Pet Fire-Bellied Toad Guide: What To Know

Before Buying A Fire-Bellied Toad

Before purchasing a fire-bellied toad, it is important to note that they are not the pet for everyone. For instance, fire-bellied toads should not be handled by small children or anyone with severe skin allergies, and only handled using great care by anyone else. While fire-bellied toads are inexpensive to buy and maintain, they are not a cuddly pet. This is because fire-bellied toads secrete a toxin when stressed. While these toxins are not fatally poisonous, they can cause severe skin irritation, or worse if the toxins get into your mouth or eyes. It is also important that, whenever handling a fire-bellied toad is absolutely necessary, it be done with great care and with gloves, a net or freshly washed and extremely well-rinsed hands. Things like sunscreens, soaps, lotions and other chemicals can easily leach into the fire-bellied toad’s very sensitive skin and cause them health issues. If you must handle a fire-bellied toad with your bare hands, you should immediately wash your hands after handling it and avoid touching your eyes or mouth until after your hands have been thoroughly cleaned.

While Fire Bellied Toads don’t require as much as other pets in terms of habitat and maintenance, they do need adequate space and the frog’s tank will need frequent cleaning. You can keep Fire Bellied Toads individually or in groups of up to five frogs per tank. Each fire-bellied toad requires about 10 gallons of space, so if you plan to keep them in small groups, you will need a tank with 10 gallons per frog. In other words, a 40 gallon tank would be the right size for a group of four fire-bellied toads.

How much does a fire-bellied toad cost to buy and to own?

A fire-bellied toad can live between 10 – 20 years. That means their care will add up over time. For a semi-exotic pet, they are relatively cheap to buy and maintain on the whole. The highest cost will be the initial set up and any veterinarians bills that might be incurred, since you will need to have a vet who handles exotic pets.

New Owner Shopping List: What To Buy

As discussed, fire-bellied toads do not require as many special considerations for their habitat as other animals, but a proper set up is important for their health. Here is a list of what you will need in order to bring home one or more fire-bellied toads as pets, and a second list of things you may want to buy also.

• Semi-aquatic tank – This glass, water-tight tank should be at least 10 gallons, adding 10 gallons to the size for every additional fire-bellied toad you intend to keep, up to 50 gallons or five frogs.
• Unchlorinated water – Bottled spring water is probably the easiest way to provide this, but any dechlorinated water will do, so long as water conditioners specifically for amphibians are used.
• Water bowl – While you can simply fill the fire-bellied toad’s tank with half substrate and half water, having the water in a large, separate dish will allow for easier cleaning, so you may wish to go this route.
• Food dishes – Fire-bellied toads need special food dishes that will keep their live food from escaping or drowning, particularly if you don’t use substrate.
• Substrate – They do not strictly need substrate, however a few inches of organic potting soil which is free of pesticides or other chemicals can be used, as can coco-husk fiber.
• Moss and plants – The closer you can mimic a fire-bellied toad’s natural habitat, the better, so the frog will appreciate moss and plants in their enclosure.
• Rocks and gravel – The addition of large flat rocks and gravel will help build up the terrain so the fire-bellied toads can get in and out of the water ad can be a fine substitute for substrate or used in conjunction with it.
• Hiding spaces – Hiding areas can be created using the tank’s terrain and plants, or commercial hiding boxes can be used, if they are amphibian-safe.
• Climbing items – Any items such as sticks, logs, cork, etc which allow the Fire Bellied Toads to hop around more will make life more entertaining for them and you.
• Food – Fire-bellied toads will need a varied diet of crickets, worms and other insects such as fruit flies.
• Calcium and vitamin supplements – Dusting their prey with powdered versions of these once a week should suffice.
• Net – Since the tank needs at least weekly cleaning, the easiest way to remove the frog or frogs from the fire-bellied toad tank is using a small fish net.
• Gloves – In the event that the fire-bellied toad must be handled, you should have a supply of latex or nitrile gloves on hand at all times.
• Storage tank – When it is time for the weekly tank cleaning, the fire-bellied toads will need to be moved somewhere safe while the cleaning of their normal tank is carried out.
• Light – If the tank can’t be in a room with adequate natural light, then a UV lamp with a 12 hours timer should be used.

Optional but recommended items:

• Thermometer – Their tank needs to be room temperature and therefore shouldn’t require a heater or cooling, but having a thermometer will help make sure their enclosure is the proper temperature for optimum health.
• Water filter – With proper cleaning and water changes, this isn’t strictly necessary, but will make the tank easier to maintain.
• Humidity gauge – The water in the enclosure should help regulate the humidity, but having a humidity gauge will allow you to monitor it to make sure it is adequate.
• Heater, heat light or humidifier – If the gauges and thermometer indicate the habitat is not at proper humidity and temperature, then heat and humidity may need to be added to the tank with these items.

