Care and Raising of Oriental Firebellied Toads

Firebellied toads, like all other species of frog, have an extremely thin, permeable skin. Toads are able to breathe to a degree by absorbing oxygen directly though their skin, provided it is damp. All water used in the tank must be non-chlorinated. Most municipal water treatment plants add chlorine and/or chloramine to the water to prevent the growth of bacteria in the pipes. While humans and other mammals can tolerate the presence of these chemicals, they quickly become toxic to amphibians (and fish, for that matter). Untreated tap water cannot be used in toad enclosures.

Instead of using tap water, consider using bottled spring water, which is available by the gallon. You may be interested to know that all bottled water is not equal. Water that is labeled 'from a municipal source' is simply regular tap water from some city. The keeper is advised to only purchase spring water or water from an artesian well. Read the label on the water before buying. More than anyone could ever want to know about bottled water can be found at the website of The International Bottled Water Association.

Some companies such as WaterMart sell water filtered by reverse-osmosis at very reasonable rates. Yet another option is to treat your tap water with a product designed to remove ammonium and chlorine. Tetra makes a product called AquaSafe which is widely used in the aquarium industry. I would still recommend that bottled spring water be used on the principle that it is better to use water that was pure in the first place than to treat water the keeper knows to be unacceptable.

Toads are also able to absorb environmental toxins through their skins. In captivity, it is extremely important to prevent the toads from coming into contact with detergents, aerosol sprays, soaps, insecticides, or any other chemical. Do not use any such chemical to clean in or around their tank either before or during their residence. Spots and streaks on the glass walls can be easily wiped away using distilled water and paper towels. When completely stripping down a tank (to bare glass) it is permissible to use a 5% solution of household bleach to clean the tank, provided it is rinsed extremely thoroughly afterward and left to sit until all odor of bleach has dissipated. Due to their sensitive skin, toads should be handled only rarely, and when doing so, the hands should be clean of lotions, soaps, perfumes, etc. Children should not handle their pet toads! Toads are best observed, not handled. If a child (or an adult) wishes to have an animal they can pet and handle regularly, firebellied toads are not suitable. When moving toads from one enclosure to another, it is best to gently coax them into a clean container or to move them with an extremely fine aquarium net. Brine shrimp nets are a good way to avoid catching a toe in the mesh. Finally, when you do hold a toad, first wet your hands with non-chlorinated water for the toad's comfort.