My newest wet pets!!

[Pamelajo]

Red bellied toads, but their bellies are yellow not sure if that will change as they get older. Any info on these guys would be appreciated in terms of identifying which one they are, as the typical RBT does have a red belly and green and black backs.


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I had a habitat set up originally with a small pond, but wanted something I can syphon the water and the land contained so I can pick up and dump and then put in fresh bedding. Also need something that can be washed down easily to prevent build up of toxins. Here is what I came up with, and they seem to like it so far. I still have to tack down the mesh to the egg crate. Square land containers actually have plants planted in them. Small corner filter back corner. And will be adding a small heater in the fall.
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[CACAdmin]

They are so cool, Pam. I'm going to go try to hunt down some info on them.

How long have you had them?

[vince0]

heres what a quick google brings up

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-bellied_toad

hope it helps

[CACAdmin]

Neat creatures from the looks of it. I have no idea how accurate this info is but I found this site with some info for you: http://www.frogforum.net/toad-care-articles/2179-fire-bellied-toad-care-breeding-bombina-orientalis-relatives.html

[Pamelajo]

Thanks for the links, they are two I have not come across yet. I got them about a month ago. Have 6 of them.

[CACAdmin]

I'll bet they are quite entertaining. Where do you have their tank? Upstairs or down?

[Pamelajo]

In the dining room under the 75 gallon. The cat loves watching them. They are very active tonight. I really think they like the deeper water as you see them diving to the bottom every now and then. I have a couple of small kribs fry(thinning out, as I have a whole brood someone gave me to raise for a pair) in there, to see if they will eat them, but they may be too big . If not will be moving them out when I do a water change. So far they are getting crickets and white worms and the odd bug from outside. Hard to get small crickets at the lfs at the moment.

[CACAdmin]

I'll bet the cat loves to watch them... does he/she paw at the glass or try to get in?

As for crickets, I was wondering if there was something such as a cricket catcher you could make and catch your own (I'll bet there are lots around your place now that summer has come.) I found this on DIY Cricket Catchers: http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Crickets-KeepingandBreeding/messages/284340.html

[Pamelajo]

She does not paw at the glass, but looks like she is ready to pounce. lol Thanks for the link I may try the newspaper one and see what I get.

[Ursus sapien]

cultures of winged fruit flies and springtails are said to be easy to keep, and there are Canadian growers who ship starter cultures.

sweet little things! you've given them a much more complex environment than most people bother with- very cool.

[Pamelajo]

Thanks for mentioning that Ursus, I remember a place out east that had some. I may have to look them up, anyone know what they are called.

[Melody]

Wow, what lucky creatures to have such luxury accomodations! :notworthy:

Frogs and food - my Son will soon ask for your hand in marriage :laugh: . Or maybe you will be kissing them to find a handsome prince? Hmmm?

I love it when you crinkle your nose up like that :Neener: .

[mdfa.ca]

Cute little frogs and what a lovely condo you have set up for them!

[CACAdmin]

Wow, what lucky creatures to have such luxury accomodations! :notworthy:


I agree. Lucky critters! How did you come up with the idea for the layout of their condo?

[Pamelajo]

I did not like anything I saw, most were either a pond in the middle or dry land at one side. They all seemed like more work than needed
Trying to lift a pond (roughly 2/3 rds the size of the tank and 4" deep is what is recommended) out with out spilling to change would be a pain and then changing all the land substance (which is usually over piled up gravel) once a month also a bit of a pain. So started thinking I wanted something I could do a regular water change on and have a filter. I had a small piece of egg crate I was planning on doing something with then came across a tank pic with a piece of glass as a shelf with just rocks and vases as shelf supports. Kind of what I was thinking of. So dug out the bigger piece of egg crate from the plenum project perfect size. So cut out for the water escape and then found some mesh and used two dollar store containers to hold coconut husk so they can easily be dumped and refilled. I picked up some tall glasses to put in as my supports next clean out. This way you can see through them, and I want a total of 8 supports without taking up too much space. I will also eliminate some of the slate at the front and let the mesh sit farther down.

[mdfa.ca]

Pam,

you just gave me a great idea to upgrade our Geckos' homes and give them some variety as well as more basking options. Excellent!:notworthy:

[Pamelajo]

:laugh: gives you double the space with out limiting the floor 2/3rds water and 1/3 land which seems very small for six toads up to 2". Your filter will decide the depth of the water and supports. If you need any help just pm me.

[CACAdmin]

Ingenious, Pam.

[Pamelajo]

Thanks! It took me a month to finally figure something out.

[CACAdmin]

Now you just have to come up with a way to market your design.

[bae3]

Firebellied toads are easy to take care of. They love earthworms, and can eat surprisingly large ones. They'll also eat mealworms eagerly. In general, they won't capture prey under water, but they'll take ramshorn snails by a very clever method -- when the snail is crawling along upside down on the underside of the water surface, it has most of its body out of the shell. The frog will lunge and bite it all off!

To feed mealworms and earthworms, I put them in a shallow dish (a flowerpot watering saucer). The frogs rapidly learn that that's where food appears. The mealworms couldn't crawl out, but the earthworms could. The frogs would grab them before they got far though.

Have you seen them swallow each other's heads or feet yet, when several are lunging for the same cricket? They pause for a few seconds, figure it out, and let go. Extremely silly looking. While they won't actually catch things under water, they like to jump into the water when they have a firm hold on prey. If two frogs have grabbed the same earthworm, it can be quite a goofy underwater ballet!

I actually bred these guys once. I just lost the last of the offspring at an age of 10 years or so. I kept her in a small tank with a floating "island" of styrofoam to sit on. Java moss in the tank took hold and covered the styrofoam, so she had a comfy surface to squat on.

Bombina orientalis, the commonly seen kind, has an orange belly and is green or brown (various shades) on top. It's native to eastern Asia from Korea to southern China. I wonder if you might have the Eurasian species, which is brown with a yellow belly. IIRC, its range extends from eastern Europe to somewhere in Siberia.

Btw, the male's call sounds like loudly dripping water, 1-2 calls per second or so. The first time I heard it, I raced around trying to figure out what was leaking!

[amaruq]

NEAT!!!!

[Namor]

Great looking set-up you have created there Pam, nice job!

[Pamelajo]

Thanks Layton.
Them seem to like it, started using the ramp right away.

[CACAdmin]

Thaks Layton.
Them seem to like it, started using the ramp right away.
I think that gives it their stamp of approval. :yes:

[CACAdmin]

How are your little toads doing? Any recent pics?

[Pamelajo]

They are doing great, grown some. No pics but will try and get some. Spending more time in the water now.

[CACAdmin]

Have they tried their hands at redeorating the tank?

[Pamelajo]

No not yet!! I guess that means they like it!!:laugh:

[CACAdmin]

:laugh: Either that or there is nothing their capable of moving in the tank. We'll just assume they like it as it is.