FBT Size and Color?

[Tango-n-Toads]

I have had 2 FBT for a few months now and they are still quite small. They super suck hardcore at catching crix so I have been feeding them in a bucket so I can monitor their intake.

How quickly are they supposed to grow? Here's a pic of my guys so you can see that they are still tiny.



Also, their bellies are not red. Why is this? Do they turn red when they get to a certain size or age, or are they lacking something in their diet?



Thanks

[GekkoGeck0]

I have heard before that captive bred FBTs often don't have bright orange or red bellies, something about their diet in the wild provides the brighter colouration.

I'm not sure if anything can be done about it at this point. Nonetheless, those are some adorable toads you have there!

[Tango-n-Toads]

I also have to ask, are all toads really sucky at catching crix? I put my 2 in a bucket with about 8 crix and can sit there for an hour, easily, and they will only catch 1-2 each during that time.

One of the spends more time trying to get out of the bucket than actually trying to catch the bugs.... and it's the smaller of the two.

[Double J]

Why not feed them in their tank?

[Tango-n-Toads]

The tank is almost all water and the crickets are too stupid to stay on the land. I lost too many crickets trying that....

[Double J]

If there is not enough land for the crickets... then there is likely not enough land for the frogs. I suggest getting a nice piece of corkbark and floating it in your tank. It will look great, last forever, and provide plenty of land without sacrificing water.... as after all... it floats! Then, your crickets will have far more room to roam... with a far lower chance of them entering the water... and you will not have to take out your frogs every time you want to feed them. I would think that the reason they are not concentrating on the bugs when in the bucket is because they think they are vulnerable to predation, as they have no cover. They would feel far more comfortable hunting in their own cage with the cover it provides. Thus, a loating piece of corkbark would be an excelent answer to your concerns, and create far less work for you.

Good luck.

[Tango-n-Toads]

I have some large rocks in there for land right now. I used to have 1/2 land 1/2 water and I would CONSTANTLY have crickets drowning... then I went to mostly land and just a pool and they were STILL finding their way into the water and drowning.

They are such a pain. I enjoy my new setup the best. There are lots of places out of the water for the frogs to sit. The reason I said there's not enough for the crickets is because it doesn't seem to matter how much they have, they always end up in the water.

Where can I get some of that corkbark? I have also seen large silk/plastic lilly pads that would look nice. I might invest in one of those also.

Here's a pic of my current setup.

[Double J]

Most pet shops in Ontario carry it... even super pet and petsmart... but things may be quite different in Nova Scotia....