July 1st, 2009
Caught this little guy while fishing in Prompton, PA a few weeks ago. The thing to watch out for when catching toads is that they are not being stalked by some other animal like a snake or snapping turtle. They are the main source of food for many animals so beware.
Cute lil fella.
Him was chirping, you would have liked it.
For some reason the title of this post came across as a question on Twitter. It isn’t a question though.
I’d say the main thing to watch out for is the stream of toad urine that they’ll unleash when you pick them up.
This actually looks like Bufo americanus. Fowler’s has more prominent spots on its back, but I could be wrong.
You may be right. Though the spots were fairly prominent (not a great photo with the iPhone).
So, there is a story about that stream of urine. He didn’t unleash it at all. As with every toad I’ve ever caught, I held it away from me with two fingers and waited for said stream to begin. After a few moments of nothing – I simply help him as you see above with no reaction from him.
After a minute or so of holding him he began to chirp a little and I put him down. But, no urine.
We’ve got anywhere from 3-7 toads hanging out on our front porch every night. In fact, one’s been living in a flower pot and I can see him sitting there if I look out my front door right now. I’m not a fan of golden toad showers, so I don’t disturb them.
At the very least take a photo of the buggers.