Firebelly toad woes

[WhistlingBadger]

Hello again!

As many of you know, last winter I got four juvenile Firebelly toads for my bioactive, 55 gallon Paludarium. They were active, well-colored, eating enthusiastically on flightless fruit flies, which I dusted with Repashy calcium/vitamin supplement once a week. They had quite a large land area, covered in live mosses and other plants. After a month or so, they began getting lethargic and seeking out hiding places, barely eating, and one by one they disappeared. I never found any bodies. They still looked colorful and bright-eyed; no visible sign of disease, infection, or injury. They just lost interest in life and faded away.

I thought perhaps they were too small to find food in such a large enclosure. So I set up a Paludarium in a 10 gallon tank with a 6"x4" floating island, covered in live mosses, and lots of floating plants. Once this tank was set up and cycled, I added two new, juvenile frogs from a different supplier. Added occasional baby crickets and earth worms to the diet. The exact same thing seems to be happening: One frog has vanished; the other is still colorful, but has mostly lost interest in eating and just wants to hunker down in a cavity in the moss and lie still.

Any idea what is happening? I really want to keep this species, but they are rather expensive to experiment with, and I hate it when my critters don't thrive.

 

[Colin_T]

I assume you change the water in their enclosure on a regular basis?
Make sure their tank is clean so they don't get bacterial infections.

Have lots of variety in their diet, not just fruit flies. Frogs travel long distances searching for food and water so an aquarium isn't going to be too big for them.

Make sure the temperature and humidity are correct.

Maybe hop on a froggy forum and see what they say. They would probably have more info than most of us on a fishy forum

 

[Archerfish]

Hello again!

As many of you know, last winter I got four juvenile Firebelly toads for my bioactive, 55 gallon Paludarium. They were active, well-colored, eating enthusiastically on flightless fruit flies, which I dusted with Repashy calcium/vitamin supplement once a week. They had quite a large land area, covered in live mosses and other plants. After a month or so, they began getting lethargic and seeking out hiding places, barely eating, and one by one they disappeared. I never found any bodies.

Any idea what is happening? I really want to keep this species, but they are rather expensive to experiment with, and I hate it when my critters don't thrive.

One of our kids had them in a 55 like yours but we had to put a tightly fitting top on the tank because the little critters climbed out. Try a a screen top. Firebelly Toads are easy to keep and breed rapidly. Try tiny mealworms with the heads removed as well a fruit flies. They also like very small (tiny) crickets.

 

[Magnum Man]

this link is just basic information... I was curious about the temperatures... but the kind of lighting, & dietary supplements are listed in here, as well as shedding of their skin, which I was not aware of...

How to Care for Fire Belly Toads: 11 Steps (with Pictures)

Fire-belly toads are a popular pet that can live for ten to twelve years or more if properly cared for. You will need to provide your toad with the right environment. A large aquarium with proper lights is important. Feed your toad a diet...

www.wikihow.pet

 

[Ed Pursell]

I have three fire bellies in a 10 gallon well over 4 years, a 1/3 of the tank is water, lots of rocks and Java Moss covered. I have a small corner filtered waterfall that supplies moving water. Diet of crickets and on occasion as a treat, wax worms.. Also screened top made for the tank. I got these due to easy care, no heat really needed and they have done very well. These are pretty much maintenance free, feeding every couple days, water change maybe once a month. I do have an incandescent lamp on the one end of the top which does give so heat. I don’t have any advice on issues, just my experience with my 3. I’ll be following..

 

[Archerfish]

I was just corrected...cover the tank with a glass lid to maintain the humidity. Yes, I remember that now!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

One of our kids had them in a 55 like yours but we had to put a tightly fitting top on the tank because the little critters climbed out. Try a a screen top. Firebelly Toads are easy to keep and breed rapidly. Try tiny mealworms with the heads removed as well a fruit flies. They also like very small (tiny) crickets.

I do have a very tight, half glass, half screen lid, and a mister to maintain humidity (plus it's on top of an aquarium) so I don't think that's the problem either. The diet variety has been a challenge. Crickets simply bury themselves in the substrate and disappear. Might try the tiny mealworms.

I assume you change the water in their enclosure on a regular basis?
Make sure their tank is clean so they don't get bacterial infections.

Have lots of variety in their diet, not just fruit flies. Frogs travel long distances searching for food and water so an aquarium isn't going to be too big for them.

