Fire belly toads

[Frank Castle]

At the risk of being blunt, you haven't gotten any good advice thus far. You really don't want any loose substrate with these guys whatsoever... anything that small and not tied down in their enclosure is liable to get swallowed, and swallowing a big piece of moss or gravel could lead to their death.

They also create a massive amount of waste, which can become very difficult to clean up as it soaks into the substrate... especially because they need a very wet environment. The smell of dirty, wet toad substrate is something to behold. So first things first... ditch the gravel, and definitely don't put any moss in there.

I set up my firebelly toads with a water substrate, and then built them an island to haul out and bask on. This enclosure has worked well for several years now. Being semi-aquatic, but also semi-terrestrial, it is imperative that they are able to swim and move around on dry land.

Like all amphibians, they require a varied diet to thrive. These guys are big eaters and will pretty much eat anything that moves. I feed mine crickets, mealworms, waxworms, chopped nightcrawlers, butterworms, and frozen bloodworms from tongs. As they get more used to you bringing them food, they will come to the front of the cage when they see you, which makes tong feeding easy. Incidentally, this same behavior is what makes not having loose substrate imperative... when they become frenzied, they attack everything in sight, including cage decor, fingers, and each other. They don't have teeth, so they cant hurt us and the usually don't injure each other, but they can and will end up eating the substrate that way.

Their food should occasionally be dusted with a calcium/vitamin D3 supplement. They are not choosy about water temperature, and will thrive if temperatures are anywhere between the upper fifties and the high seventies.

Hope your son enjoys his toads, and feels better soon.

For reference, here's my enclosure, and my toads. I've found this type of enclosure to be by far the easiest to clean, safest, and most dynamic way to keep semi-aquatic amphibians.



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You don't like ZooMed's Sphagnum Moss?? I think it's great, all you gotta do when it gets dirty is wring and rinse in a bucket - it's mostly big long strands and easy to clean with a hose or wash basin. I don't see why they would swallow it, seems like an obscure amount of substrate for such a small animal to swallow, plus you only put it in one area, you don't use it to cover the entire tank, it's not that type of substrate. Just don't throw the food in the area that has the moss, no problem

 

[Bottomfeeder]

I've seen frogs eat too many foreign objects to ever put anything of that nature in an amphibian's enclosure. Sometimes nothing happens, but sometimes it can lead to the animal's death... I've seen it happen. Not worth the risk, IMO.

I do use moss with some of my inverts. It's very good for holding humidity. But firebelly toads are so ravenous that any small loose temps are liable to accidentally be eaten.

It's also worth mentioning that not all firebellies will take food from tongs, so you can't necessarily target feed them away from the mossy area.

 

[Frank Castle]

I've seen frogs eat too many foreign objects to ever put anything of that nature in an amphibian's enclosure. Sometimes nothing happens, but sometimes it can lead to the animal's death... I've seen it happen. Not worth the risk, IMO.

I do use moss with some of my inverts. It's very good for holding humidity. But firebelly toads are so ravenous that any small loose temps are liable to accidentally be eaten.

It's also worth mentioning that not all firebellies will take food from tongs, so you can't necessarily target feed them away from the mossy area.

idk, I never had an issue with it lol had a bunch a different amphibians I used it with, and nesting boxes for reptiles too. On the other hand if you HAVE had problems with it then it might be better J jaws7777 not to use it. If there is a possibility of impaction or complications, I wouldn't want to see someone new to FBTs have to deal with it and especially not want to see anything happen to his son's favorite new pets.

What do you have against gravel, out of curiosity?

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Gravel is very harsh on amphibians' skin. It can cause scratches and abrasions, which easily become infected.

They are also somewhat of a death sentence if a little creature like a firebelly were to swallow a chunk or two.

 

[Frank Castle]

Gravel is very harsh on amphibians' skin. It can cause scratches and abrasions, which easily become infected.

They are also somewhat of a death sentence if a little creature like a firebelly were to swallow a chunk or two.

LOL....but the whole WORLD is practically gravel haha that's like saying "for them to exist can be a death sentence" Hundreds and thousands of animals swallow gravel and stones to aid digestion as well.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

They do not live in gravel pits in the wild. They live in swampy, planted areas, where the substrate is muddy, soft, and loose. Rocks and gravel do not sit on the surface of the substrate... they sink.

I didn't make up the impaction risk of these animals... it's well-documented.

 

[Frank Castle]

They do not live in gravel pits in the wild. They live in swampy, planted areas, where the substrate is muddy, soft, and loose. Rocks and gravel do not sit on the surface of the substrate... they sink.

I didn't make up the impaction risk of these animals... it's well-documented.

I don't doubt it, I believe you, I just know of numerous species that INTENTIONALLY swallow them, but if an animal is not physically designed to regurgitate them when need be, it would be a disaster hence why I agree it's not worth the risk. I probably won't, but if I were to ever do FBTs again, I would consider these little tidbits before planning my next vivarium.

Pet store I worked at had them in gravel/moss/water, boss's orders (boss and I didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things) and I did the same combo for Tiger salamanders, Caecillians, Green Toads, FB Newts, Eastern Newts and some others. Tiger was ravenous eating mice, crickets, fish....he was always on target w/ strikes - bullseye everytime lol

 

[Bottomfeeder]

There are definitely animals that willingly eat gravel, but that's, for the most part, specific to species that eat lots of plants and ruffage. My blue tongue skink will eat gravel when he's out walking in the summer. It's similar to how some birds eat stones and store them in their gizzard. Because grazing birds and reptiles can't chew, the stones aid in the process of grinding up tough plant fibers.

Firebelly toads do not eat plants, and, thus, the only thing they should be eating is bugs.

 

[Frank Castle]

There are definitely animals that willingly eat gravel, but that's, for the most part, specific to species that eat lots of plants and ruffage. My blue tongue skink will eat gravel when he's out walking in the summer. It's similar to how some birds eat stones and store them in their gizzard. Because grazing birds and reptiles can't chew, the stones aid in the process of grinding up tough plant fibers.

Firebelly toads do not eat plants, and, thus, the only thing they should be eating is bugs.

I remember seeing my Nile Monitor and both my Alligators do it and I was just like "Oh, I guess that nature program I saw as a kid was right " lol Not positive but I'm willing to bet it has 2 functions in them guys - helping them to digest but also making them less buoyant in the water. Birds use it for several reasons, I remember a bit about Scarlett or Military or Red-and-Green Macaws using some type of clay to neutralize toxins from the unripe fruit they eat too

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Hmm, interesting. Although, the digestive system of a small toad that eats bugs and a massive saurian that eats large vertebrates. A pebble in the stomach of a gator is nothing... a pebble is probably about the size of a firebelly toad's stomach.

Were Nile monitors and alligators documented eating rocks? Come to think of it, both of those (particularly gators) are known waterfowl eaters. Maybe they just contain the pebbles that were in the ducks they ate