Biggest Pet Toads

June 6, 2016July 5, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

We love toads of all shapes and sizes at Backwater Reptiles, but sometimes we just can’t help but be impressed by the size of some of the species we sell. If you love toads and you want an impressive specimen to add to your collection, read on to find out the biggest pet toads sold at Backwater Reptiles.

South American Marine Toad (Rhinella marina)

This is definitely the biggest toad on our list. This species is very closely related to and often even classified as the same species as the common cane toad (Bufo marinus), which is described later on in this article.

However, we are discussing the South American marine toad as a separate species because the animals that are directly from South America are much larger than the cane toads that have been introduced to other areas of the world as a means of pest control.

biggest pet toads — As you can see, the South American giant marine toad get really big! This toad is being held by a 200lb adult man.

South American marine toads can attain snout to vent lengths of close to ten inches and that measurement doesn’t include their powerful limbs! There are some pictures circulating online of specimens much larger!

These toads are classic-looking in appearance, meaning they have bumpy, ridged, skin and are a flat brown in color.

People enjoy keeping these South American giants because their size is simply so massive. Big size equals big appetite and these toads do not disappoint when it comes to feeding time. They are quite entertaining to feed and they will consume large feeder insects with no qualms.

If you are interested in one of these giant beauties, Backwater Reptiles has South American giant marine toads for sale.

Smooth Sided Toad (Bufo guttatus or Sapo dorado)

We bet you can’t guess where this toad gets its common name? If you said from its relatively smooth skin (at least for a toad anyways), you’d be correct. While most species of toads are recognized for their warty skin texture, the smooth sided toad has only a few flat, dark bumps. It also has some striking eyes with a red-brown belly covered in cream-colored spots or speckles.

This is a tropical toad species and will therefore require more humidity and heat than is necessary for a standard American toad. Their preferred habitat is leaf litter, so be sure to give them a substrate that is similar in nature such as peat moss or coconut husks so that they can burrow and hide.

Female smooth sided toads can grow to be around ten inches long, whereas the males will stay slightly smaller. Males tend to only grow to be five to six inches long on average.

Backwater Reptiles has smooth sided toads for sale.

Cane Toad aka Marine toad (Bufo marinus)

As we’ve already mentioned, cane toads are very closely related to the South American giant marine toad and are actually very commonly even considered to be the same species.

For the sake of this blog article, we’re grouping the South American toad and the far more common cane toad (which to confuse things further is also simply called the “Marine Toad”) separately as they can originate from different locations and have a sizable difference in total proportions.

large cane toad — The measuring tape in this photo shows that this is a sizable cane toad.

Cane toads are found commonly in the United States, Central America, and South America. They have been introduced into other places as forms of pest control and are actually considered invasive species by a lot of communities.

Well-fed, captive cane toads can grow quite large because they do have monstrous appetites. A large size for a cane toad is around eight inches long, although some will get larger.

Cane toads can also get fat if you don’t watch what you feed them. Like all the toads on this list, they will eat pretty much any invertebrate they can fit in their mouth. We feed ours crickets, roaches, meal worms, night crawlers, and occasional wax worm treats.

If you want a cane toad of your own, Backwater Reptiles sells them. We’ve also written an article detailing the history of the invasive nature of this species and how you can be a responsible cane toad owner.

Conclusion – Biggest pet toads

Most toads are pets that are better for being exhibited than being handled. In other words, even large toads with less finicky temperaments than their smaller cousins still don’t really enjoy being handled. We recommend them as pets for people who are fine with a less than interactive animal.

If you’re in the market for a very large toad that you can show off to your friends and family, the toads on this list are all good species to start with.

Couch’s Spadefoot Toad Care (Scaphiopus couchii)

May 17, 2016May 17, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

At Backwater Reptiles, we think toads are quite underrated as far as exotic pets are concerned. Most have relatively simplistic care requirements, are fun to feed, and don’t need a lot of human interaction or attention to thrive. Not to mention they can be pretty cute too!

One species of toad that doesn’t get a lot of attention is the Couch’s Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus couchii). These fun little toads might be shy, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make rewarding pets.

Read on to find out how the Backwater Reptiles team cares for our Couch’s Spadefoot Toads.

Physical Description

Couch’s spadefoot toads will grow to be about three inches long on average when fully mature.

