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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Green Toad
Anaxyrus debilis
The North American Green Toad is a small, striking green and black amphibian from semi-arid grasslands. Very hardy, it is highly secretive, nocturnal, and highly active after summer thunderstorms.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Bufonidae
Genus:Anaxyrus
Species:Anaxyrus debilis
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
30 - 50 %
Day temperature
26 - 30 °C
Night temperature
18 - 22 °C
Ambient temperature
26 - 30 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 45 L
UVB
High
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the semi-arid regions of North America, including the southwestern United States (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma) and northern Mexico. It lives in arid grasslands, scrub deserts, and savannas, seeking shelter under rocks, logs, or in rodent burrows.
Taxonomy and Genetics: A small toad reaching only 3–5 cm in size. The skin is covered with small warts and is colored bright green, yellowish-green, or olive with irregular black spots or streaks. The parotoid glands are large, long, and low.
Behavior and Habits: Secretive and terrestrial. During dry periods, it remains buried in soil or hidden in deep shelters, emerging during summer rainstorms to breed and hunt. It is a nocturnal predator of small insects. Males call at night, producing a high-pitched, insect-like buzz.
Morphology: Sexual dimorphism is visible in size and throat color: adult females are larger and heavier than males, while adult males are smaller and have a darkened, greyish or blackish throat due to their vocal sac.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Require a terrestrial horizontal terrarium of at least 60x45x30 cm. Provide a deep, diggable substrate of dry sand mixed with organic soil or coconut fiber. Include flat stones, cork bark, and shallow shelters. Maintain a very shallow water dish.
Lighting and Heating: Require warm conditions representing their semi-arid origin. Maintain daytime temperatures of 26–30°C with a warm basking spot. Provide a night drop to 18–22°C. A winter brumation at cool temperatures is beneficial. Low to moderate UVB (5–10%) is highly recommended.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain relatively low ambient humidity of 40–50%. Good ventilation is critical. Mist the substrate lightly once a week, keeping most of the terrarium dry. Use dechlorinated water for misting and for the shallow water dish.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insectivorous with small mouths. Offer small live prey such as micro-crickets, fruit flies, and small roaches in a smooth feeding bowl to prevent sand ingestion. Dust prey with calcium and vitamin D3 supplements regularly.
Compatibility: Very peaceful and highly gregarious. They can be safely kept in small groups or colonies. Do not house them with much larger animals that could view them as prey, or with other species to prevent stress.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly susceptible to fungal and bacterial skin infections (Red Leg syndrome) if kept in excessively wet or poorly ventilated conditions. Do not handle with bare hands. Clean the terrarium regularly to prevent ammonia accumulation.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to the semi-arid regions of North America, including the southwestern United States (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma) and northern Mexico. It lives in arid grasslands, scrub deserts, and savannas, seeking shelter under rocks, logs, or in rodent burrows.
Origin
Central America and CaribbeanNorth AmericaEurope, Mediterranean, and West Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 5.4 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 5.4 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 5.4 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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