Only thing missing from that tank is a Unicorn
That would be bad' mmmkay'
Actually those are not the only reasons to not mix species from seperate geographic regions. Mixing animals from different regions allows parasites and pathogens to jump hosts and adapt. This can result in epidemics that can cause a lot of problems such as the mycoplasma epidemic that is killing off native tortoises in the Gopherous genus (and box turtles now), ranaviruses, and there is not evidence that the strains of chyrid killing amphibians globally may be the result of more than one strain with little or low impact on the amphibians, being able to mix resulting in increased lethality.
the toxin thing was what i worried about to but i have had them for 2 years before i mixed and they lost their toxins after the first year. Its no different then when darts lose their toxins from not getting the proper toxins from the bugs they eat which is a result from captivity...and i feed them about 6 dozen crickets for a week and a half...the toad sits on a log the fbts r in the water and the grays chill in the plants but when feeding time comes around they all get their fair share due to having so many crickets in their with them...You can beat me down about the mixing but havent had an issue for over a year now and they all coexist...the crab is dead which i was assuming was going to happen due to not having brackish water. I have done my research and as wrong as some of you think they are fine
Contact Mike Novy if you are looking to purchase a few more of these guys. He specializing in tree frogs
Where did you get the information that the toads (and frogs) lose thier toxins in a year or even two? I'm flagging it because that is incorrect. If you don't believe me stress one of those toads until it begins to secrete the toxins and rub some of it on a mucous membrane like your tongue or eye. I think you'll be very surprised at how much of a problem it causes you. First off, Bombina ssp do not get thier toxins from thier prey items. The make them.... second, they do not lose thier toxicity in captivity and third, even with those anurans that do sequester toxins from thier prey (examples dendrobatids, mantellas) they can take a decade or more to lose the alkaloid toxins and even captive bred dendrobatids that lack the alkaloids can still put a hurting on you. See for example this discussion http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/be...being-honest-toxicity-level-3.html#post150012
i have done alot of research and the information that i received about bombina orientalis was from a breeder who cared for dendrobates aswell as a few bombina....i didnt think much of the toxin issue because the water is cycled well through a couple filters in the cage and havent had an issue...im not the first to mix bombina with other species such as Bufo americanus, Hyla versicolor, Hyla cinerea, etc.
Regardless if other people have done it "safely", doesn't make it appropriate or correct (see below your quote below).
The way you come across is an invitation to a fight. The problem when you are mixing species from different geographic regions is that you are really setting the stage for a possible outbreak of pathogens/parasites. We have seen this in other animas for example the massive mortality caused by mycoplasma infections in native tortoises of the Genus Gopherus, and now box turtles. We also have seen massive mortalities from chytrid which appears to be the result of different geographical strains getting mixed together resulting in a massive pandemic. This is why the whole argument of "healthy", "stress free" or other claims are moot as this is a direct risk to the enviroment and native species already under pressure. The water that you dump down the drain or plant cuttings or substrate that is discarded is all a risk. This is one of the major reasons why animals from seperate regions should never be housed together. It is one of the simplest things we can do to protect the hobby and the enviroment. There is a petition that is under review in front of USF&W right now to ban the import and interstate transport of amphibians because of the risk of chytrid, you should do your best to help the hobby by not giving them more points as to why the hobby should be banned from interstate transport without certification that the animals, eggs or other materials are chytrid free.
With the mixture you have together, it is kind of closing the barn door after the horse has escaped but you can take some precautions about it for reducing the risk. First off, when you do water changes, add bleach to the water and allow to stand overnight before pouring it down the drain or outside. Materials from the cage should be double bagged and discarded into the proper waste stream, do not dump them outside or into a compost heap (this includes plant cuttings).
The problem is that this oversimplifies the issue as the volume doesn't tell you anything about whether those areas are really good for the animals or are they just "making do" with suboptimal conditions. As an extreme example, you can have a volume that is one inch high, one inch deep and 1,155 inches long (there are 231 cubic inches in a gallon) but obviously the volume in this example is unsuitable for the animals. This is the other side of the coin when recommending volumes as a method of determing spatial needs. In reality, the spatial needs are determined by the resources required to ensure the behavioral and metabolic needs of the animals. As an example, the anole requires a basking site and ideally some UVB (to allow it to behaviorally modify it's D3 stores) along with the dusted food items, perches that allow it to move to regulate it's body temeprature (if you have the UVB source and the heat lamp close together, then the anole can get UVB damage from overexposure), the perches need to dry out between spraying or the anole can get fungal infections, and there needs to be a way to feed the anole. The toads require a damp substrate, an ability to get away from over-exposure of the UVB light, and to avoid the extra heat from the basking site of the anole. We can go on with the discussion of the niches but I think you should get the general idea.
