Mr. Toad finally came out of hiding earlier this month and I have been keeping a close eye on him.
On the evening of May 6th I heard the leapord frogs talking outside. I have heard frogs in the evening many times, but this was the first time I heard them in my water gardens. It was a beautifully cool evening and I had the windows open and could hear them at night as I lay in bed reading.
The next morning when I headed out back I went straight to one of the water gardens and was surprised by what I saw.
Mr. Toad x2
Two Mr. Toads! (they are almost hidden under one of the lily pads) What! ok. ok. hmmm? At first I thought they were confused. I know I was. The female toads can be well over twice the size of the males, and clearly what I found was two male toads. But Wait…… there is more…. I almost completely missed Mrs. Toad!
Mrs. Toad
It looked like she was relaxing near the edge of the water garden. She was H U G E! and it was a beautiful sight. What I don’t understand is why the two males were “hanging out” together so-to-speak! When we lived in Palm Springs we took drove down the Baja to go whale watching and I learned that it take three whales to mate; the two mating pair and a younger one to help keep them closer to the surface otherwise they would just sink. So, is that what is happening here? I don’t know.
Mrs. Toad peaking over the edge
What ever it is, I am hoping that there are toad eggs in that water garden.
As I walked back up near the house I was in the area were Mr. Toad had been living in the pot with the spider plant and actually came across him on the path. That makes four toads and that makes me happy. I have no idea where Mrs. Toad is hanging out, or even the other two Mr. Toads, I just hope they are safe and happy and stick around. I also hope they find that nice Toad Swimming Hole I put in especially for them.
The difference between toad eggs and frog eggs is night and day. Toad eggs look like a long string of jelly-like beads with a black dot in each bead egg, while frog eggs are found in one big gelatinous blob made of many many eggs. On May 17th I spotted tiny tiny black tadpoles in this water garden. Will they become frogs or will they become toads – I don’t know, but you know I will be watching them.
I realize now that I was hearing the toads calling and talking to each other that night, not the frogs at all!
Sincerely, Emily
I think a lady need choices. Good for MS toad. She has high standards.
She had a few choices it seems.
I love to hear that sound. What a blessing for you to have so many!
I am so happy they are back and around. It is fun to watch the little tadpoles in the water garden too. They are so so tiny right now.
How lucky you are to have the toads! Sounds very peaceful and interesting. Nancy at Cozy Thyme Cottage
Thanks Nancy. Toad are great to have around in the garden to help keep the bugs under control.
Very exciting!! I have spotted one toad in my pond, and i wish he/she would bring friends. It’s sort of medium-sized; I’m not sure if it’s male or female, and I haven’t noticed any eggs. Regardless, I am very happy that it seems to be sticking around. I hope it’s a sign that my pond is healthy. Seems like your pond is healthy too!
Hi Angela. That is great you have spotted a toad. Unfortunately we have a snake in one of the water gardens. After a bit of searching we find it is a Texas Blotched Water Snake (often mis-identified as a water moccasin) and its favorite snack is toads… hmmm, time to relocate snake I think. He is still too small to eat our toads (14′), but they can get quite aggressive (not poisonous) and the last thing I want is to notice my toads disappear or get bit while I am cleaning the water garden.
Most people learn about the basics of frog reproduction in elementary school. Frogs lay eggs in water, and the eggs hatch into tadpoles that grow into frogs. Only about half of all frogs follow these exact steps, but there are a few rules of thumb about frog reproduction. All frogs reproduce sexually, and all hatch from eggs.