I am looking for information about breeding Bufo Alvarius (Sonoran desert toad, aka Colorado river toad) in captivity.
It seems there was a website that was shut down that had some information I think it was
www.bufoalvarius.org.
I found some information about its breeding habits in its native environment.
They can breed at 3 inches. It breeds and lays eggs in ponds, slow-moving streams, etc.
"Reproduction Comments: Breeding occurs May-August, usually for a short period (one or two nights), 1-3 nights following a major rainfall event; relatively few of the males produce persistent advertisement calls (Sullivan and Malmos, 1994, Herpetologica 50:146-156). May lay up to about 8,000 eggs in long strands (Stebbins 1972)" (
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/...=Bufo+alvarius)
I'm not sure if I will need some kind of permanent water supply that I do not change daily like I do now.
I'm not sure about the sexing of this species I think I have a breeding pair; ones larger then the other and behaves different.
I'm not sure about the enclosure requirements to get them to mate; I have them in the largest Rubbermaid container that I could find. They have a sand side and a bark side with 2 water bowls allot of large bark for hiding a small basking light on one side connected to a timer and a small nighttime heat light on the other.
They might need a larger setup with a large pool, maybe the female needs her own area to feel secure, I really don't know.
I believe this species hibernates during winter, witch maybe I should simulate. Perhaps, by feeding them more during the fall to get them fat and then lower the daytime on the timer and maybe cut the heat light all together for a few months. Feed them less during the winter, then “wake them up” during the spring, spray them with some water lengthen the day ect.
I think the male is supposed to call to the females after some rain in the spring, I haven't heard any noise from mine yet at all.
Perhaps if i got more toads in one location the males would compete more for the females, I heard they sometimes form large group breeding groups in the wild.
If I am successful and they do court, and the female lays the eggs what do I do then? What would be the temperature requirements of the eggs and tadpoles? What do Colorado river tadpole's eat, is there anything else I should know about raising these toads from eggs?
If you have information about this species especially about captive breeding, can answer any of my questions, or have any good information or ideas that would be prevalent, Please respond to this post and/or E-mail me at
UberduderfromVtown@hotmail.com.
I don't know perhaps information about breeding other Bufo species would prove useful. Thank you,
Ed
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