# Frogs & Toads > Toads >  Little Brown Toads

## Cynere

A few weeks ago I scooped some tadpoles out of a local creek. I have been rearing them on spinach and occasional fish food flake in a 10 gallon aquarium. I now have nine fat little tadpole/froglets. One seemed to have issues with staying upright for a couple of days. I removed him to small, shallow bowl of water for 30 minutes and then returned him to the tank. He seems to have recovered 100%. All of them have front and back legs while a few are finishing up their tails.

This is my first go around with frogs or toads. I spent a while looking through tadpole identification guides and decided they are probably some kind of toad, maybe oak toads. I live in central Florida. These little guys are a medium brown with black spots, seen clearly with a bright light. 
At the moment I am housing them together with less than an inch of water and a sloping cardboard platform. They enjoy hanging out in the shallow water over the cardboard while the legged ones go a bit higher up. I am looking for a suitable top right now but the froglets don't seem to be able to climb the glass. Today I purchased some small crickets to maybe feed them, they are not pinhead crickets though and I am concerned they are too large. The fastest growing froglet still has a tiny numb of a tail since last night.



I have read the toad care article on this site but any suggestions would be appreciated. I want to make sure I do this right.

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frosty

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## Charlotte Benedict

For newly morphed toadlets, you should probably get a flightless fruit fly culture. They are very small and easy to feed to your guys. Since they still have tails, keep a large source of water still in the tank, but make sure they can get to land easily, about 50/50 land to water ratio. Their eyes look kind of like spadefoot toads... post more info as they evolve, and keep me posted!

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## Cynere

Thanks for the ID suggestion. I am keeping them with about that ratio of "land" to water with less than an inch of water as all have legs but some still are swimming mostly. I found this out, that the crickets looked like monsters next to them; I will be purchasing a fruit fly culture quickly. 
At least four froglets are spending most of their time on the land section. Very exciting, I have had them for 11 days so far. When I first got them they were pea-sized tadpoles with no legs. 
I really appreciate the information. I got pretty frustrated this morning messing with crickets. I will try ants until the fruit fly culture arrives. Hopefully I can get better pictures.

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## Cynere

Another question, the small insects that I have brought as offerings seem to want to drown themselves. I haven't seen much interest from the toads. Should I separate the tailed from the tailless to facilitate bug capturing?

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## Charlotte Benedict

I prefer feeding my frogs by tongs, but if the fruit flies are too small then either separate the tails from the tailess or just put them all in a different container for feeding time. Im glad I could help!

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## Charlotte Benedict

Also, be careful with catching outside critters. I understand you need to now since you don't have your fruit fly culture, but sometimes, rarely, they can have pesticides and other germs that will hurt your frogs. Once you get sanitary insects, don't give them any more outsides!

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## Cynere

I might separate them. The land-going ones are very skittish. Hm, any good place to get a fruit fly culture? It'd be nice to buy one locally but if not that's okay. I have a pet supermarket nearby but they don't offer them. Petco's site shows them as an online exclusive? Any good local or online sources?

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## Cynere

This morning my cardboard slope collapsed but all frogs and one tadpole were found sitting happily on top of it. I got a fantastic feeding response within seconds this morning after offering aphids. Luckily, we have a few grape vines that have heavy populations on them in some spots. We let the ladybugs control the aphids (they multiply rapidly when needed) and never spray them. I picked a tendril of grape vine covered in ants and aphids; most of the frogs went to town within seconds and the rest of them are watching their bold siblings with a learning eye. Finally, a food that is small and inviting enough.

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## Charlotte Benedict

Thats great about the aphids! Fruit flies are about that size, so you should have a good response from them too. I like Josh's Frogs, I order most of my supplies from there. Fruit Flies and Culturing Supplies - Feeder Insects & Supplies | Josh's Frogs  It is natural that the land-going ones are more skittish, since the water was their protection for so long.

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## Cynere

Thanks for the suggestion. Make sense, outside many things would like to eat them. My family thinks I am crazy and that frogs/toads should eat whatever I throw in there. It's difficult explaining to them that they have instincts to eat hoppy/crawly things and will starve if there is no food item available that fits this criterion. I am very excited that they are eating the aphids. It looks like Josh's is out of the melanogaster cultures for now though. Those seem most appropriate as they toadlets are so tiny and don't climb well at all. How far do flightless flies glide? Do you think these toads can catch them?