Their skin is actually fairly smooth with relatively few bumps or ridges. They are green, yellow, or olive-colored with dark green, black, or brown blotches or spots on their backs. Their bellies are a creamy color and lack markings.

couchs spadefoot toad care — Notice the striking vertical pupils on this Couch’s spadefoot toad.

The common name for this toad comes from the dark spur located on its hind legs. This spur is used much like a spade and helps the toad burrow down into the ground where it spends most of its time.

These toads are also known for their arresting eyes. They have striking vertical pupils and irises flecked with crackles of color. We think their eyes resemble those of a cat.

Enclosure Requirements

In the wild, Couch’s spadefoot toads are found in the southwestern United States (areas of California, Arizona, and Texas). They are also found along the eastern and western coasts of Mexico. This means that they are used to dry, arid habitats with sandy soils and desert vegetation.

In order to replicate this environment in captivity, we recommend a substrate that can retain moisture but doesn’t necessarily stay overly wet. Try organic potting soil with no added chemicals or even shredded paper towels if you want to go really simple. We do recommend the soil if you want to witness your toad perform burrowing behavior though as this medium is more accommodating than paper towels.

If you are keeping a single Couch’s spadefoot, then a ten gallon tank will suffice. If you want a breeding pair, we would recommend a twenty gallon so that they have enough space to comfortably cohabitate.

Your Couch’s spadefoot toad will spend most of its time burrowed underground or hiding during the day, so be sure to provide places for it to take cover. Don’t include any cage accessories that are overly heavy (i.e. large rocks or large ceramics) because the toad could accidentally disturb these items and unintentionally injure itself.

Although they are used to dry, arid, land, we do recommend keeping a relatively moist environment as this will encourage your toad to be more active. Couch’s spadefoot toads are adapted to emerge only when it rains, so keeping the tank humid will help them to stay alert.

We also always keep a shallow water dish in the toad’s enclosure, even if they don’t actually drink the water. It helps maintain humidity and allows the toad to soak if it desires.

Maintain temperatures of mid to high 80s during the day time via lights and don’t let the temperature drop below 70 at night.

Feeding Habits

Couch’s spadefoot toads are carnivores and enjoy eating lots of different types of insects and invertebrates.

The spadefoot toads at Backwater Reptiles are fed a staple diet of gut loaded crickets. We supplement with meal worms, reptiworms, roaches, and night crawlers. Pretty much any invertebrate that is the proper size to fit into the animal’s mouth will do just fine.

Temperament

We haven’t heard of anyone being bitten by a Couch’s spadefoot toad. They are for the most part shy, secretive animals that prefer to hide and run away from you rather than try to bite or behave aggressively.

Couch’s spadefoot toads are also not big on being handled. While you can pick up and hold your toad, we don’t recommend doing it on a regular basis as the toads just don’t really like it.

scaphiopus couchii — Couch’s spadefoot toads make good pets for people who want a low key animal with minimal care requirements.

If you own a Couch’s spadefoot toad, you might actually not even see much of it unless you are a night owl. The toads tend to come out at night and remain burrowed underground in the day.

The bottom line is – Couch’s spadefoot toads keep to themselves and hide a lot. If you want an interactive pet toad, we’d recommend another species.

Conclusion

Although secretive by nature, Couch’s spadefoot toads can make fulfilling pets for people who want a very low-key, low-maintenance animal.

If you wish to obtain a pet Couch’s spadefoot toad of your own, Backwater Reptiles has them for sale.

Cane Toad History (Bufo marinus/Rhinella marina)

May 6, 2016July 5, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Cane toads (Bufo marinus/Rhinella marina) have a rich history and are perhaps the most well known (or notorious) toad in the world. They’ve earned a rather bad reputation as invasive and detrimental to natural ecosystems. This is largely due to the attempt to use them to control cane beetle populations in Australia…but more on that later.

These behemoth amphibians are best known as “Cane” toads because they originally helped eradicate pests from sugar cane fields. However they’re also called “Marine” toads by some, and even “Bufo” toads by Floridians.

For the purposes of this blog, we’re going to give a brief history of the cane toad and discuss what has given this hardy toad such bad notoriety. We’ll also go into detail about how this affects the pet trade and what you can do to be a responsible pet owner if you wish to keep cane toads of your own.

A Brief Description of the Cane Toad

Cane toads (also called Marine Toads and Giant Neotropical Toads) are known for their dry, bumpy skin and large size. Overall, they are fairly unremarkable-looking brown toads, but they certainly pack a punch when it comes to defense mechanisms.

cane toad history — Cane toads are brown or grayish in color and have very dry, bumpy skin that secretes toxins.

