FIRE-BELLIED TOAD FUN FACTS
Fire-bellied toad eggs hatch in about seven days, and tadpoles metamorphose within 45 days of hatching.
Fire-bellied toads have glands that secrete toxins which make them very untasteful to their preditors and even poisonous. These glands are on their back and often can be seen as a lighter color than the rest of the toads skin.
Here is Brownie and Limey showing off their toxin glands.
To restore the bright color in a toad’s fire-belly that has faded you can feed your crickets baby carrots chopped up. The orange color passes through the crickets to the toad and helps maintain a bright reddish-orange belly. You should use organic carrots to avoid any pesticides passing through to the toad and making it sick or worse.
Male fire-bellied toads have nuptial pads, enlarged bumps on their first and second fingers. These nuptial pads help aquatic frogs hold on to females during breeding.
There are two genera of fire-bellied toads — Barbourula and Bombina. We are in the genera Bombina. We are sometimes called oriental fire-bellied toads and are found in China, Russia, Korea and the Tsushima and Kyushu islands of Japan. There are other genera of Bombina that look similar to us found in Europe, the Philippines and Borneo.
Fire-bellied toads have heart-shaped pupils. 
Releasing fire-bellied toads or any other non-native wildlife into the wild poses a very serious threat to the native wildlife population. One should never release a fire-bellied toad into the wild. Find a proper home for your fire-bellied toad if you no longer can care for it. Many pet stores like Petco will take it in and find a good home for it.
When a fire-bellied toad senses danger it arches its body, flashing the brilliant warning spots on its belly. This reaction is called the unkenreflex and is derived from the German name for fire-bellied toads (unken).
Adult fire-bellied toads reach a length of 1.5 to 2.5 inches long. They weight approximately 1-2 ounces.
Fire-bellied toads (and fire-bellied newts) love to cuddle together. Sometimes they even make a hog pile.
Fire-Bellied Toads come in a variety of colors. Here we have Limey (lime green), Brownie (brownish) and Greenie (dark green). Their color will vary during the day also. Greenie will be almost as brown as Brownie sometimes and then later he may be a bright green almost as green as Limey.
Fire-bellied toads can be found in parts of China, Eastern Russia and Korea living in mountain lakes and ponds from 5,300 to 10,000 feet above sea level.
Greenie is definitely a male.
Males usually have rougher backs and their forearms are thicker than the females. They almost look identical except during the breeding season, when males have black horny nuptial pads on their fingers and forearms. The best way to tell which toads are male is to observe them. Whenever a toad tries to jump on the back of another toad and use its arms to grasp it, it’s definitely a male.
Male fire-bellied toads make a barking noise when they want to mate. Here is Greenie barking for Brownie.
Fired-bellied toads shed their skin. They rip it off with their mouth and eat it as it sheds.
Fire-bellied toads are EXOTHERMIC AMPHIBIANS. This means they are cold-blooded (exothermic) and they live both in water and on land (amphibians).
Fire-bellied toads do NOT cause warts. Warts are caused by human viruses, not toads. They do have glands which secrete toxins. This can cause skin irritations and may be poisonous to some animals. Do NOT handle your fire-bellied toads unless you absolutely have to and after touching them wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
Filed under: Fire-Bellied Toads | Tagged: amphibians, china, cold-blooded, exothermic, fire belly toads, Fire-Bellied Toads, frogs, korea, mountain lakes, nuptial pads, poisonious, ponds, russia, toads, toxins, wart
Hello is there any possible way of u sending me a frog because where i’m located there r none around…Please reply back ASAP….
My big male fire belly toad sheds alot, sometimes once a day is this normal or healthy?
qustion : what happens if u drop it and it looks like its not breathing plz plz plz awnser back
We have a Fire Bellied Toad that is almost 9 years old. We would like to find a mate. He sounds like your Greenie. We don’t know which sub-species he is. Does it matter if the Fire Bellied Toads at PetsMart are a different sub-species? Can toads from Asia breed and coexist with toads from Europe?
Thanks,
Francia
I have not read whether the two subspecies will mate and produce offspring. My first reaction would be “why not?” I would try it since there is nothing to lose and all you gain is another cute fire-bellied toad. Of course, you need to know the sex of the toad you are buying and that is nearly impossible without having access to it for a while and observing. If someone at PetsMart tries to say they can sex their fire-bellied toads that is probably not true. If they say they know the sex because they have observed them and how they interract then they may very well do know the sex. Good luck and let us know what happens if you do get another toad and they mate.
I have had my fire bellied toad for seven years he has been on his own for the past year. We have recently introduced another pair. How territorial are they and should we separate them toad for seven years he has been on his own for the past year. We have recently introduced another pair.
I was wondering if anyone has ever gotton sick from firebelly frogs. My 3 year old was holding our 3 frogs for about an hour while I was cleaning the tank. About 12hours later she became sick. Like a stomach flu almost. This has lasted for about 3 days. Any one know?
o.k, ive had my fire belly toad,lumpy, for about 3. i got another one,flame, about a year and a half ago. flame has been holding on to lumpy and barking,while lumpy dosent bark and lets flame cling on him (most of the time that is). Should i expect eggs?
In regards to Cindy’s comment…I also have a 3 yr. old and after holding the firebelly we ALWAYS wash our hands thoroughly following up with sanitizer. When we first got Speckles I let my 3 yr. old hold him for no longer than 5 minutes and a little later it looked like he was starting to get pink eye. It lasted for a day and didn’t turn in to anything but i’m certain he got something from the firebelly.
i had mine for a month and there cool to take care of