Defining Characteristics:

• Medium-sized toad
• Brown coloration, Males are yellow during breeding season
• Sustained trilling call
• Can be kept in groups 

Name: Incilius luetkenii or the Yellow toad is named after the Danish Zoologist Christopher Frederick Lütken. As you may have guessed, the ‘yellow’ moniker is due to this species being brown for a vast majority of the year, and during breeding events males become a bright yellow. 

Females of this species are your stereotypical brown toads year-round. This phenomenon is called sexual dichromatism.

Recommended Enclosure Size & Setup: A single toad can be kept in a 20 long or 24x18x18 front-opening tank. Larger groups of toads should be kept in tanks with more floor space. 

These toads like to dig down into the substrate, and we have found the Tropical BioBedding fills this need for them nicely. Leaf litter can help to retail moisture content of the substrate and provide hiding places for the young and old toads alike.

As with most species of frogs and toads, a clean water dish should be provided and fresh water given every day. 

Temperature (°F): Yellow Toads are from Central America and can tolerate fairly warm temperatures. We like to keep our toads between 72 and 78°. A digital thermometer can be used to track temperature gradients in the enclosure. 

Humidity: Humidity for this species should be kept between 50 and 70%. This can be tracked using a hygrometer placed midway from the top in the enclosure. 

Size: Like most toad species, this species emerges from the water very small and unable to eat most readily-available feeders. It is not abnormal for them to emerge at around 1/4 of an inch. 

Adult males are usually close to 3 inches and females closer to 4 inches, but they rarely exceed that length. At time of sale these toads are at least 5/8 of an inch. 

Age: At time of sale these toads are at least 6 weeks out of the water. Total lifespan for this species is not well known, but if it is similar to other closely related species it could be as long as 15 years in captivity.

Feeding: Yellow toads can be fed most traditional feeder insects available for captive amphibians. We prefer to use gutloaded crickets or cockroaches that can fit between the eyes of the toads. 

Upon arrival toads will be eating 1/4 inch crickets comfortably. As they grow they will be able to take 3/4 inch crickets. As with all frog and toad species we recommend dusting with a calcium or vitamin supplement. 

Sexing: Yellow toads can be difficult to sex in captivity because many times environmental triggers that cause the yellow coloration may not be met in your typical home enclosure. We have found that putting toads into a rain chamber can lead to the male toads taking on a yellow tint. Male toads will develop nuptial pads as well, which are a dark patch on the inner digit of the forelimbs.

Color/Pattern: As stated above, these toads for the most part are going to be varying shades of brown with warts across their bodies. You may occasionally see some yellow hues peak through in male toads, or even bright yellows if conditions are just right. 

Josh's Frogs does not recommend, support, or endorse line breeding as we believe this leads to weaker captive animals and nature has done a wonderful job of creating an amazing variation in color and pattern of frogs already.

Social Behavior: These toads do well being housed communally—we do not see males being overly amplexus-happy with females like we do in other species of frogs and toads. 

Breeding: Yellow toads are what you would call ‘explosive breeders’. This means that a majority of the reproductive population in an area will congregate around pools of water to call to females. It is not abnormal for multiple males to attempt to amplex a single female during these events.  

Josh's Frogs recommends purchasing multiple frogs if you are interested in breeding them –this greatly increases the chances of getting a pair (male and female).

Natural Range: Incilius luetkenii is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua.

History in the Hobby: Historically this toad species has been imported as adults exclusively and toadlets are not readily available. 

Links of Interest: 

• Amphibiaweb - Incilius luetkenii
• Article on breeding behavior and color changes

Still not sure if Incilius luetkenii from Josh's Frogs are the right pet frog for you? Read the reviews below and see what other customers are saying!