Christmas Toads

[Linds]

OK...so we got these cute as a button wee little things in the store the other day labelled "Christmas Toads" and the name indeed is suited to these little guys. They look like those little regular brown toads I see around here in the summer (not sure what the name is - but I've only ever seen one species of toad in Ontario), except they are red, green and yellow. They are absolutely tiny, and since I don't know anything about them, I was planning to do some research and learn about these miniature little guys. As it sits now I can't even answer simple questions like if they are their adult size or what their lighting requirements are. I punched it into a search engine and came up empty. In addition, I may even want to bring one of these little guys home withme, but no way I can even think about that untilo I know about them and their husbandry requirements. Is there another name they might be known by? Does anyone know anything about these little guys? Right now largest of the bunch is *maybe* 1/2" in length.

[Paul McCleary]

'Christmas Toads' have been sporatically available in the local market for many years. They are a small species >>> even smaller than the Red-Spotted Toad (Bufo punctatus) - a Mexican/American species that they superficially resemble. I believe that these little toads originate from steppes in South America - probably Paraguay...

I don't recall their species name, though I'm quite sure that they are a Bufoid.

I do recall, however, that only wild-caught specimens are available and successful, long-term maintenance may be difficult. In addition, I have found no literature citing any captive breeding efforts.

Our quest for more information continues...

[Linds]

Thanks for the info! It helps alot, I now have a little more to go on in finding out the more specific details of these little guys. :D

[V.aw]

We got them in in my store as well....... I can't be sure i dont know much about toads or amphibs as a whole, but i believe the more common name is firebelly toad. correct me if iam wrong though

[Paul McCleary]

Nah, the vernacular of 'Fire-bellied Toads' is typically used to describe those semi-aquatic Eurasian anurans of the genus Bombina whereas 'Christmas Toads' are a terrestrial species (as adults) from South America...

[Linds]

Wow it's extremely difficult to find any inof on these guys! I've so far been able to come up with the following info:

-Christmas Toads (Bufo Variegata)
-adult size ~1"
-captive lifespan is usually measured in weeks, they don't seem to feed well in captivity, and even if you can get them to feed, they often die without apparent reason
-prefer to be kept at cooler temps, dry land setup w/high humidity (which is hard to maintain high humidity in cool dry setup... possibly this is the reason for their poor survival rate?)
-usually feed on fruit flies, pinhead crix, etc

This was all I could find after hours and hours of searching, thank you Paul for giving me the little bit of info that led me to these findings ;) I still have yet to find anything on their habits (ie- nocturnal, burrowing, etc). My search continues........:)

[DBHerper]

I have worked with "Christmas Toads" and was able to keep a group of 8 alive for two years before I sold them so I will share with you my experiences. These little guys seem to be very social and do fine in groups even in small spaces. I kept mine alive on a steady diet of pinhead crickets, flightless friut flies, and live yubifex worms(little red things). These little toads don't take very well to being kept to wet. I would mist them lightly evryday but I would never let it get too wet. I did keep a standard cool while fluorescent light on them because I found they were more active with it. A shallow bowl of fresh water should be at their disposal at all times. I used a mix of forest bedding and sheet moss so they could dig if they chose to. There is very little literature on these little guys so if you have anymore questions just give me a ring.