Ongoing Needs: What You Need to Care For Your Fire-Bellied Toad

Unless they experience health issues, there is not much more that you should need for ongoing care and maintenance of your fire-bellied toads, aside from what is listed above. The only other exception to this would be if you decide to breed them. This will require altering the temperature, feeding schedule and perhaps the purchase of a mister to simulate spring rains. Otherwise, the setup you buy at the beginning plus ongoing food and water purchases should be sufficient, along with occasional vet checkups.

Exercise and Ongoing Care

The fire-bellied toad tank should be spot-cleaned on a daily basis, to remove any feces or uneaten food. At least once per week, the fire-bellied toads should be removed and placed in their holding tank, the main tank water should be changed out and the tank should be cleaned thoroughly. If you have a good water filter, this water change can be spaced out by up to another week. If you have several frogs, the water change should be done twice a week. Make sure all the frogs have adequate space and hiding places. To make sure that your fire-bellied toads are healthy, especially if you plan to breed them, you should take your frog or frogs to the vet at least once per year for a check up.

Feeding Your Fire-Bellied Toad

A fire-bellied toad only needs to eat about two to three times per week, at the same time every feeding day. It is very important to feed them a balanced diet of hard and soft food, to help them avoid any intestinal obstruction. The fire-bellied toad is an opportunistic eater and as such is very prone to overeating. You cannot, therefore, simply leave excess live food in their tank for eating at their leisure. They will eat it all and it will cause them health issues. They should have no more than five insects per feeding, less if the insects are large. Juvenile fire-bellied toads do require more frequent feeding than adults.

How you feed them will partially be determined by whether you have substrate. If so, you can place crickets in the enclosure and let the frogs catch the crickets at their leisure. If the bottom of the tank is entirely covered in water however, the crickets won’t survive long and will make more cleaning necessary if the insects don’t get eaten. In this case, you will need to feed the crickets to the frogs in a covered dish made for the purpose or directly, using long tongs. The frogs should also be fed mealworms, earthworms, hornworms, silkworms or wax worms, cut up as needed, as well as roach nymph or fly larvae, in a covered dish.

Their calcium supplements should be dusted over the crickets or worms at every feeding and once a week a multivitamin powder should be dusted over as well. Each frog should have two to five insects at each feeding. The insects should be no bigger than the width of the frog’s mouth. If you need to cut the worms, just make sure they are still moving when you place them in the tank, to increase the chances that the frogs will eat them.

How Long Will Your Fire-Bellied Toad Live

A fire-bellied toad that is well-cared for can live anywhere between 10 – 20 years in captivity. The average is between 10 – 15 years. There is no guarantee how long a fire-bellied toad will live, of course, but the best way to extend their lifespan is to make sure their habitat is cleaned regularly, keep them from being exposed to any chemicals or detergents, feed them a varied and adequate diet, and give them occasional nutrient supplements. If these steps are taken, it will help your Fire Bellied Toad avoid the few health concerns to which they are prone, and this will most likely extend their lives.

Common Health Issues For Fire-Bellied Toad

One reason fire-bellied toads make good pets is that they are not susceptible to many diseases or illnesses. The main areas for health concern with fire-bellied toads is a fungal infection, overeating, chemical intoxication, and nutrient deficiency. Most of these can be entirely avoided with proper handling, feeding and habitat cleaning and maintenance.

Where to Buy Your Fire-Bellied Toad

Fire-bellied toads can be purchased at some exotic pet stores and through amphibian breeders. Make sure you research whichever outlet you intend to buy from before buying a frog from them. Check out the animals for signs of good health, such as clear eyes and mouth, brightly colored, healthy-looking skin free of lesions or dry patches, a plump appearance, and an actively hopping or swimming animal. Signs of poor health include a frog that is too fat (round) or too thin, lethargic, sickly looking skin or abrasions, dull eyes and color, and any facial discharge.

Special Considerations With Fire-Bellied Toad

A fire-bellied toad is one of six species of frog, three of which can be kept as pets. Despite being called toads, they are actually a frog species. They’re called toads because of their bumpy appearance. Before purchasing a fire-bellied toad, you should make sure there is a veterinarian in your area who works with exotic pets and amphibians specifically. Otherwise, on the rare chance your frog has health issues, there will be no way to get them proper care. Never use plants, insects, sticks or rocks that were not commercially purchased for use in an animal tank. Found items may contain chemicals, parasites or fungus that can kill your frogs.