SOUTHERN TOAD CARE SHEET Anaxyrus terrestris
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Southern Toads are like a bouquet of toads! Ranging in stunning colors of dark brown to vibrant red. A common backyard friend to those of southeastern United States. From wild to captive toads, you can win them over with food. I have found these toads to make great garden friends and indoor captive bred pets.
CAPTIVITY DIFFICULTY: Beginner
LIFE SPAN: 10-12 years
ACTIVITY: Southern Toads are predominately nocturnal, while sometimes being active at dusk. During the day Southern Toads spend their time resting in burrows and under brush. At dusk, these toads emerge from their craters to explore, soak, and hunt.
ENCLOSURE: Southern Toads require a large amount of loose soft substrate for proper burrowing. 6-8 inches (15-20cm) is recommended, if not more. Toads greatly enjoy burrowing into the roots of live plants. While this may damage the plant, it is great enrichment for captive toads. I have had good experiences with Parlor Palms, Alligators Ferns, and White Jewel Dracaenas. The hardiest plant has always been the pothos. For a step by step guide to preparing plants for your enclosure, click the button below.
Multiple hiding place are needed. From logs, aquarium décor, wooden hides, and any structure that “hides” your toad on three sides. A minimum of 2-3 hides are ideal to give your toad a variety of places to rest in. A large water bowl is needed to allow proper hydration. Southern Toads can be quite clumsy so having a bowl with a ramp in and out has worked best in my experince. Exo Terra and Zoo Med provide a variety of selections with ramps. Clean, freshwater must always be available. This may require changing of the water daily. If using tap water, water conditioner must be used. This removes harmful chemicals and makes the water safe for your amphibian. Directions vary so be sure to read the label before using.
SIZE OF ENCLOSURE: A minimum of a 20-gallon terrarium for two Southern Toads, but larger is recommended. I have found having a front opening enclosure to be beneficial in limiting stress of the toad when maintaining the enclosure. As prey animals, toads may be startled when reaching over the tops of their heads.
HUMIDITY: 60-70%
TEMPERATURE: Daytime temperatures of 72-80 degrees F (22-27 C) are ideal. A basking light is not needed. Southern Toads thrive at room temperature.
Nighttime temperatures should never drop below 60 degrees F (15 C), and should typically stay above 65 degrees F (18 C). A low watt heat emitter, scheduled for the times the temperature drops too low. Excess heat leads to the drying out of the enclosure and can be deadly to amphibians!
LIGHTING: Southern Toads are primarily nocturnal. Despite this, visible light must be provided for 12 hours daily to maintain your toads natural circadian rhythm. 12-13 hour light cycles mimic summer conditions and can prevent brumation. Shorter light cycles of 8-10 hours mimic winter months which can result in symptoms like hunger strikes. A full spectrum grow light is best to sustain plant growth within your enclosure.
A heat lamp is never necessary unless temperatures drop below 65° F. A low wattage heat emitter set on a timer may be used in winter months. Unnecessary heat can result in drying of the enclosure, which may be fatal to amphibians.
UVB lighting is an essential aspect to the wellbeing of certain captive reptiles and amphibians. However, the quantity of which each species requires has not been heavily researched. Exposure to UVB allows for the synthesis of vitamin D3 within their skin. An essential micronutrient needed to metabolize calcium for healthy bone development, muscle function, immune function, and overall growth. Vitamin D may also be obtained through diet. It is dependent on the species whether diet supplementation of D3 can sustain proper vitamin D values. Too great of UVB exposure can have negative effects including but not limited to ocular damage and cancer. There is currently no research that specifies whether Southern Toads benefit from UVB lighting more than diet supplementation. Due to this lack of information, a safer route of providing your toad with Vitamin D would be through the diet. Continue reading to the “supplement” section for more important information on calcium and vitamin D3.
FEEDING: Southern Toads are primarily insectivores but are opportunistic, voracious eaters as they grow to adulthood. Mature toads may consume small mammals including pinkies and smaller amphibians. This is an important reason to only house toads of similar sizes together. Juvenile to fully mature toads require a diet consisting primarily of crickets or roaches. These insects are high in protein and low in fat. Horn worms may be provided occasionally as a snack, but do not provide much nutrition as they are ~90% water. Avoid mealworms and super worms as their hard exoskeleton made of chitin is difficult for amphibians to digest and they are higher in fat. Wax worms are also a poor choice due to their high fat percentage.
Juvenile toads should be fed daily. To determine what size of insect you should provide, an easy trick is to provide insects their fit between the toad’s eyes. As your toad’s growing slows, a feeding schedule every other day or 2-3 times weekly. The amount provided per feeding varies depending on each toad’s needs. For growing toads, placing them out of their enclosure into a separate bin and allowing them to eat as many insects as wanted for 10 minutes is a good method. As toad’s mature, adjust amount fed based on your toad’s body condition. Obesity is common in Southern Toads, be sure to not over feed.
SUPPLEMENTS: A vital aspect of maintaining your amphibian’s health in captivity is supplementing their diet with powdered vitamins and minerals. Meeting proper habitat requirements alone will not provide essential nutrients for them to thrive.
Powdered supplements should be dusted onto your amphibian’s meal at nearly every feeding. Calcium is an important nutrient amphibians receive primarily from supplementation. Proper calcium levels allow for healthy bone development, muscle, immune, and nerve function. Without proper calcium supplementation, toads can develop nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (NSHP) or more commonly known as metabolic bone disease (MBD). NSHP is the reason for the clinical manifestation that is MBD commonly seen in captive reptiles and amphibians. Here the parathyroid glands overcompensate for the lack of calcium, ultimately resulting in bone weakening as the body essentially “steals” calcium from the bones.
Thankfully with a proper diet, NSHP can be avoided altogether. Powdered calcium supplements are commonly sold in two forms, with vitamin D3 and without D3. Vitamin D3 is crucial micronutrient that aids in proper calcium absorption. Amphibians obtain vitamin D3 in two ways, through the diet and through synthesis within their skin from UVB exposure. Since UVB exposure within captivity for amphibians is extremely limited, the safest way to ensure your frog has vitamin D3 is through their diet.
Other important micronutrients include vitamin A. Multivitamins contain these needed nutrients. A recommended supplementation for a frog includes calcium without D3 twice weekly, calcium with D3 once weekly, and multivitamin once every two weeks.
HOW TO SEX: Males tend to be smaller and have dark colored throats. This is where their throat expands when producing a mating call. Only Males produce this high pitch trill.
Females tend to be large than males and do not produce any vocalizations other than a small chirp if startled.
SIZE: The typical length for an adult Southern Toad is 1-3.5 inches (2.5-9cm) but depends on sex as stated above.
I AM NEW TO FROGS, ARE THEY GOOD FOR BEGINNERS?
Southern Toads are wonderful for beginners! In terms of care, they are extremely easy to keep but they are not the best option if you are looking to handle often.