Green Frog and American toads

Question
my twin boys brought home a green frog we have him in a 20 gal tank land and water now the other day they caught 3 american toads and they put them in the tank with the green frog. Is this ok? I am trying to convince them to put the toads back outside but its not working. Should we seperate the frog from the toads?  

Answer
First off, let me say that all wild caught animals carry parasites and protozoa.  Often times the stress from being captured and handled can allow the parasites and protozoa to get the better of the animal and they will die very quickly despite outward appearances of being fine.  Keeping the animals together will make this even more likely.

That said, it sounds like you're fighting a losing battle and my suggestion to you would be to buy the kids a bearded dragon on the condition that you will only get them one if they get rid of the frog and toads.  If you purchase an animal from a pet shop you can expect it to cost something around $60.00 and you won't need a new tank.  The twenty gal. will be fine until he outgrows it (which should take around a year).  Plus bearded dragons are quite friendly animals and will happily sit on your children's shoulders.  I personally would recommend getting an animal from a private breeder because they'll be better able to assist you with any questions you may have, you will be guaranteed a true captive bred animal, you will have a wider variety of color choices (ranging from red to yellow to white), and the animal will be less expensive to purchase.

http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=51

That's where you'll have the most luck finding beardie breeders.  

If you prefer to buy from a store than a breeder, I'd recommend looking here:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/bearded-dragons/


And this way your children can have a reptile that is actually a pet and that they can play with rather than one animal that they should handle as little as possible and three that will urinate on them almost any time they handle them.  I hope that helped, and best of luck either with your frog and three toads or your bearded dragon, whichever route you prefer.  Enjoy your critters, and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions!