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General
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Handle your firebellied toads as little as possible due to
the toxins they secrete. If you must pick up a toad, wash
your hands in clean water first and leave them wet. Never
touch your eyes, mouth or face when you are handling a toad
and always wash your hands thoroughly after.
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Housing
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Frogs and toads need a specialized home called a vivarium,
which is easily made from a "long" glass aquarium, with a
securely fitting lid. Toads like company and the size of the
tank will depend on how many frogs you keep. A 20 gal aquarium
can house up to 4 toads. Choose a hinged lid with a clear plastic
panel covering a fluorescent light and ventilation space in the
rear. The open rear panel must be covered with screening to prevent
the toads escaping. Locate your vivarium away from windows and
heating/cooling vents, but near an electrical outlet. Add a
submersible water filter/pump rated for at least 30 gallons per
hour to oxygenate the water and keep it fresh. Toads need a constant
water temperature of 65-75 deg. F, maintained by a fully submersible
heater. Monitor the temperature with two adhesive thermometers, one
below the water and one halfway up the tank. Cover the floor with
aquarium gravel and smooth rocks (intended for fish, not from outdoors)
to make dry islands, with live plants completing the landscaping.
Finally, use a dechlorinating product to prepare tap water and fill
the tank to a depth of a couple of inches. Wait a week or so for the
vivarium to settle before adding your toads.
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Diet
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Feed your toads waxworms and crickets. Each toad should get two small
waxworms or two small crickets per week.
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Cleaning
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Wash down the walls and rocks frequently, using dechlorinated
water in a spray bottle, to remove toxins secreted by the toads.
Change about half the water water monthly and remove dead food
or plants promptly.
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Health
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Toads are generally very healthy. They change color from bright
green to dark, olive green when they are about to shed. Dirty
water or build up of toxins in the vivarium are the cause of
most problems.
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Warnings
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Use new buckets tor water and never use soap, or detergents to clean
the tank or equipment.
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Fertility
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It is very difficult to tell a male from a female firebellied toad.
The males are generally smaller, have more warts and chirp during
breeding season.
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