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Care Sheet: Oriental Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina orientalis)

Common Name: Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, Chinese Fire-bellied Toad. Scientific Name: Bombina orientalis. Distribution: Southern China, Thailand, Korea, eastern Russia, and south-east Asia. Size: 40 - 55mm. Sexing: The males of this species can be heard calling, this is the most reliable way of sexing. The males also tend to have larger forelimbs and nuptial pads are visible on the thumbs however these pads are difficult to spot.
Female	Male
Varieties: The most common form is the green form from Korea, this form can vary from bright green, blue green to brown with a yellowish orange – red underside. There is also a "Golden" form found in Russia, the back of this form is a light golden-brown and the underside a deep fiery red. Albino & Leucistic examples are occasionally available.
Korean Green form	Russian Golden form
Requirements: These small colorful toads live best as a group, a 15-gallon tank would be adequate for a group of 6 adults. These toads can be housed in a woodland / marshland type set up with a substrate of bark chips, gravel and moss. Furnishings such as drift-wood, cork bark, rock, pebbles and plants (live or otherwise) can be arranged to provide a number of hiding places. A number of large deep water bowls must be provided with clean de-chlorinated or spring water. The water will need to be partially changed daily to avoid the build up of ammonia and bacteria in the water whilst changing the water it is a good idea to visually inspect the tank and remove, clean and replace any soiled items. The tank will not usually require additional heating as long as the temperature of the room does not drop bellow 15°C. A fluorescent UVB tube can be used as a source of light. Once every two-three weeks the tank and its contents should be completely cleaned and sterilised using an amphibian / reptile friendly disinfectant. Fire-bellied Toads may also be housed in an aqua-terrarium. Feeding: For adults a mixture of suitably sized insects including crickets, mealworms, flies, waxworm, earthworm, caterpillars and moths should be fed every two-three days. A calcium and vitamin supplement should be used once a week. Young toads will take whiteworm, bloodworm, hatchling crickets, aphids and fruitflies, these should be fed every day and a calcium and vitamin supplement used two-three times a week.

Care Sheet: Oriental Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina orientalis)

Common Name: Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, Chinese Fire-bellied Toad.

Scientific Name: Bombina orientalis.

Distribution: Southern China, Thailand, Korea, eastern Russia, and south-east Asia.

Size: 40 - 55mm.

Sexing: The males of this species can be heard calling, this is the most reliable way of sexing. The males also tend to have larger forelimbs and nuptial pads are visible on the thumbs however these pads are difficult to spot.

Female

Male

Varieties: The most common form is the green form from Korea, this form can vary from bright green, blue green to brown with a yellowish orange – red underside. There is also a "Golden" form found in Russia, the back of this form is a light golden-brown and the underside a deep fiery red. Albino & Leucistic examples are occasionally available.

Korean Green form

Russian Golden form

Requirements: These small colorful toads live best as a group, a 15-gallon tank would be adequate for a group of 6 adults. These toads can be housed in a woodland / marshland type set up with a substrate of bark chips, gravel and moss. Furnishings such as drift-wood, cork bark, rock, pebbles and plants (live or otherwise) can be arranged to provide a number of hiding places. A number of large deep water bowls must be provided with clean de-chlorinated or spring water. The water will need to be partially changed daily to avoid the build up of ammonia and bacteria in the water whilst changing the water it is a good idea to visually inspect the tank and remove, clean and replace any soiled items. The tank will not usually require additional heating as long as the temperature of the room does not drop bellow 15°C. A fluorescent UVB tube can be used as a source of light. Once every two-three weeks the tank and its contents should be completely cleaned and sterilised using an amphibian / reptile friendly disinfectant. Fire-bellied Toads may also be housed in an aqua-terrarium.

Feeding: For adults a mixture of suitably sized insects including crickets, mealworms, flies, waxworm, earthworm, caterpillars and moths should be fed every two-three days. A calcium and vitamin supplement should be used once a week. Young toads will take whiteworm, bloodworm, hatchling crickets, aphids and fruitflies, these should be fed every day and a calcium and vitamin supplement used two-three times a week.