What Animals Can You Keep With Toads?

Toad fanciers know that toads can be prettier and more interesting than most people think. If you love toads, you might think nothing could be more fun than a big tank filled with a variety of reptile and amphibian friends for your toad. But be careful -- setting up a successful multispecies habitat with toads is not a simple matter. Know the risks and keep your toads safe and healthy.

  1. Fundamentally Incompatible Animals

    • Different species of reptiles and amphibians successfully coexist in the wild because they have plenty of space: if an animal finds itself too close to another, it can simply move away. The same is not always possible in the limited space of most home terrariums. Venomous toads, such as fire-bellied and true toads, will endanger the lives of any other type of animal in their terrarium, and should be kept in a single-species environment. Reptiles and amphibians that are significantly larger than others in a terrarium have a tendency to prey on smaller animals -- even those of the same species. To ensure the safety of a multispecies environment, be sure all animals are roughly equal in size.

    Animals with Similar Habitats

    • It is also important to ensure any animals you put in the same environment as your toad share its habitat requirements. Make sure all animals are comfortable with the same temperature and humidity levels; reptiles and amphibians from moist, tropical areas should never be placed in the same environment as desert toads, for example. If your toad needs water for swimming and bathing in its habitat, make sure any other animals in the tank will also be comfortable with it -- water could be a drowning hazard to some animals. Compatible animals also include those who naturally occupy separate spaces within the same environment. For instance, arboreal animals can comfortably share a space with ground-dwelling toads (if the environment has trees or tree-like vegetation for climbing), since the toads and the tree-dwellers will rarely if ever cross paths.

    Animals With Similar Eating Habits

    • Any other animals in a habitat with your toad should share its eating habits. Stocking a terrarium with different food sources for different animals is not only troublesome, but potentially dangerous -- large live crickets used to feed some toads, for instance, can sometimes eat or injure smaller frogs or other amphibians. Even animals with the same dietary preferences can cause each other trouble: if one species is more aggressive than the other, it can easily monopolize a food source, leaving the other species at risk for starvation.

    Gender Balance

    • Male toads can be aggressive and territorial and will generally not tolerate another male of the same species nearby. This is not a problem in the wild, but can be a big problem in a home terrarium. Thus, if you want more than one toad of the same species, it's best to go with a single male and one or more females.