite frequently swallow gravel along with their prey. It is therefore safest to house them in a bare-bottomed aquarium. Despite living over mud, sand and gravel in the wild, captive Surinam toads are very prone to impactions. I’ve observed several on autopsy that were packed full of sand, and another that swallowed a stone which seemed barely able to fit in its mouth.
Check back on Friday for the conclusion of this article.
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about 2 years ago
Do you have any thoughts on the way around a barebottom aquarium with these and other animals that are well known for ingesting stuff, is their any alternative substrate you might think of?(I don’t recall seeing many bare bottom zoo exhibits!) I know with barebottom tanks that are not siphoned/filtered they eventually get a thin layer of detritus which is very fine but gets kicked up into the water readily. Seems relatively inert so long it does not become anoxic. I wonder if clay of some sort would do the trick.(this would probably wreak havoc and make the water permanently murky in anything more than a still tank!) Many animals seem to live over leaflitter in the wild(these guys included) but I haven’t seen anything duplicating that available commercially. Its interesting to me that in the wild they deal with this fine.
I guess the alternative(which still doesn’t sound too pretty) is to paint the bottom of the tank black.
Thanks for yet another of many great articles!
~Joseph
about 2 years ago
Hello Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks so much for your kind words and interesting post, much appreciated.
Surinam toads are tough when it comes to substrate, but there are a few options. The Cypress Mat, a plastic plant designed as an aquarium bottom cover for use with fish fry, can be used safely with Surinam toads, and lends a nice effect. Leave part of the bottom uncovered, so that the frogs have a choice. They may actually push into the mat and shelter there as well. Sinking driftwood can also be used, alone or in combination with the mat.
Natural leaf litter is ideal, but, as you know, it lowers pH rapidly in most cases, breaks down etc. But a few leaves, replaced often, might be okay (avoid oak). I once set up an exhibit in a public aquarium using leaves plucked from silk plants as a substrate, but that was quite time consuming (and expensive!).
As for gravel, I’ve used the smooth black stones marketed as “river rock” (usually found in plant nurseries) with success (3-4 inch size)…however, you need to go through and pick out the numerous small pieces that are always included.
You bring up an interesting point re wild animals. It may be that minute differences in the nature of the substrates are at play, or that temperature, diet and other factors influence the passage of objects through the digestive tracks or (most likely) there is a great deal that I cannot yet imagine going on.
I’m sure that some creatures make mistakes and die in the wild also. I’ve seen some evidence of this with other creatures – an anaconda that apparently choked on a large side-necked turtle (Podocnemis vogli) in Venezuela; another that had serious cuts from trying to swallow a deer buck, antlers and all; a 6 foot long yellow rat snake that attempted to consume a deer fawn (St. Catherine’s Island, off Georgia)…and of course there’s the now famous photo of the Burmese python-American alligator encounter in the Everglades.
Please let me know if you come up with any useful alternatives (I’m guessing you will!)
Good luck and enjoy, Frank Indiviglio.
about 2 months ago
Within my group of 4.3 , I’ve noticed almost all toads have white with black spots and one male is black with white spots , my gf was conscern at first thinking it was fungus or even eggs ! HAHAHA , but I informed her that the female carries the eggs on her back ,but of course I doubted myself and had to look to make sure they weren’t eggs stuck on his belly ! It doesn’t look like fungus nor does it look like white rubbed spots , it looks like his natural pattern . Possibly this is a locale thing ? Perhaps , like it’s just an indivdual toads , much like our finger prints , or a dolphins fins and how each one is very different ? Anyways love your website !!
Thanks , Reg
about 2 months ago
Hello Reg
Thanks so much for the kind words. They spots do vary greatly…in fact, I used them to ID individuals, just as you suggest; the spot pattern in 1 area was drawn onto each frog’s food card.
Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
about 1 month ago
Hey Frank, Ive had one pipa in a community tank (mostly feeder fish and gourami) for about 2 weeks now. And you seem like the guy to ask. I haven’t seen him eat one fish, I even went down to my local pet shop and grabbed a bunch of smaller feeders for him to try but I haven’t seen anything yet. Is there any special conditions I need such as lighting or a smaller amount of fish in the tank?
about 1 month ago
Hello
Thanks for your interest. Subdued lighting is best at first, but please send some details as to size of tank, cover available for the frog, temperature, ph.
As you suggest, too many fish can be stressful in some circumstances. Earthworms are favored by many, but are best fed via tongs so that gravel, if present, is not ingested. Unfortunately, most in the trade are wild caught, and the stress of shipment worsens parasite and other problems; fecal tests may be necessary if all of the above is in order,
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
about 1 month ago
I’ve had my group for a short while now and ALL seem to be doing very well. I’ve transfered all seven adults to 125 gallon tank and they seem happy and clicking every evening and night. I have temps about 78F , 6.0 PH , somewhat subdue lighting , alot of dead leaves on the bottom , drift wood , and lots of HUGE branches of various anubias. Everyone eats night crawlers (chopped in half) , 50 minnows lasts about 24hours , they have even ate frozen thawed minnows. They were quiet the conversational piece among my family this year at the christmas family gathering so I’m pretty proud and lucky to have a good group of toads.
about 1 month ago
Hello Reggie
Thanks for the feedback; very glad to hear the good news. Leaves are a good choice, as they seem to shelter among them in the wild, just keep an eye on pH as they and branches can cause acidification…pH may hold for awhile, then suddenly shoot up. Water changes are impt. as well, even with a good filter, as they’ll be excreting quite a lot of waste material/ammonia.
Looking forward to hearing about eggs!
Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.