# Frogs & Toads > Fire Belly Toads (Bombina) >  What is the best habitat for these little ones?

## Jace

I have five fire-bellies, and I recently took them out of their mostly aquatic habitat and placed them in a terriarium filled with driftwood, plants and two water dishes for them to merely sit it.  They get misted several times a day, and fresh water in their pool every morning.  Is this a good habitat for them, or should I have an equal land/water ratio?  I have included some pics of their new digs.  Would love anyone's opinions or thoughts.

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## John Clare

Seems fine to me.  You don't need to mist them much though - they aren't very moisture demanding if they have pools.

Do they have a nice screen lid?

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## tattooed81

There little escape artist. I would hate to find one of mine dried up in a corner somewhere. Make sure that you have a secure lid on that terarium.

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## Iceni

I can't get a good impression of the overall size of the tank from your pictures. It could either be a large tank or a small one as all the pictures are of the same corner  :Big Grin: 

Looking at the setup It's damp, wet in places, Clean, and has some cover. A few hides might not go amiss, But otherwise they look happy enough.

The bark might be a concern, It's a coarse hardwood, and as such the particle size is very variable. These frogs are very very clumsy eaters and if they were mine I would not want them to eat any of that substrate. Personally our firebellys have a layer of damp coconut husk, The particles are super fine and should present no problem if eaten at all. 

Don't tale my word for it tho. My opinion is simply my opinion, and I'm not qualified or massively experienced. John who is an expert with frogs has given it the thumbs up so it's probably me worrying over nothing  :Big Grin:  :Big Grin:

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## John Clare

Thank you for calling me an expert!  I actually don't consider myself an expert with fire-belly toads.  However this species is tough as old boots so it's hard to go badly wrong.  I think your concerns about the substrate may be valid Iceni.

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## Jace

Thanks for the reponses.  And sorry about the pics-I didn't realize they were all pretty much the same.  I have included three more that give a better idea of what they are in.  I never thought of the substrate being a problem, but I will keep an eye on them to see if they have problems with swallowing it.  The enclosure can be opened either from the top-it has a snap in place screen-or from the front-the doors are latched close.  I have closed the vents, as I have had a problem with these guys escaping in the past.  However, I think they will be okay, as they recently started barking and cooing again last night after two days of silence.  Good sign I hope!!

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## Jumpshot724

My first set-up was just like that. A terrarium with a big water bowl to sit in. After about 3 months I changed it.

Now it's a 50/50 water/land vivarium, live plants etc. I've had them in this set-up for over a year and I can tell you that when I made this change, my 7 FBTs became MUCH more active, "Happy" (starting calling and amplexing), and generally became brighter in color.

That being said FBTs are very hardy, tough as nails amphibians and there's not much you can do wrong. They will indeed thrive in that kind of set-up but imho, a larger water feature (with filter etc) will make them MUCH happier.



Also not for nothing, I found that changing the water bowl daily (which you will HAVE to do or they will tox-out) became a pain. With my new viv I have live plants and a filter, so much if not all of the bombesin is taken out of the water, thus I never have to change the water just top it off with fresh when the level gets low. This also means I don't have to clean my tank pretty much ever, I do it once a year and that works     :Stick Out Tongue:

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## Jace

I'm already thinking of changing it...I have checked out several set-ups that I really like and would like to try.  I'm not sure about live plants though...my green thumb is more brown than green when it come to plants in aquariums...sigh.

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## Jumpshot724

Oh trust me, I have more of a brown thumb too. I just got two cheap plants from Home Depot, don't even know what they're called. One of them is just big bright green leaves that look like spades (from a deck of cards) and grows very fast and vinelike, I have to trim him every 2 months. The other is some kind of cool stalk plant with long slender leaves that are brigt red with green splotches, that one hasn't really grown or died.

Regardless I don't do ANYTHING to either of them. They get their fertilizer from the toads droppings, water from the water feature, and in turn they soak up the bombesin and keep my tank on a whole clean.

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## Kurt

I, too, have a brown thumb, but I have managed to keep some bromeliads alive in some of my frog enclosures. I got them for $3 each from Black Jungle. I have no idea what kind they are.

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## Jace

As soon as I manage to dig up a spare tank, I will definately try another set-up.  I am still stalling on live plants though....would silk plants be cheating??  What about Java fern/moss?  I had some success with that in my community tank a couple of years ago.  Either that, or I'm just going to hire a gardener....

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## John Clare

Neither Java fern or Java moss will live out of water for long, particularly Java fern.  Java moss has a chance if it is kept moist.  I like Pothos for everything.  Wandering Jew is good too.  Try this page by Jennifer Macke at Caudata.org:  Plants I Like in Aquariums and Terrariums

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## Jace

Thanks, John.  Very helpful and I will definately keep her suggestions in mind.  As if the toads aren't spoiled enough!!

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## John Clare

Well I think you are doing the right thing.  One aspect of keeping frogs and toads that isn't immediately apparent to many people is that you can create a very beautiful little "garden" in your vivarium and this can be quite a focal point in a living room or other part of the home.

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## Jace

My goal is to create the most natural environment for the species.  My fish aquariums are the same-no plastic skulls for me!  But finding the balance between what is best for the frogs/toads and what is easy to upkeep is a bit of a challange.  I'm just happy to hear them barking again.  I was worried I overstressed them with the huge change, but they are singing to be right now-and belly flopping in their water dishes.  Still, I am not quite as satisfied with the set-up as I though I would be.  I have a feeling by the weekend I'll have changed it once again.

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## Ribbet

Good info, thanks.

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