Scaphiopus couchii

[Niels D]

Does anybody else have S.couchii or even bred with them? Here in Europe they're really rare. Many consider S.couchii as an ungratefull pet, because they're nocturnal and spent the winter underground, but I'm really fond of my little buggers.

[epiphytes etc.]

They live around here, where they spend 8-9 months of the year underground. They are really cool, and their call is ridiculously loud. They basicly only come to the surface to breed during the monsoon. The toads gather around ephemeral pools and the males scream their heads off (or should that be bleat their heads off). Although they have an interesting natural history, I can see why most would not care to keep them. For breeding, I would recommend very high temps (35-40 C days, with a significant drop at night) coupled with a rain chamber. In habitat the tads develop very quickly, due to warm water that is constantly evaporating away, along with intense competition. I hope you do well with them and wish you many offspring (I mean the toads).

[Niels D]

Thanks for the advice. I allready wanted to work with a rainchamber, but now I know for sure. If this doesn't work I'm trying an outside enclosure, though our summers aren't that hot.