How to care for North American Toads
An Overview of the North American Toad
North American toads are amazing animals, which for the right person, can make equally amazing pets. North American toads come from the genus Anaxyrus. This genus includes several species commonly kept as pets, such as American, Woodhouse’s, Western, & Southern toads, plus several others.
Before you consider acquiring a toad as your next pet, check your local laws. Since they are native animals in many regions, there may be limitations surrounding the keeping of toads.
Creating Your Toad’s Perfect Enclosure
Enclosure Size
Your toad’s enclosure should be large enough for them to move around and exercise. The recommended minimum enclosure size for juvenile toads is five to ten gallons. You may choose from a front-opening enclosure, such as an Exo Terra or a glass aquarium. As an adult, your toad should live in a 20+ gallon enclosure. This will provide your toad with ample room to hop around and stretch its legs. In an enclosure, you may have two or more toads of the same size and species. For each additional toad, you should add 20 gallons to the enclosure.
Substrate
A substrate is the bedding in your enclosure, and there are numerous options to choose from. First, you should decide whether your enclosure should be bioactive. A bioactive enclosure has soil, live plants, and invertebrates. All of these pieces work together to create a largely self-cleaning habitat. If you want your enclosure to be bioactive, you should do further research on this type of terrarium. For a bioactive substrate, you can use an ABG mix. For a standard enclosure, you should use a coconut fiber substrate. My favorite is Eco Earth, which comes in bags and bricks. You should change your eco earth whenever it is dirty, and spot clean whenever your toad defecates. (Often, your toad will go to the bathroom in its water bowl.)
Does Your Enclosure Need Heat?
You should keep your toad’s enclosure between 70°F (or 21°C) and 75°F (or 24°C). If the room in which your toad will live stays in this range at all times, you do not need to provide supplemental heating. Temperatures over 75°F can cause your toad harm. (In the wild, their habitat may be warmer than this, but they would get in the shade or a cool body of water.) Below 70°F, there is a chance that your toad will try to brumate.
Lighting Your Toad
Your toad needs a light source, but what kind? Unlike many reptiles and amphibians, toads in the genus Anaxyrus do not require UVB light. UVB is the light that allows an animal to produce vitamin D3, and then calcitriol. In turn, calcitriol allows the animal’s body to use calcium for necessary bodily functions. Many genera of toads, including Anaxyrus, can use synthetic vitamin D3. If you choose not to provide UVB light, you can add D3 to your toad’s diet. Your toad should have a consistent day/night cycle. This could be indirect light in the room or a reptile-specific light.
Ensuring Proper Hydration
Your North American toad must have access to clean, chlorine-free water at all times. Without this, your toad can die. You can easily treat tap water to make it chlorine-free. You should use Reptisafe Tap Water Conditioner, according to the instructions on the bottle. You can also use bottled water as long as it is chlorine-free, but this can be more expensive and harmful to the environment.
Plastic pollution is already harming wild toads, so please avoid contributing to this problem.
Your toad’s water dish should be large enough for your toad to fully submerse its body except for its nose and mouth. Here is a link to my toad’s favorite!
Humidity in the Enclosure
Each species of North American toad requires a different level of humidity. Here are a few general recommendations: American toads - approx. 50%, Woodhouse’s toads - approx. 50%, Southern toads - approx. 50%, Oak toads - approx. 60%. For other species of North American toads, you can research the climate data in their native range. To increase the humidity, mist the enclosure with a spray bottle of dechlorinated water. To decrease it, mist the enclosure less often.
Now your enclosure is ready for your new pet toad!
Feeding Your North American Toad
North American toads are insectivores, meaning that they eat live insects. They should eat a large variety of insects, to keep their lives interesting and ensure that they get all the needed nutrients.
Staple Insects for Your Toad
There are several staple insects that you should offer to keep your toad happy and healthy. These include:
- Dubia Roaches — These insects are high in protein and low in chitin. They’re illegal in Florida and Canada.
- Black Soldier Fly Larvae (aka BSFL or Nutrigrubs) —These are not as high in protein, but are very high in calcium.
- Mealworms — These insects don’t have a huge amount of protein. They do have lots of chitin. Chitin is what makes up the exoskeleton, which can be more difficult to digest.
- Crickets — Crickets are not the most nutritional insect. They are easy to find, but they don't smell the best. You can offer them occasionally, but not at every feeding.
The insects which you feed your toad should be similar in length to the distance between your toad’s eyes.
How Often & How Much Should You Feed Your Toad?
Age is a major factor that determines how often your toad should eat. For young toads, less than a year old, you should offer food every 2–3 days. For toads over one year of age, offer food every 3–4 days. At each feeding, offer what your toad will eat in a sitting. If your toad is gaining weight too quickly or slowly, adjust the amount and frequency of your feedings.
Supplementing Your Toad’s Diet
Supplementation is essential to your toad’s health and wellbeing. The supplements you should use depend on whether or not you use UVB light in your toad’s enclosure.
If you are using UVB light: Dust all of your toad’s insects with calcium without vitamin D3, such as this one.
If you are not using UVB light: Dust all of your toad’s insects with calcium with vitamin D3, such as this one.
Regardless of your lighting: You should dust your toad’s insects with a reptile multivitamin every 5 feedings instead of calcium. Here is a recommended brand.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a toad may be the perfect pet for you! Although this guide is very in-depth, it is recommended that you research using a variety of resources before bringing home a North American toad. If you do your research and are dedicated to caring for your toad, it should thrive!
View all the products mentioned in this guide!
If you would like to view all the products recommended here for North American Toads, please visit this link. If you purchase from that list of products, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. This allows me to keep creating pet care articles like this one.
Sources:
- USGS. What Causes Deformities in Frogs, Toads, and Other Amphibians? United States Geological Survey, 2021, www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-causes-deformities-frogs-toads-and-other-amphibians?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products.
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2021. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed at https://animaldiversity.org.
