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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Common Midwife Toad
Alytes obstetricans
The Common Midwife Toad exhibits remarkable parental care. The male uniquely wraps the string of eggs around its hind legs, carrying and guarding them for weeks before releasing them into shallow water.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Alytidae
Genus:Alytes
Species:Alytes obstetricans
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
50 - 80 %
Day temperature
18 - 22 °C
Night temperature
14 - 16 °C
Ambient temperature
18 - 22 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 45 L
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to western Europe, including Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and introduced populations in Great Britain. It is a terrestrial species inhabiting damp quarries, dry stone walls, sandy banks, and hilly woodlands.
Taxonomy and Genetics: A small, stocky toad growing to 4–5 cm in length. It features a highly warted, grayish-brown skin, and large, prominent eyes with vertical slit pupils. Males are slightly smaller and carry egg clutches between their hind legs during the breeding season.
Behavior and Habits: Primarily nocturnal and secretive, spending the day buried in soil or sheltering under logs and stones. It is a terrestrial walker and poor jumper. The male carries the eggs on land, keeping them damp, and releases the tadpoles into a water source when ready to hatch.
Morphology: Sexual dimorphism is visible during the breeding season: males are slightly smaller and are easily distinguished by carrying strings of yellow eggs wrapped around their hind legs.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Require a spacious terrestrial terrarium of at least 60x45x30 cm. Provide a deep, diggable substrate (10–15 cm) of soil mixed with sand. Include numerous flat stones, dry stone wall structures, and cork bark shelters for burrowing. A very shallow water dish is sufficient.
Lighting and Heating: Require cool, temperate conditions. Maintain daytime temperatures of 18–22°C. They are highly sensitive to heat, and temperatures above 26°C can be fatal. A winter brumation at 4–8°C for 2–3 months is necessary for breeding. Low-level UVB (5%) is recommended.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain moderate to high humidity of 60–80% with regular evening misting. Substrate must remain damp but not waterlogged to prevent bacterial infections. Provide excellent ventilation. Use dechlorinated water.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insectivorous with relatively small mouths. Feed small live insects such as micro-crickets, small earthworms, and fruit flies. Dust prey with calcium and vitamin D3 supplements regularly to ensure proper bone development.
Compatibility: Peaceful and highly gregarious. They can be safely housed in small groups or colonies. Do not house them with larger predatory species. Keep them in single-species setups.
Health and Common Diseases: Susceptible to bacterial skin infections (Red Leg syndrome) under poor hygiene or stagnant conditions. Do not handle them with bare hands; their skin secretions are toxic and contain mild skin irritants. Maintain clean substrate.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to western Europe, including Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and introduced populations in Great Britain. It is a terrestrial species inhabiting damp quarries, dry stone walls, sandy banks, and hilly woodlands.
Origin
Cosmopolitan or introducedEurope, Mediterranean, and West Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 5.5 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 5.5 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 5.5 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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