Toads don’t have many natural defense mechanisms. They lack claws, sharp fangs, or stingers to fight back against potential predators. However, cane toads are actually quite poisonous. They possess glands that secrete a poison called bufotoxin through their skin which is extremely toxic. This means that most potential predators have learned not to mess with cane toads as they can die from ingesting the poison on the cane toad’s skin.

Because they lack predators that can actually stomach their toxic skin in many environments, cane toads live quite long and can grow quite large in the wild. This is doubly true in captivity where feeding time and environment are highly regulated.

A single adult cane toad will average anywhere from four to eight inches in length, although the largest specimen recorded was actually fifteen inches long from snout to vent! In the wild, they can live for ten to fifteen years with considerably longer lifespans when kept as pets. South American Marine toads (same species) attain absolutely massive sizes.

History of the Cane Toad

As we’ve already established, cane toads are considered an invasive species in many areas and have therefore gained a reputation as pests that are harmful to local ecosystems. While this is not untrue, man is partially to blame for this occurrence and we think it’s unfair to vilify the cane toad just for being so successful at surviving.

Because the cane toad is such a voracious eater, it has been introduced into regions of the world as an agricultural pest control method. These cases of introduction have been well documented and the cane toad might be the best studied of all introduced species cases.

After relative success with cane toad introduction into Puerto Rico and Hawaii, cane toads were introduced to Australia in 1935. This is probably the most famous case of cane toad introduction because it had such a massive impact on the native ecology.

cane-toad-size — Here’s a fairly large cane toad pictured next to a dollar bill for size reference. These toads can grow quite large.

The release of the toads into Australia might have been considered successful if the toads actually brought down the population of the targeted insect, the grey-backed beetle. However, because the cane fields offered little shelter to the toads during the day and also because the beetles lived in the tops of the fields and cane toads are not good climbers, the toads ended up eating everything en masse but the targeted insect.

Nowadays, cane toads are considered pests in Australia with their population numbering well into the millions. Australian governments have even asked residents to help out by collecting and disposing of the animals.

Owning a Cane Toad as a Pet

Because cane toads are so populous, their numbers are not in danger of declining if people collect them for pets. In fact, we think it’s more humane for them to be kept as pets than “eradicated” for being too successful at breeding and populating.

Because cane toads historically can thrive in such a variety of habitats and consume just about anything, they are exceptionally hardy pet amphibians. They have very easy care requirements which means they make great classroom pets and also great pets for children.

Just be aware that due to the toxin they can secrete, you’ll want to make sure that they are not handled with excessive force as this can trigger the toxin to be secreted.

We would also advise always washing your hands after handling any animal (not just reptiles and amphibians) to help prevent Salmonella contamination, as well as to wash away any potential bufotoxin from the Cane toad itself.

bufo marinus — As far as toads go, cane toads are hardy, personable, and overall very entertaining pets.

That being said, we do not ever recommend releasing any cane toad (or other pet reptiles/amphibians) into the wild. For example, unless you can guarantee that your pet cane toad will not be able to breach the walls of your back yard, we do NOT recommend setting up an outdoor enclosure where they can live in a natural setting. There is just too much controversy surrounding their invasiveness and the potential for human error.

Conclusion – Cane toad history

Cane toads may not be the world’s most treasured amphibian, but because they’re so adaptable, we think they can be fun and entertaining pets to anyone who has a love for toads. We hope you’ve enjoyed our article on Cane toad history and consider yourself more knowledgeable when it comes to these tremendous amphibians.

If you’re interested in obtaining a pet cane toad, Backwater Reptiles has these gigantic amphibians for sale to responsible hobbyists.

Best Small Pet Frogs

March 21, 2016September 22, 2018 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Have you always wanted a pet frog but feel you don’t have the room to keep a semi-aquatic animal? Well, we’ve got good news for you because not all the best pet frogs need a ton of space or large tanks full of water to thrive.

In fact, we’ve got some recommendations for frog species that don’t require enclosures larger than a shoe box. Read on to find out our top picks for the best small pet frogs and how you can get your hands on one.

The Best Small Pet Frogs: A Review

Painted Mantella (Mantella madagascariensis)

Painted mantellas are certainly attractive pet frogs. They hail from Madagascar and are available in a variety of gorgeous color combinations. They have rich, black bodies and eyes with yellow, orange, green, and red accents. These tiny frogs are so colorful in fact, that people often confuse them for poison dart frogs.

