Green Toad

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.

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.