How to Raise an American Toad

Learning how to care for an American toad is tricky. This type of toad can be very difficult to raise in captivity so you need to put extra effort and time to make your pet happy and healthy. If you want to keep your American toad healthy, you need to give it proper habitat and nutrition. You must also keep its home clean and sanitary.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 10 to 20 gallon aquarium
• Dirt
• Refuge material, such as plants and tree bark
• Chlorine free water
• Rocks of various sizes
• Small lunch box
• Bugs, insects, small animals
• Spray mist bottle

1. Find a suitable habitat for your American toad. Look for a 10 to 20 gallon aquarium. A 5-gallon aquarium may be too cramped for your toad.

2. Place at least two inches of dirt in the aquarium. Also, put in some form of refuge for the toad such as leafy plant or tree bark. Coconut fiber can also be used as additional place of refuge for the toad. You can find these natural accessories in most pet stores. However, if you have plenty of greenery and trees in your backyard, then you can use natural materials that you find on the ground.

3. Purchase a lamp with a UV-admitting light bulb to keep over the aquarium. Make sure it is a safe amount of UV for the toad. The best place to buy this light is from a pet store. The light will help the toad digest its food.

4. Get a small rectangular lunch box and make sure that your toad can comfortably swim in it. Bury the lunch box in the dirt so that the pool will be level with the ground. Fill the makeshift pool with chlorine free water, as chlorine can instantly kill the toad. Bottled mineral, spring, or distilled water is best. Even fresh rain water is okay to fill up the pool.

5. Pick up some rocks of all shapes and sizes. It would be best if you can find a long and flat rock. Place these rocks at the corner of the aquarium. Make sure that your toad will have enough space to burrow under the rocks. Toads also like to hide in hollowed logs, which you can find makeshift varieties in a local pet store.

6. Feed the toad live and moving insects, bugs, and small animals. You can either catch these creatures to keep your toad nourished, or buy them at a pet store. Toads like to eat houseflies and bugs. If you have a big toad, it can handle earthworms, small mice, as well as bigger bugs. Toads will not eat animals or insects that do not move. If you will give dead insects to your toad, find a way to move the dead creature so that your pet will catch it. You should never give fireflies to your toad because these insects are harmful.

7. Feed the toad three times a week with sufficient servings of bugs, insects, and small animals. With enough food to eat, your toad will stay healthy and satisfied.

8. Keep the toad's aquarium clean. One of the best ways to keep the toad tank clean is to replace the water of the makeshift pool everyday.

9. Check the level of moisture of the dirt. Toads love a moist and cool environment. You can use an ordinary hand sprayer to keep the dirt inside the tank moist. You can spray a mist of water on the dirt three or four times a week. Just make sure that the toad tank will not get muddy because your pet will not like it.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the food you give the toad is smaller than him.
• Learning how to care for an American toad is challenging at first, but if you follow these general guidelines, then you will be able to easily raise an adult toad in an aquarium.
• Toads in captivity generally live 4 to 15 years.
• Do not touch the toad very often. Oils from human fingers can actually harm a toad. Likewise, do not put any chemicals in the aquarium. Keep things natural.
• Toads do secrete a small amount of poison from the paratoid glands (on the sides of their head). It is generally nontoxic to humans, but can cause irritation to mouth and eyes, if wiped with hands.

Resources

• American Toad