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Seeking out toads is hard...

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godtiermeme

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My lovely baby American Toad died a week ago. :( I don't know what happened. She was happy and healthy one day, then the next she was suddenly bright red on her bottom. Then, on Sunday, I picked her up and she died in my hand. I'm absolutely gutted, and I'm planning on starting up a bioactive to make my next buddy's life even better. Ideally, I'd love to have another American toad or a similar little pal, but it seems nobody bothers breeding American toads. I also can't find any Southern, Western, Great Plains, etc. Where would I find these? I'd prefer not to abduct one from the wild...
 
Did you take the toad to the vet? Did you get a fecal sample done? In most cases in captivity native frogs and toads die from a build-up of parasites.

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I unfortunately didn't have time. The toad was dead within a day of symptoms. :( She'd been perfectly healthy until then, but I had unfortunately assumed that she was fine. That's why I'm hoping to find a captive toad.
 
godtiermeme said:
I unfortunately didn't have time. The toad was dead within a day of symptoms. :( She'd been perfectly healthy until then, but I had unfortunately assumed that she was fine. That's why I'm hoping to find a captive toad.
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The same thing can happen with another toad. It would be best to wait until you can get the next toad a vet that will examine it. The toad never seeing a vet and being wild guarantees it had wild parasites. Even though it looked healthy to you it wasn't internally. Moving forward captive-bred or wild-caught, I would make sure you look to find health care for the next pet you get. Or keeping frogs and toads might not be a good decision.

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I will definitely take the next one to a vet, but I am looking for information on where to get one that is captive bred. Otherwise, I'd like to know about similar species. I know that I made a mistake by not taking my toad, but after seven months I'd assumed she'd be safe. I've already found out that an amphibian vet is just down the street from me.
 
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.
 
snowgyre said:
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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I have gotten a number of high-quality captive bred amphibians from Josh's Frogs, as well as supplies. Here is a link to their toad page.

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/animals-for-sale/toads.html

I recommend the Oriental Fire-Bellied Toads. I have had success keeping this species long term. Their care is a bit different from an American Toad, as they are smaller and semi-aquatic.
 
godtiermeme said:
Hm. They seem to get rather large, though. And don't they have some pretty bad toxins?
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I really don't know specifics about Bufo. I think that if you're committing to CB American species (a good goal, IMO) you're likely going to have to make some compromises.

I agree with Vanessa's advice overall. I share the same reluctance to suggest WC anything, but the tadpole advice is -- again -- a responsible compromise. Please don't ever release a captive animal back into the wild, though -- it is illegal in some states, and irresponsible everywhere.

I agree wholeheartedly that vet care for amphibians (herps in general, really) is a minefield. Vets not well educated in exotics care can and do, repeatedly and blatantly, more harm than good. One reason why hobbyists can know much more than some vets is that many hobbyists (considered as a group) are much, much more knowledgeable about captive care protocols, which is the cause of the majority of captive herp ailments.

A dedicated, experienced exotics vet is a completely different matter -- these folks are to be sought out, and taken very seriously. I do agree that vet care is important, and if you are keeping any species, you should provide it all the vet care it needs, but only from a qualified provider.

You can find many of those knowledgable providers by searching at ARAV:

https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661
 
godtiermeme said:
I will definitely take the next one to a vet, but I am looking for information on where to get one that is captive bred. Otherwise, I'd like to know about similar species. I know that I made a mistake by not taking my toad, but after seven months I'd assumed she'd be safe. I've already found out that an amphibian vet is just down the street from me.
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The link provided is a great tool for searching for a hep vet. Most vets that do treat frogs know more than most keepers. The other benefit is unlike any hobbyist they can order medicine that a regular person can't get. This is in serious cases, but it is to be noted.

If the vet you choose doesn't seem to be able to help you, you can ask for a referral to a vet as well. Depending on what state you are in I know Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina have accredited vets. This means they are the best of the best. There are one or two in many states and some states have none that are as experienced.

I travel for two hours to take my toads and other amphibians to an accredited vet. Many people think that I am overboard with some viewpoints, but I am generally only interested in the best care for the animal and for every keeper to learn or become more aware of new information. I am still learning and there are many things I have yet to learn, but that is the case with every scientist and hobbyist. There were things I became aware of only after taking my toads to see a herp vet and that's why I push for others to see one. While many hobbyists have good knowledge, it is not the same as holding a degree regardless of a herp vet, herpetologist, or zoologist.

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Gotcha. I looked and funny enough the vet i mention is a herp vet. There's even a frog on their sign.:) Thank you for the help!
 
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