As a separate question, what kind of humidity levels should I be keeping them in. They seemed lethargic a couple days ago so I covered the tank in plastic, that perked them back up but it got foggy in there. Now I have the plastic on the tank but with a vented section, this seems to be working well enough for now. I can't find a screen or lid that allows for ventilation but won't let food items through. 



There were a lot more aphids on this branch. Of course all of the froglets have taken up residence together as far away from my face as possible. They seem to enjoy each others company or they are trying to make sure that their sibling possible gets eaten before them, I don't know.

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## Charlotte Benedict

Well, toads don't have to have high humidity levels, in fact they are comfortable far away from water hiding in leaves and forest floor debris. They may have perked up just because they are still going through the transition of wet to dry, so they may like it more humid while they are young. This is another website with feeder insects Buy Live Feeders, Insects, Crickets, Mealworms For Your Reptile there are a lot of good feeder insect websites out there. The fruit flies are so small, and they move only a little more than aphids, so the toadlets will have no problems catching them.

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## Cynere

I have paid for a fruit fly culture. There is only one late tadpole/frog left. Now may be a good time to change over to a more terrestrial substrate, with a little water bowl and some humid places. I am concerned about the somewhat stagnant water and paper towels as it has been a few days.

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## Charlotte Benedict

If the water is stagnant, or smelling at all, you need to change it. I just got some flightless fruit flies myself for my newly morphed frogs.  :Smile:

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## Cynere

It smelled kind of musty. I removed all the paper and changed the water out, rinsed the tank well while the froglets were in a bucket. They can apparently climb at least 4 inches up a smooth plastic bucket. Are they really toads? From what I have read, dark, Floridian tadpoles seem to be toads? I am not so sure. At the moment, all I have is white paper towels, I am aware they are not ideal but I guess it's better than slimy/musty water. How can I keep them from scaling 6 inches up the sides of the tank and then jumping back to the towels?

They are pretty active today hopping around occasionally, and sitting on each others heads. I wet the paper towels some and added a shallow lid of water with towel ramps. I put the tailed frog in the dish but he climbed out. Hopefully I am doing this okay.

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## Cynere

I got a closer picture of one of them. Still a little blurry, they don't like their picture taken. They appear to have horizontal pupils so I suppose they are not eastern spadefoot toads.

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## Heather

Awe, cute  :Smile:

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## Cynere

Thanks. : ) I still don't know what they are but that's okay. First toad poops ever today, I am so glad that they are eating something. Hopefully that culture gets here soon, I am bug hunting outside all day. If it's small enough for them to eat I invariably kill it catching it. I am also trying to feed stuff that won't crawl out. Need to find a fine mesh or something.
In this picture you can see the spots better.

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## Heather

I had the same trouble...we took plastic cups and skimmed the grass for bugs. Caught all kinds of them. Then just removed any that were too big and any spiders. Found all kinds of gnats and aphids.

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## Cynere

We have a lot of trees here so there isn't a whole lot of grass. Maybe I am just not a good grass skimmer. I have brought them black ants today but for the most part they are just stalking them. They get close enough and then back off if the ant crawls toward them. I have no idea if there is nonverbal toadlet communication happening or if they just don't like ants much.

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## Heather

Lol! Trying slicing an apple or an orange and place it in a cup outside. Maybe a few will fly in  :Smile: .

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## Cynere

I can try it but I am sure it will be full of ants. I found more usable bugs on the Walmart produce today, too bad I didn't bring a container.

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## Heather

True, I guess maybe try and hang it? 
I'd share some if you were close by. I'm in Pa. 
I have fruit flies, pinheads crickets and baby dubias. The dubias are likely too big yet though.

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## Cynere

Thanks for the thought. I should have a culture on the way. I have some crickets but they are just too big right now. The dubia roaches actually cannot be shipped to Florida (or owned in florida I believe), illegal. Everything roach-like prospers here.

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## Cynere

I had one toad eat a tiny earthworm today. They won't eat them if I cut them up, even if they move. I have also had three or so toads attempt to eat a cricket that I half mashed up so that it would kick its legs. They are carrying around the cricket like a dog and rope toy but he's just too big. I found some more aphids but these toads eat a lot. : )

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## Heather

Awe  :Smile: ! Awesome! You sure are putting forth the effort  :Smile: . Hopefully your cultures will arrive soon.

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## Cynere

I found some tiny beetles and isopods but they weren't interested at all in these unless I didn't see them eat them. The isopods look just like the "purple" variety sold on some feeder sites.

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## Heather

Hmmm, I don't know that I've seen those. Any word on your cultures arriving?