Best pet frogs list — This painted mantella has contrasting green and orange coloration. What a beauty, and a great pet frog as well!

These little frogs can get up to one and a half inches long, but most will stay around an inch long on average. Their small size means they only need a home that is around five gallons, at least if you’re only keeping a single frog. Pairs should be kept in a ten gallon tank.

Most mantellas can be shy, so we recommend providing a substrate that retains moisture well but also allows the frog to hide. Another option is to provide several hide spaces.

Backwater Reptiles has colorful painted mantella frogs for sale.

Strawberry Dart Frog (Dendrobates pumilio)

It’s a common misconception that poison dart frogs are dangerous and can harm you if you touch them. In the wild, this might be true, but in captivity, the frogs actually lose their potency. It is believed that the poison secreted through their skin is manufactured through insects the frogs eat in their wild habitats, so when we humans feed them captive bred insects, the frogs don’t create the poison any more. So, the bottom line is that you can actually hold and handle your dart frog, but due to their somewhat delicate nature, we don’t recommend handling them a lot.

Strawberry dart frogs usually don’t get bigger than a large grape. This is usually around an inch to an inch and half long. A typical life span for a strawberry dart frog is anywhere from four to eight years in captivity.

Because these frogs are so small, we feed ours pinhead crickets and fruit flies. Sometimes they will even eat small mealworms.

If you are in the market for a healthy strawberry dart frog, we do sell them on our website.

Glass Tree Frog (Mantidactylus sp. / Hyalinobatrachium sp. / Boophis sp.)

There are many species of glass tree frogs available through breeders, but they all have one thing in common – their translucent skin and visible organs. The degree of transparency of the frog varies from species to species. Some are nearly clear on top and bottom, while other species are only faintly see-through on their tummies.

As far as size is concerned, most glass frogs will range in size from 20 to 30 millimeters.

These fascinating and unique-looking frogs are not the easiest species to come by in captivity. In the wild, they are arboreal, riparian (living in streams), and nocturnal, which means that wild-caught frogs are tough to obtain and captive breeding efforts are not that successful.

glass tree frog underside — This is the under belly of a glass tree frog. As you can see, the frog’s innards are clearly visible.

If you do decide to keep a glass frog, keep in mind that they are delicate and shy. You will need to have an arboreal set up with more vertical space than horizontal space, although for a single frog, that tank still need not be bigger than a five gallon enclosure.

Although glass tree frogs are one of the rarer frog species sold on this list, Backwater Reptiles does have them for sale.

Clown Tree Frog (Hyla leucophyllata)

Of all the frogs on this list, we’d say that the clown tree frog is probably the largest on average. Because it’s a tree frog, this species will also tend to appear longer in general because its limbs and toes are very pronounced in order to support its arboreal life style. But, even being the largest on this list, the clown tree frog still only maxes out at around four centimeters on average.

Clown tree frogs are not only small, but they are very attractive little frogs too. Most are dark brown or red in base color with lighter white, yellow, or beige markings or splotches. They really are quite striking little amphibians.

Due to its arboreal nature, your pet clown tree frog will require a home that is taller, rather than flatter. It still doesn’t require a large enclosure, but just make sure that the frog has a bit of room to climb. We recommend a ten gallon tank with a screen top lid and plenty of foliage, either real or fake.

Luckily, clown tree frogs are readily available. Not only are they fairly common frogs in the pet trade, but they are also relatively inexpensive.

Here’s a great enclosure for your frog, with everything it’ll need to thrive in your care:

(Click the picture to see the lowest prices)

Conclusion – The Best Small Pet Frogs

All of the small pet frogs on our list are somewhat delicate due to their small size. This means that they are not ideal pets for someone who wants to take their frog out of its enclosure and handle it a lot. The small frogs on this list are best for pet owners with limited space to house their amphibian who enjoy looking at and admiring their frog rather than playing with it.

Tiger Salamander Care (Ambystoma tigrinum)

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Did you know that the Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is the largest salamander commonly available as a pet?

Even if you did know that little factoid, we’re betting this article, which will detail care tips and tricks for tiger salamanders in FAQ format, will teach you something new. So get ready to learn how to care for your Tiger salamander!

Tiger salamander care — Tiger salamanders are very easy pets to care for in captivity. We recommend them for hobbyists of all ages and levels of experience.

