Sonoran Desert Toad / Colorado River Toad, Bufo alvarius aka Ollotis alvaria - Care Information and Breeding

[John]

Arizona won't let anyone take them out of the state legally, so you are limited in your options. Provided you've never kept them with or near (by near I mean in the same building as) other amphibians, it's possible you could release them locally. However, you will want to call Arizona Fish & Game to confirm that releasing them would not be in contravention of local laws. Obviously you can't release them at the moment - it will have to wait until the weather warms up.

You don't have to hibernate them. At that age I would just keep them warm and awake until spring time and provided your inquiries prove positive regarding release, then release them in late March or April when the first spring rainstorms come.

[JMeToadMum]

Arizona won't let anyone take them out of the state legally, so you are limited in your options. Provided you've never kept them with or near (by near I mean in the same building as) other amphibians, it's possible you could release them locally. However, you will want to call Arizona Fish & Game to confirm that releasing them would not be in contravention of local laws. Obviously you can't release them at the moment - it will have to wait until the weather warms up.

You don't have to hibernate them. At that age I would just keep them warm and awake until spring time and provided your inquiries prove positive regarding release, then release them in late March or April when the first spring rainstorms come.

I kind of figured you would say that. I'll research laws about releasing them. Any suggestions on keeping them warm while they are so little? I was thinking about a heat rock as I was afraid a heat lamp might get too hot...?

[JMeToadMum]

Here is a picture of one of the bigger ones. (I am 90% sure these are Sonoran Desert Toads, if they aren't, please let me know).
Two have died and I am worried that I am doing something horribly wrong...

[John]

At this point you need to create your own thread. This area is meant for comments on the care article, not for general queries.

[Rabbit87]

Good article, We recently got 5 of them. We think 4 are male and we have 1 female. Although we are unsure. Is there a way to determine the difference between the two?
We are hoping to be able to breed them and sell them for reasonable rates so more people can enjoy them as pets.

[newinAz]

One of these guys lives in a crack seperating my patio from my cooldeck. He comes out at 9:30 sharp every night & heads for the pool. My skimmer comes on at 7am & I go yank the basket & dump him back near his 'crack' where he backs in. Should I be concerned about him being harmed in the skimmer or just leave him alone? I was thinking maybe I should ask around as to the whereabouts of a desert pond? I'm worried about him...

[John]

I am not quite sure what a skimmer looks like and how it works, so I can't really answer your question I'm afraid. Can you describe hot it works/moving parts/sharp bits/crushing potential?

[newinAz]

Hi John, Thanks for replying! Basically it's the square cutout you see in any pool where debris floating on the surface of the water is sucked into a basket. Our pool guy says he finds them dead in there once in a while. Last night, I put a large clay bowl filled with water & a few rocks in his pathway to the pool & I didn't find him in the skimmer basket this morn. I moved here a week ago & haven't got a clue as to where to find a pond for him but I'm still inquiring. There's a hotsprings nearby but I don't guess that'd be a good choice. Any suggestions?

[John]

They are probably drowning in there rather than anything else. As for the hot springs, I wouldn't put the toad there.

[cdave89]

^{i just recently got one of these awesome toads and had a few care questions and was hoping some one could help me out.
1) is it ok to keep a red animal light on the toad at night ? It gets kind of cold in my house at night and i want to keep his cage warm i use a blue one durnign the day.
2) is it ok to feed him other frogs? I was thinking like the simple fish take frogs that you buy at the pet store i have been feeding him crickets and large catapillers but want to give him a treat.
3) how do i telll if it is male or female i have just been calling him he but i really am not sure.
Thank you much}

[earthtiger]

John,

great care sheet you wrote up here! Very informative - many thanks for your effort!

I have some further questions regarding raising the small toadlets:
Which temperatures would you recommand for freshly metamorphosed troadlets? Same as for the tadpoles (29C)? How should a tank for small toadlets look like? Lot's of places for hiding, e.g. leaf litter? More humid than the one for the adults? Do the tend to drown in a water bowl? How many would you keep in one tank / rearing box? Do you have photos of a tank for the toadlets?

kind regards,
Martin

[geohill]

@ John: Thank you for the overview and the good tips. It is a pity that the photos are no longer visible. Maybe you could insert that again?