# Toads and Tortoise.



## Bow (Feb 18, 2012)

I'm planning the construction of a large pen for Walter during the summer and I was curious if my two toads could live in it with her? I've had the toads since they were eggs years ago, so I doubt they have any horrible diseases. By summer they should be about Walters size, their about 2.5 and 2 inches now but show no signs of stopping.




I don't THINK he will bite them, not to hard at least, and besides tasting bad they have no defenses.

They don't live together now... Though Prince did jump out of his bowl and onto Walters face while I was trying to take the picture


----------



## Laura (Feb 18, 2012)

If they dont occur together in the wild naturally.. i would not put them together. 
There is a article just posted about Box turtles and Amphibians now making each other sick...

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Box-turtles-and-amphibians-now-sharing-disease#axzz1mlLQkDms


----------



## Bow (Feb 18, 2012)

Laura said:


> If they dont occur together in the wild naturally.. i would not put them together.
> There is a article just posted about Box turtles and Amphibians now making each other sick...
> 
> http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Box-turtles-and-amphibians-now-sharing-disease#axzz1mlLQkDms





Well that sounds bad... It would be interesting to see if treating them with prolonged heat would work, it says it can't survive in warm bodies.


----------



## ALDABRAMAN (Feb 18, 2012)

I would opt not too keep them together if possible.


----------



## l0velesly (Feb 18, 2012)

I think toads and tortoises live in different environments so it wouldn't be ideal.


----------



## dmmj (Feb 18, 2012)

I may have asked this question before, but is there any particular reason why you want tortoises and toads together?


----------



## JoesMum (Feb 18, 2012)

We have wild toads in our garden. I've found them in Joe's house. It doesn't seem to bother either of them. Of course there's a huge variety of toads and tortoises, so some combinations may be more problematic than others.


----------



## Bow (Feb 18, 2012)

dmmj said:


> I may have asked this question before, but is there any particular reason why you want tortoises and toads together?



Because it's easier to build one giant pen and convince my Mom to let me sink it into the yard, then try to convince her to let me dig multiple holes throughout her manicured gardens for several different cages... I only really voiced this question because several family members in England, or who grew up in England had fenced gardens with tortoises and toads that lived long happy lives. I think my Aunt still has a box turtle who's lived in the garden for 35-40 years along with one big toad. 

I looked up the local toad in Bosnia, which is a Bufo Bufo. My toads are Bufo Boreas, does this make any difference? They seem similar in most traits, just not in location. I'm thinking I'll try to make a smaller cage for them in the garden and one for Walter farther out on the lawn, then I don't have to worry about any strange viruses.


----------



## dmmj (Feb 18, 2012)

So I hope this is not taken the wrong way, but I always say you have to do what is best for your tortoise not what is easier on you.


----------



## Bow (Feb 18, 2012)

dmmj said:


> So I hope this is not taken the wrong way, but I always say you have to do what is best for your tortoise not what is easier on you.



It's more what I'm allowed to do. If I could do whatever I wanted with the yard I wouldn't have bothered posting this thread. Despite your hopes of this "not being taken the wrong way" I find you somewhat offensive. If you have something helpful to say then by all means say it, but just making small snide remarks does not help me, or anyone else who will want to know this in the future. I apologize for my lost temper.


----------



## dmmj (Feb 18, 2012)

Once again if you have limited space and you live in your parent's house ( I will assume you are under 18) you should choose between toads, or a tortoise, I will refrain form making any insulting comments towards you like you did to me.


----------



## Bow (Feb 18, 2012)

dmmj said:


> Once again if you have limited space and you live in your parent's house ( I will assume you are under 18) you should choose between toads, or a tortoise, I will refrain form making any insulting comments towards you like you did to me.