What do tiger salamanders look like?

Tiger salamanders actually come in a large variety of colors with varying patterns. Most will be a dark grey or brown color with darker, nearly black bars or stripes along their backs. Some are lighter in tone, while others are darker. Some might even have spots!

Overall, tiger salamanders are sturdy, stocky amphibians with thick bodies, strong legs, and small eyes. They enjoy burrowing, so their small eyes and strong limbs are great adaptations for this behavior.

How big will my tiger salamander get?

As we’ve already mentioned, tiger salamanders are pretty much the largest land-dwelling salamanders that are commonly available in the pet trade.

Most will average around eleven or twelve inches, but it is not unheard of for a tiger salamander to reach up to fourteen inches long!

Tiger salamanders are not shy when it comes to mealtime, so the more you feed your salamander, the bigger and faster it will grow! We just recommend a low-fat diet (i.e. don’t feed your salamander a ton of fatty insects or pinky mice) so that it doesn’t grow obese.

What do tiger salamanders eat?

As previously mentioned, tiger salamanders are not picky eaters. They enjoy meal time and will pretty much eat whenever food is presented to them.

At Backwater Reptiles, we feed ours a steady diet of crickets, mealworms, reptiworms, roaches and nightcrawlers because tiger salamanders are carnivorous. We do give wax worms and horn worms as treats from time to time.

It’s also not uncommon for mature, large adults to be able to eat frozen/thawed fuzzie or pinkie mice.

Pro Tip: If your tiger salamander is wild-caught (which most pet salamanders are), it will probably spend a lot of time burrowing at first while it gets acclimated to its new home. We have found that tiger salamanders can be taught to emerge from hiding at feeding time if you gently tap the glass of their tank a few times to indicate feeding time. This type of training will involve digging your salamander out the first few times you tap the glass to commence feeding, but tiger salamanders are actually fairly smart and will quickly catch on.

How do I create a habitat for my pet salamander?

Tiger salamanders prefer horizontal space over vertical space (they’re burrowers, not climbers!), so if you are keeping a single salamander, a ten or 20 gallon tank should suffice. The 20 gallon is actually enough space for two salamanders.

You will discover that your tiger salamander enjoys burrowing and hiding, so be sure to provide a substrate that allows for this behavior. We recommend commercial topsoil with no added chemicals or artificial ingredients, although coconut fiber also works well. The substrate should be kept moist, but never to the point of dripping if you pick some up in your hands.

You can also choose to include a few hiding places in your salamander’s enclosure. Make sure you choose light weight objects such as cork or terra cotta and avoid heavy porcelain because otherwise your salamander might burrow underneath and accidentally injure itself.

Your pet tiger salamander will thrive if you keep the temperature in its enclosure anywhere from 50 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, although we recommend trying to avoid extreme temp fluctuations. Try to keep the ambient temperature relatively stable.

Are tiger salamanders aggressive and can I handle my tiger salamander?

By nature, tiger salamanders are burrowers and hiders. Like most salamanders, they are secretive and tend to avoid people, but tigers actually adapt really well to being handled and kept in captivity.

We’ve never heard of a tiger salamander that was aggressive or of anything other than an accidental bite. But in reality, tiger salamanders don’t have sharp teeth, so if you just happened to be feeding your salamander by hand and it missed its food and grabbed your fingers instead, you more than likely wouldn’t even have broken skin.

Are tiger salamanders good pets for beginners and/or children?

Tiger salamanders adapt very well to captivity, especially when their natural environments are particularly well-replicated. We think this makes them excellent options for young children and we’d go so far as to recommend them as classroom pets.

ambystoma tigrinum — Tiger salamanders are the largest species of terrestrial salamander.

Tiger salamanders don’t need a lot of maintenance to stay healthy. As long as you maintain a decent temperature, a moist substrate, and you take care not to overfeed or underfeed your salamander, you should have a pet that lives for ten years or longer.

I think I want a pet tiger salamander. Where can I buy one?

Most commercial pet stores keep tiger salamanders on hand. But we always think it is safer to buy from a breeder or supplier who has a record of producing healthy animals.

If you wish to purchase from Backwater Reptiles, we do sell three types of tiger salamander: Eastern, Barred, and aquatic stage animals that still have their gills.

We hope our blog post on Tiger salamander care has helped better inform you on how to keep these wonderful amphibians successfully in captivity. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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