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Description
Yellow Spotted Climbing Toad
Scientific Name: Rentapia flavomaculata
Common Name: Yellow Spotted Climbing Toad
Species Overview
Size: Adults typically reach 3 to 4.5 inches (7.5 to 11 cm), with females generally larger and more robust than males.
Appearance: The Yellow Spotted Climbing Toad is an arboreal, slender-bodied toad with smooth to finely textured skin and striking yellow to orange spotting across the limbs, flanks, and dorsal surface. Base colouration ranges from rich brown to reddish or greyish tones, allowing excellent camouflage against tree bark. The limbs are long and well muscled, with expanded toe tips that aid in climbing. Parotoid glands are present but less pronounced than in many terrestrial toads. The eyes are large, golden to bronze, with horizontal pupils. Females often display more extensive spotting and slightly bulkier bodies.
Distribution: Endemic to parts of Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand, typically within lowland and hill rainforest regions.
Habitat: Wild individuals inhabit humid tropical forests, favouring vegetation along streams, forest edges, and tree trunks several feet above the ground. They often rest on branches and broad leaves. In captivity, they require a vertically oriented enclosure with high humidity and abundant climbing structure.
Behaviour: Primarily nocturnal, these toads are agile climbers and spend considerable time off the ground. They are shy but alert, relying on elevation and camouflage rather than burrowing. They tend to be solitary and exhibit short hops combined with deliberate climbing movements.
Captive Care
Enclosure: A vertically oriented enclosure of 24 × 18 × 24 inches (60 × 45 × 60 cm) is suitable for a single adult. Provide a moist, bioactive-compatible substrate such as soil or coconut fibre topped with leaf litter. Add cork tubes, branches, vines, broad plants, and elevated hides to accommodate their arboreal lifestyle. Include a shallow water dish for soaking. For groups, upgrading to 36 × 18 × 24 inches (90 × 45 × 60 cm) helps reduce stress.
Temperature and Humidity:
Ambient temperature: 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C)
Warm area: 84°F (29°C)
Night temperature: 70 to 74°F (21 to 23°C)
Humidity: 70 to 90%, maintained with frequent misting or an automated system, allowing brief periods of light drying between cycles.
Lighting: Provide low-level UVB (2 to 5%) with plenty of shaded zones. A naturalistic day and night cycle supports healthy behaviour. Use moderate overhead lighting to sustain live plants.
Diet: Offer a varied insect diet including crickets, roaches, small worms, black soldier fly larvae, and occasional soft-bodied invertebrates. Dust prey with calcium and multivitamins. Juveniles require more frequent feeding, while adults thrive on a consistent but conservative schedule.
Behaviour in Captivity: These toads may remain hidden at first but become active, graceful climbers once settled. They spend much of their time perched on branches and respond strongly to nighttime feeding opportunities. Handling should be minimal due to their delicate skin.
Genetics Note
There are no recognised morphs for the Yellow Spotted Climbing Toad. Natural variation in spot size, pattern intensity, and base colour occurs among individuals but is not considered morph-based.
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