Make sure the temperature and humidity are correct.

Maybe hop on a froggy forum and see what they say. They would probably have more info than most of us on a fishy forum

Everything I've read says keep them at room temperature, which I'm doing. I do change the water regularly. I can't find a frog forum that isn't dead. Anybody know of a good one?

this link is just basic information... I was curious about the temperatures... but the kind of lighting, & dietary supplements are listed in here, as well as shedding of their skin, which I was not aware of...

How to Care for Fire Belly Toads: 11 Steps (with Pictures)

Fire-belly toads are a popular pet that can live for ten to twelve years or more if properly cared for. You will need to provide your toad with the right environment. A large aquarium with proper lights is important. Feed your toad a diet...

www.wikihow.pet

Interesting. I've never noticed shed skins from any of mine, but I do have springtails and isopods so maybe they get eaten? I am wondering if I'm feeding them the wrong diet. Someone before mentioned this as a possibility.

I have three fire bellies in a 10 gallon well over 4 years, a 1/3 of the tank is water, lots of rocks and Java Moss covered. I have a small corner filtered waterfall that supplies moving water. Diet of crickets and on occasion as a treat, wax worms.. Also screened top made for the tank. I got these due to easy care, no heat really needed and they have done very well. These are pretty much maintenance free, feeding every couple days, water change maybe once a month. I do have an incandescent lamp on the one end of the top which does give so heat. I don’t have any advice on issues, just my experience with my 3. I’ll be following..

Yeah, I think I'm doing that stuff. They're supposed to be super easy to raise and keep. Guess I'm just gifted!

 

[Colin_T]

I do have a very tight, half glass, half screen lid, and a mister to maintain humidity (plus it's on top of an aquarium) so I don't think that's the problem either. The diet variety has been a challenge. Crickets simply bury themselves in the substrate and disappear. Might try the tiny mealworms.


Everything I've read says keep them at room temperature, which I'm doing. I do change the water regularly. I can't find a frog forum that isn't dead. Anybody know of a good one?

Is it too humid or too warm for them?

Most frogs eat their skin after shedding, waste not want not. mmm crispy skin, I mean soft mushy skin.

Call a zoo and see if they have a herpetologist on staff.

 

[Magnum Man]

everything, I've been reading, talks mid 60's to low 70's so I was wondering if they might be too warm???

 

[Ed Pursell]

60’s to 70 is great, that’s one reason why they are easy, no heater, no heat lamps. I had an Iguana for 10 years, a little different, these fire bellies are pretty easy. And you mention a mister? These are not like other frogs like tree frogs or dart frogs, or some lizards, you have water in the tank so you really don’t need a mister.. Between my air condition and heat in PA winters, my room temp. is always around 68-70 degrees, I don’t use any heat for this particular tank. My fish, yes, I keep around 78 degrees. Not the toads.As for crickets, you can buy a cheap forceps/tweezers from the Pet store and feed them using that.. You can do one at a time. Just suggestions Whist..
-Ed-

 

[WhistlingBadger]

This tank is coldwater fish, so no heater. It stays in the low 70s year-round. So no trouble there. The mister just comes on periodically through the day, more for show than to really add any humidity. This is Wyoming, so the air is super-dry. I don't think too much humidity is the problem, either.

Really might be a feeding problem. Maybe they just don't like fruit flies...

 

[Magnum Man]

Another article I read, Fruit Flies were 3rd on the list to feed… but they aren’t very big… could they not be getting enough to eat???

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Another article I read, Fruit Flies were 3rd on the list to feed… but they aren’t very big… could they not be getting enough to eat???

It's possible, and I suspect I didn't feed my first batch enough. But wouldn't that make them feed more voraciously rather than less??? I feed my current ones a LOT of fruit flies. I'm really confused by all of this.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Well, boys and girls, I think I finally figured this out: The light was too bright. These are forest floor creatures, natural shade dwellers, and I had the lights cranked up to 100% all day every day. The were stressed and hiding out from the light, and then starved to death because I couldn't find them to feed them. And how do I know this? I reduced the light to 65% the past couple days, and low and behold, my frog is out in the open again, devouring crickets like they're going out of style.

So... I think I solved the problem. Might be time to save up for some new firebellies!

 

[Colin_T]

Good stuff, nice to hear to have hopefully fixed the issue.