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AmphibianTerrestrialEasy
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Common Spadefoot Toad
Pelobates fuscus
The Common Spadefoot Toad is a nocturnal European amphibian featuring vertical pupils. It is famed for its sharp metatarsal spades, allowing it to rapidly reverse-burrow out of sight into the soil.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Pelobatidae
Genus:Pelobates
Species:Pelobates fuscus
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
50 - 70 %
Day temperature
18 - 24 °C
Night temperature
12 - 18 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Pelobates fuscus is widely distributed across Central and Eastern Europe, extending into Western Asia. It inhabits open landscapes such as grasslands, agricultural fields, heaths, and sandy pine forests. The species is strictly dependent on loose, sandy, or loamy soils, avoiding hard clay or stony ground where digging would be impossible.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belonging to the family Pelobatidae and the genus Pelobates, this species shows distinct evolutionary lineages. Some eastern populations are sometimes classified as subspecies, such as Pelobates fuscus fuscus and Pelobates fuscus vespertinus. Genetic research indicates ancient adaptations associated with their specialized fossorial lifestyle.
Behavior and Habits: Exclusively nocturnal and fossorial. During the day, it remains buried deep in the ground (up to one meter) to prevent desiccation and avoid predators, emerging only on humid nights to hunt. When threatened, it produces a strong, garlic-scented skin secretion to deter predators and can emit a loud, screaming alarm call.
Morphology: A medium-sized toad, males grow up to 5-6 cm while females can reach 8 cm. It features a large head with prominent eyes and vertical, cat-like pupils. Its defining physical feature is the large, spade-like, yellowish metatarsal tubercle on the inner side of its hind feet, used to dig backward into the soil. The skin is smooth with grey-brown marbled patterns.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: A horizontal enclosure of at least 80x40x40 cm is required for a pair. The most critical component is a deep substrate layer of 15-20 cm, composed of organic topsoil, coco coir, and play sand. This mixture must be kept damp to allow burrowing. Provide cork bark hides, leaf litter, and sturdy plants on the surface.
Lighting and Heating: Prefers cool to temperate conditions. Daytime temperatures should be kept between 20°C and 23°C, with a nighttime drop to 16-18°C. Do not use strong basking bulbs. A low-intensity 2% UVB light can be provided on a 10-hour cycle, ensuring there are plenty of dark, shady retreats throughout the enclosure.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain ambient humidity at 60-80%. The substrate must remain consistently damp to the touch but never waterlogged, as stagnant wet conditions invite bacterial rot. Mist the enclosure daily with dechlorinated water and provide a shallow water dish, ensuring it is easy for the toad to climb out.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insectivorous. Feed a varied diet of live crickets, roaches, earthworms, and silkworms. Feed items must be gut-loaded. Dust the prey with calcium and vitamin D3 supplements twice a week for growing juveniles and once a week for mature adults to prevent nutritional metabolic diseases.
Compatibility: Best housed individually or in pairs of identical sizes. Due to their opportunistic feeding habits, smaller individuals will be targeted as food by larger ones. Never house with other amphibian or reptile species, as the stressful interactions and differing care requirements can be harmful.
Health and Common Diseases: Keep handling to an absolute minimum to protect their sensitive skin from oils and salts on human hands. Poor husbandry can lead to bacterial dermatosis, chytridiomycosis, or respiratory infections. Ensure the substrate is free of small gravel, which can cause lethal intestinal impactions if swallowed.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Pelobates fuscus is widely distributed across Central and Eastern Europe, extending into Western Asia. It inhabits open landscapes such as grasslands, agricultural fields, heaths, and sandy pine forests. The species is strictly dependent on loose, sandy, or loamy soils, avoiding hard clay or stony ground where digging would be impossible.
Origin
Europe, Mediterranean, and West Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 8 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 8 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 8 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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