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## Cynere

Shipped early this morning from the same state so it shouldn't be long.

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## Heather

Yay!  :Smile:

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## Cynere

I'll just update with a picture.



I think it's cute when a lot of the toads sit in lines. They seem to like sitting on the leaves. I changed the paper towels out again today and washed the whole tank down. They didn't enjoy being in a bucket for a few minutes or being picked up by my gloved hands. All nine still kicking, one looks a little skinny to me, probably not as bold as the others. I'll have to fatten him up separately. Still have plenty of poop, they clean every aphid from the tendrils I bring.

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## Cynere

Well, my culture is in Jacksonville and it's the fourth of July. I hope they do okay.

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## Heather

Awe  :Smile: . So cute! Look at that adorable face  :Smile: . 

Maybe it will arrive today. I hope so. You've really done a great job with them!

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## Cynere

Well my culture arrived. It appears that it spent most of its trip upside down regardless of the "this side up" markings on the package. There are no live adults but some larvae and pupae remain.There is culture media pasted to half the screen as well. The mail carriers can be kind of dumb.
I fed some of the larvae to the skinnier ones anyway. 
Sender of the culture is very empathetic, so not a bad experience.

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## Heather

Will they send you another?

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## Cynere

Yes, they will send me another and I should be expecting Saturday-ish.

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## Cynere

Some more silly toad antics. They like these leaves; I don't even know how the one on top of the leaf got up there.

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## Karen aka mshine1217

I don't care what species they are, babies are so darn cute!!  :Smile:

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## mikeytoads

the microtoads will have a *much easier time eating melanogasters than hydei and you should seek those out.
you'll want at least a couple cultures; don't feed out all the flies at once or the culture will crash.
youl can feed the maggots from your arrived-upside down tub to the toadlets; they'll gobble them like candy.
i get mine from josh's frogs but they were out as you noted; last i checked they were getting more melanos july 3rd or so, so worth an inquiry; they respond very quickly in my experience.
Heather, did your survivors all survive?
i hope things turned out ok.

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## Cynere

Thanks, mikeytoads, I have fed some of the larvae from the upside down tub. They weren't terribly interested in those, they ate a few. Perhaps they weren't as interesting because they are coated in media? I shook out a couple emerged adults too for the sake of it, all of the toads are ecstatic about the flies. 

I did order melanogasters and they seem to be a very good size. I will be splitting the cultures up to make sure I have a few going all the time.

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## mikeytoads

if by media you mean the yeast/food sludge, yes, that's very possibly why, but i can't speak for your toads as that'd be fraudulent representation.
i'd toadally get sued.
 if you right the upended tub and let it sit it oughta still grow you some flies

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## Cynere

Yep, some flies have emerged. I received a replacement culture today as well, it arrived right side up. There are a few flies in the first culture but shaking them out produces globules of food sludge too. I think letting them both sit for a while might be good. I was sent a springtail culture as well as a nice gesture, I am not entirely sure what survived the trip - I imagine we'll see. 

I'm still hunting aphids, tiny worms and other crawlies every day for them. They are starting to not be very excited about aphids; I can only find the black ones that don't move a whole lot. They still relish the tiny black ants the accompany the aphids though. Sadly, these ants are too tiny to pick up. I end up feeding them by picking plant tendrils and dropping the leaf and tendril in the tank. Obviously some of the toadlets are fatter than others. They are picky little things. 

They really enjoyed the couple flies I dumped in there but I don't want to ruin any chances of the cultures doing well by feeding the whole, small adult population.

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## Cynere

Fly cultures are doing okay I think, I am excited about them blooming. My little toadlets are turning away from aphids. They are starting to be interested in my hand and tweezers. I don't feed them from the tweezers, just use them to move flies closer to the skinnier ones or pick up little bits of debris. 

The question of environment comes up. Right now I have them on paper towels and they are pooping for sure - lots of poop. When should I move them to something that doesn't foul so easily? I am out of paper towels today. And what? I have read some on soil, and the expandable eco-earth substrate. Should I include a layer of gravel or a simple false bottom if I intend to include plants?

Another question is that I have nine toadlets and a 10 gallon aquarium. I am unsure exactly what kind of toad they are but it isn't out of the question for them all to grow to 3 inches. I also need to make a two week long trip in August during which I don't believe that I can enlist anyone trustworthy to feed and water my toads. I cannot take them with me either. I have two options, I think.
1) Release them outside to feed themselves so they don't have to suffer at my hands.
2) Recreate a natural environment for them before I go with multiplying species of janitorial bugs and microfauna, add the fly cultures to the tank (so that the adults can escape but the frogs can't get in the culture) then hope that nature works as well inside my tank as it does outside. I am still considering how to make sure their water supply is clean enough. 

