Quote:
Originally Posted by snowgyre
Meaghan, if you wait until spring you can find some toad tadpoles to metamorphose into froglets. You would have to feed pinhead crickets and/or fruit flies until they're big enough to eat larger prey items. It could help with any parasite worries but does require some more work.
I'm generally reluctant to recommend wild caught anything as pets, but American toads are super abundant, super easy to care for, and generally live a long time. I'm not sure I would spend money at the vet office for something like this, but certainly an thorough and honest examination of your husbandry is in order just in case something went wrong on your end. You can also dose any individuals you find with panacur dewormer, there are multiple dart frog websites that will help you with dosage for the size of the toad you find.
A wild caught adult male American toad was my first pet as a child and I have fond memories of the species. While Aaron is technically correct to recommend veterinary visits for wild caught specimens, realistically most vets don't have a clue what they're doing with reptiles, let alone amphibians. Make sure your husbandry is right, use a little bit of dewormer to start with (keep the toad in a smaller quarantine enclosure so worms and parasites aren't excreted into the main enclosure), use quality captive bred feeder insects, don't overfeed, and you should be good to go.
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This is terrible advice. I am an admin to a decent group of frog and toad keepers and many toads have died that were "perfectly fine". If you keep wild animals as pets they should be given the same care as captive frogs. American toads are very difficult to keep in captivity. Honestly, I would not recommend this species as a starter because they die quickly from an abundance of parasites. While they can live 40+ years they normally last about 1-3 years by most keepers. It's usually keepers that choose not to have their animals seen by a vet being the main reason they die. If you don't believe me you can check out the group I'm an admin to and see in 3 months the death toll of American toads that's still increasing.
A vet will know more then a hobbyist 100% of the time. A hobbyist doesn't have the resources a vet does. Do not listen to those who don't take the animal to a vet. While some vets are not good it is very important to research the vet you are going to and if you have to make a longer than expected trip to the vet it is with it rather than starting over.
We should be promoting hobbyists to care for their pets the best they can. I am strongly against the " good enough" mentality. Imagine not taking a stray dog to the vet. Sure it may live a few years, but why not give the dog the best care that you can possibly provide? The same should go for a wild toad (that many people can't keep alive more than a year in captivity).
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