My question was not "which pet should I abandon to a life of neglect by some stranger" if you'd read my comments earlier you would see that I had decided to have separate cages a good distance from each other. I'm sorry for insulting you in any way, I wished only to express my exasperation at you wishing me to care for Walter at the expense of my toads. The toads, if you've read about them in other posts of mine have great sentimental value to me. I would no sooner surrender them then stamp out their species. They are both key participants in a breeding program to save their species which is pretty much gone here. For your information I am not underage, I live at home because my Mother is mildly infirm and I take care of her when she's having bad days. Her garden is her only passion, her allowing me to put any holes in it is a great sacrifice by her. If you've ever dealt with anyone infirm you would realize how much they prize certain things.


----------



## Terry Allan Hall (Feb 18, 2012)

There are a couple of toads (_Bufo speciosus_)- and a fence lizard, as well - that come into both my Hermann's enclosure and my daughter's Ornate Box enclosure and everyone seems to get along fine...the toads (and, presumably, the lizard) catch bugs attracted to the left-over/not-yet-finished food and drink/soak in the water dishes, but that's about all the interaction, apparently.

No idea if your toads would be a threat to your tort or not...what kind of toads have you?


----------



## jaizei (Feb 18, 2012)

If the toads are a species native to your area (or one that was ), then I wouldn't worry too much. I haven't kept toads so I haven't done it myself, nor am I familiar with that species; however I have seen wild toads (and snakes, lizards, etc) in my tortoise enclosures, no harm done. 






Terry Allan Hall said:


> There are a couple of toads (_Bufo speciosus_)- and a fence lizard, as well - that come into both my Hermann's enclosure and my daughter's Ornate Box enclosure and everyone seems to get along fine...the toads (and, presumably, the lizard) catch bugs attracted to the left-over/not-yet-finished food and drink/soak in the water dishes, but that's about all the interaction, apparently.
> 
> No idea if your toads would be a threat to your tort or not...what kind of toads have you?



She has Bufo Boreas.


----------



## Kyoki (Feb 19, 2012)

Maybe you could make one large enclosure with separate compartments for each animal? Or even just a divider in case the cohabitation becomes a problem?


----------



## zesty_17 (Feb 19, 2012)

Bow said:


> I'm planning the construction of a large pen for Walter during the summer and I was curious if my two toads could live in it with her? I've had the toads since they were eggs years ago, so I doubt they have any horrible diseases. By summer they should be about Walters size, their about 2.5 and 2 inches now but show no signs of stopping.
> 
> View attachment 17013
> 
> ...



I would not put anything with a toad except toads of the same species. ALL toads secrete toxins through their skin, even the little cute golden ones that look like dart frogs.


----------



## ripper7777777 (Feb 20, 2012)

Asking a question like this on this forum will always get you a NO, this is a tortoise forum, ask it on a Toad forum and you will get a NO.

Sooner or later you will have to decide if you want to risk it or not.

I plan to try it as a means to fight enclosure bugs but also when my guys move outside they will run into toads, they may not run into them in their native wild, but guess what they were not born in the wild. My guys are gonna see birds, squirrels, racoons, opossums, frogs and toads. They have already seen and tasted dog poo, don't know how often Sulcatas or Redfoots see boxer turds in the wild. Now they will be protected from predators, but stopping baby toads, tree frogs, lizards and insects along with germs from local wild animals is near impossible. It's a risk I will have to take and a risk most take as soon as they move them outside or even let them walk around sniffing the ground.

I have found lizards, geckos frogs and once a 3' water snake in my house, so nothing is perfectly secure.


Now I wouldn't put the toad in with anything that might eat it but of course the toad is your pet so I figure your gonna watch out for both of them.


So in the end you know there might be a risk, even an unknown risk, but your gonna have to decide whether or not to take it, and even if 200 people get on here and say they have the same setup and never had a problem, the risk is still there.

Good luck and keep us posted if you decide to do it.


----------



## Bow (Feb 20, 2012)

ripper7777777 said:


> Asking a question like this on this forum will always get you a NO, this is a tortoise forum, ask it on a Toad forum and you will get a NO.
> 
> Sooner or later you will have to decide if you want to risk it or not.
> 
> ...



Thank you. I'm thinking two enclosures, one large one for Walter out on the lawn and a smaller one for the toads in the garden. I might make another small movable one for the toads so if bugs show up in Walters cage I can snub the toads up beside him.


----------