When I acquired tadpoles, I did not have this trip planned. I think maybe covering the tank with pantyhose would be better than a glass top, I don't want to fog them out. Right now I have the tank only partially covered with plastic. The AC runs here pretty much off an on all day and the house stays 77-78 degrees with occasional highs of 88. Any suggestions are welcome. These are my first toads/frogs ever and I think I am enjoying the experience a lot. If I could keep them, that would be my preference but I don't want to harm them either. I would choose releasing them over keeping them in a place where their needs are not met.

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## Cynere

Well, today I released 5 toadlets to our untreated garden where they immediately started eating ants. The toadlets still hate my guts so I imagine they will do fine. The other four I have kept, these are the fattest and biggest toads of the lot. They are happily munching down on flies. I figure four is a lot easier to maintain than nine; they eat a lot of food. I will be collecting supplies to set up a more natural environment for them soon. I have picked up a brick of eco earth and am sourcing some organic potting soil. 



These are the final four. The water bowl overflowed some after a toad and a leaf broke the suface tension.

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## Heather

Sounds like they're doing pretty well. 

Sorry I've been away. My tapatalk app wouldn't let me post, but all is fixed now  :Smile: .

I'll take a good look at them and see if I can tell their species. They sure are cute! It will be easier to choose proper housing knowing their species. 

A good start is cocoa fiber substrate, as you have mentioned  :Smile: . Basically a similar set up with leaf litter and a water bowl will be fine. Maybe a nice cave to hide in. They will likely burrow in the substrate, which is fine. I'd avoid gravel. Large rocks (bigger than them) can be used if you like to secure plants or for decor. A simple substrate change every 4 to 6 weeks will keep their house clean. 

Plants are fine. You have to completely rinse them of all fertilizers and the soil they come in and replant with substrate. Heavy plants are best bc these little guys are pretty tough when they grow up  :Smile: . You can also put the pot right in and cover it with substrate. Then they won't uproot your plant that way...more of a concern for later, being they are so small right now. 

Temps and humidity? For now, just try to keep their home at the approx temps it was when you found them outside within a plus or minus 5 degree temp higher or lower. An average range is about 75 to 80 degrees, but knowing their species is the best way to provide the perfect range for them. A Under Tank Heater (UTH) is an easy way to heat their home. Only place it on a side, not the bottom, so they don't bury and burn themselves. Most recommend placing it on the opposite side of the tank than the water bowl. This allows them to choose a warm or cold side since they can't regulate their own body temp. Toads in general prefer a drier environment as they get older. A super light mist is fine. The water bowl is best. 

A nylon top is fine for now since they're small. A screen top will be best once they are big enough to eat bugs that can no longer fit through the screen holes. A rock or heavy object, or heat lamp can hold the screen down later. Surprisingly, toads can climb  :Smile: . 

Let's see....am I missing anything? There is a good toad care sheet thread here. I'll look for it for you  :Smile: . 

A food bowl can be used later too, once you move up from fruit flies. Crickets can't climb glass or slippery sides. It keeps them from nipping at the toads, and from making babies in your substrate. Easier to clean too. They'll actually learn to wait at the bowl for food  :Smile: . It's so cute! I'll link a pic of our old toad Dumpy for you (waiting for food)  :Smile: . 

I'll reread through everything and see of I missed anything. They're pretty easy to care for. 

You're doing great so far!!!

We just let a bunch go free the other day too. I have my remaining 8 left.

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## Heather

Here is Dumpy  :Smile: 


He always reminded me of a grumpy little old man with that cute face, ha ha!  :Smile:

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## Cynere

Thanks Heather, our house's AC is set for 78 but it's frequently 79 inside. The humidity should be pretty low due to central AC. 
I did read the Bufo toad caresheet on the site. Dumpy is cute. : )

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## Heather

That temp should be fine. Yw  :Smile:

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## Cynere

I figured it was about time to update my toads' pad. I am getting tired of changing paper towels too. I have been putting this together for the past few days and I imagine it's time to post for suggestions an opinions. This is my first vivarium but I have had planted tanks before. I am hoping to plant this tomorrow with local species. Being this is Florida, we have common vivarium plants growing in the yard. I also have access to a few cool mosses that I hope to incorporate. 

I am aware that toads like a dry-ish habitat so I have created two zones. The left side is high and dry while the far right is very moist. The large water source is to ensure that they get their soaking needs without being too much maintenance. 



This is the full tank. The bottom is a 2" deep false bottom with eggcrate covered by a fine potato bag mesh. Above this layer is a nonfertilized soil without perlite, about 2" in the middle. The top layer is a layer of hydrated eco-earth.



This is the right side. It consists of an internal, motorized water filter sitting in the false bottom; smooth and large rocks; and a simple plastic water tray. I would like to cover the filter with moss or something. I have used some large rocks to cover the crevices around the filter as I have found that toads are not the smartest creatures. I am hoping to add some mosses to this area and perhaps duckweed. The water spills over the bowl to the right onto the rocks and seeps into the false bottom layer. I am thinking about how I could improve drainage over here but I guess it doesn't matter as long as there are plenty of dry spots for the toads. 



Last but not least is the left-hand, high and dry side. I would like to plant this to add shade and hiding places. I would also like to incorporate leaf litter into the tank as well.

I would appreciate any suggestions for drainage, humidity control, and toad proofing especially. Other comments are welcome as well. The toads are looking curiously at the tank as they hear the water running. I enjoy how curious and intelligent they are (within limits, a toad is only built to do so many things).

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## Cynere

In application the soil is too moist. I mixed the eco earth and soil together some and moved the water around so that it drained away from the dirt but I believe that it is still wicking into the soil instead of heading down. I did plant some interesting grasses in it though.

I am unsure that I will be able to make this dry before I leave. It looks like I will release the last four before I go.

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## Heather

Or you can take a nice wad of paper towels and soak some out. Looking good.

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## Cynere

The question though is, how dry does it need to be? Soaking out some water won't solve this issue if water from the pump is wicking into the dirt. It looks pretty but I want it to be a suitable environment as well.

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## Heather

I have mine at about 50%. Mine are still in their baby tank though with just the paper towels and some leaf litter. I mist only 1/2 of their tank lightly and provide the water dish. A great person to ask is UncleChester. My previous adult toad preferred it very dry with just a water bowl. The part I'd mist he usually stay out of. He did love to soak though. 

The average house room humidity is generally about 50% in the summer and a bit less in the winter due to furnace heat. 

Im not sure how you could dry it up. It's so pretty I think I'd keep the tank for a nice tree frog and make a standard terrestrial tank for the toads. It'd be quick and easy. They just need substrate, water bowl, a hide and some leaf litter. Maybe a couple plants to feel at home. Mine had a couple large rocks he used to like to sit on, I think bc they were nice and cool. Honestly, his favorite place to sit was in the food bowl, lol  :Smile: .

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## Cynere

Well it's been a while. The four I kept have grown a lot. I did leave for my trip and I did not find a suitable way to do the false bottom so I took out the water feature, gave a dish of water with rocks, placed the fly culture in the tank and doused the tank with flies before I left. When I came back there was some water still in the dish, probably from the towel I placed over the tank (staving off evaporation), the flies had died or been eaten but the culture is still slightly viable. Three of four toads were very fat and one was on the skinny side. I have been fattening that one up for the past 5 days.

These guys have been taking fruit flies, grasshoppers, worms and grubs with enthusiasm. 



They come to the glass now since I started tong-feeding them. They bite the tongs more than the food though.

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## Cynere

I released the last four today.

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## Heather

We just set our last 5 free last week  :Smile: . It was tough to see them go. Kept wanting to scoop them back up and take them into the house, but I did it and let them go. I reminded myself how happy they'd be in the great outdoors and then walked away with a smile  :Smile: . Hopefully they'll proliferate and we'll run into them and a few of their babies in the future  :Smile: .

Great job!

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## Cynere

I have definitely seen more toads outside recently but I think this is partly due to some rain we had that caused some standing water in a temporary pond in the backyard. Right now that temporary pond is teeming with tadpoles. I brought a few in because they looked different than my last batch, I'd like to see what they are.

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## Heather

Neat! I'll be waiting to see some pictures as they morph & grow  :Wink: .

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## Cynere

The consensus is in that these guys are frogs, of some kind. The question is, cuban or not? The toepads don't seem that large.



After these pictures I moved them to paper towels as they don't hop very well and I didn't want them drying out.

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## Crystal

I passed away from the cuteness of this thread, but I died happy.  Thank you so much!

Update on those frog tads would be cool, unless something bad happened, but you did so well with the toad ones, I highly doubt it.   :Smile:

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