Toadily Toads Most Frequently Asked Questions about toad care, sick toads, injured toads, toad hit with lawn mower or caught by dog or cat

Toadilytoads.com receives lots of emails each week often asking many of the same questions. We've compiled this page of FAQs in the hopes of addressing many common questions here. Understand, the answers that follow are a mixture of our opinion, extensive research and 27 years of experience successfully keeping toads. We have infused each answer with a bit of humor and a few grains of common sense. This is intended to educate and hopefully, in some cases provide food for thought where appropriate. As stated on our home page, we are not veterinarians and we are not degreed herpetologists or zoologists. If there is anything we haven't covered or if you have additional questions about the material covered on this page, please feel free to contact us and we will get back to you ASAP. Click here to contact us.

Also, we strongly advise you to read our page on Rococo toad care questions because many things are the same for other toad species. For example, read our FAQ on soil as the best substrate for toad tanks. That page can be found by clicking here.

Q: What is the difference between a frog and a toad?

Q: Can you catch warts from toads?

Q: Can I feed fruits and vegetables to toads?

Q: How much are toads supposed to eat in one day?

Q: Is it necessary to let my toads get out and exercise?

Q: My toad begins making cute little chirps when I pet him. I think this means he's singing because this feels good. What do you think, am I right?

Q: I found a sick/injured toad. What do I do?

Q: I can no longer keep my frog or toad. What do I do?

Q: Do toads shed or molt their skin?

Q: I'm going on vacation. What can I do with my toads?

Q: Do toads always go to the bathroom in the water?

Q: How can I tell the difference between male and female frogs and toads?

Q: I found a toad who was hit by a lawn mower or a weed whacker or chewed by a cat or dog! What do I do?

Q: What is the difference between a frog and a toad?
A: See our page which answers that question. Click here.

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Q: Can you catch warts from toads?
A: No. That is a myth. See our page on Toads in Mythology (coming someday).

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Q: Can I feed fruits and vegetables to toads?
A: NO! Toads are meat eaters. Carnivours. They only eat live food. Small toads only eat various types of insects. Larger toads eat everything from insects to other amphibians, to mice and fish. When tadpoles hatch from the egg, they do eat pond algae, so that is the only time they eat any vegetation at all. As soon as they get on land, they never eat any type of vegetation again. This is why it is important to "gut load" your crickets. Toads get nutrition from the insects they eat, so be sure the insects you feed them are eating a good diet first. But do not try to feed any type of fruits or vegetables to toads. They're bodies do not digest these foods directly. Only some reptiles can eat vegetation and fruits (like some turtles do). No frogs or toads should be fed anything that is a fruit or vegetable or herb.

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Q: How much are toads supposed to eat in one day?
A: Toads are capable of eating up to 1000 insects in one day! While a captive toad doesn't need to eat that much everyday, toads should be offered adequate amounts of food during the summer, which is when their natural body clocks tell them to eat. In winter, toads in captivity do eat significantly less, sometimes not eating at all.Toads are natural gluttons and this is their nature. While it is probably possible to overfeed a toad, I've yet to see it in my 27 years of toad keeping. Whenever I hear discussions relating to amphibian "obesity" I quickly point out that a healthy toad is one with a hearty, ravenous appetite. If a toad becomes thin, he is very likely going to die. I've never once seen one die of being too fat.
I'm sure if humans can find a way to exploit reptile keepers as they do each other, somebody will offer a low carb diet aid for frogs! Maybe they can call it "Slim-Toad", and I am sure some sucker will buy it. Sad that we have to waste time doing size acceptance advocacy for amphibians now, too, but the fact is, toads are naturally fat creatures (part of why they're so adorable!).
There is evidence to show that overfeeding mice can cause problems with eye sight due to fatty deposits that build up in the eyes. Many people do this to try to get Cane toads and Rococo toads to get as large as possible quickly. This is never recommended as it can also cause liver problems as well. See our discussion on the subject: Click here.

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Q: Is it necessary to let my toads get out and exercise?
A: All living beings like to get out of confined quarters and stretch their legs. If you can provide a safe place for your toads to roam and taking them out does not cause them to become frightened and stressed, then there is nothing theoretically wrong with letting them out while supervised. Some of our toads do not like to go out and some do. We always supervise them and we listen when they tell us they want to go home. If going out is stressful to the animal, don't do it. Take your cues from them. There are those who approach toad keeping more scientifically who might say toads must never be handled, but I do not feel this is a fair rule to impose on all individuals. So far, I've never seen anyone selling a toad leash like they do for bearded dragons, but if they did, I wouldn't recommend it!

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Q: My toad begins making cute little chirps when I pet him. I think this means he's singing because this feels good. What do you think, am I right?
A: We would all love to think that wild animals in reality are at least a little bit like they are in Disney movies - cute, cuddly and happy to be in human company. This is partly because most of us grew up watching the forest friends flock to Snow White or Kermit the Frog singing soothingly in a swamp.These sweet impressions are imbedded into our young, innocent minds and by the time we are old enough to really realize that all that is totally fiction, the longing for it to happen is buried deep in the subconscience. We don't see ourselves as monsters, but most animals do. The deer in the forest might have flocked to Snow White, but that would not happen in a forest in the real world (although there are places where deer become less afraid of humans if they live in more intimate contact and there is no hunting).
Certainly toads can get used to human caretakers, but most of them remain rather shy. Since most female toads cannot make vocalizations of any kind, if the toad is chirping it is almost always male, and that chirp is his way of saying "leave me alone", not "I like it".
My theory is that females tend to tolerate human back strokes where as the males do not, because males are accustom to protesting if they are touched while the female is used to being mounted on the back. Contact to the female is normal, but to the male it prompts what's known as the "release call", which is done to inform other males to dismount saying, "Hey! I'm another guy, you idiot!"
Not all males will voice their concerns when you pet them. Our male Rococo toad, Jabba is silent, but he shows us when he's done with being petted. Oddly, he doesn't mind when I hold him with his belly to my chest. He can stay there for long periods not moving and with slow steady breathing. We've even seen their eyes close! Is it love? I think it's just that he likes the warmth of the human body.
Take your cues from the toads. If they protest, let them go and you should always keep human handling to a minimum.

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Q: I found a sick/injured toad. What do I do?
A: Generally, a sick or injured toad should be taken care of by a vet that deals with exotic animals or to a wildlife rescue center or similar facility. A search can be done via www.google.com to find local help. You can also try to use this link to find a wildlife rehabilitator near you, though they don't have listings for all areas yet: http://www.wildlife-international.org/EN/public/emergency/emergencyrehab.html . I also recommend checking out my friends at frogdaze.com who have put together a really good page with lots of information and advice if you have a sick frog or toad. Click here for that article. If all else fails, contact us by clicking here.

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Q: I can no longer keep my frog or toad. What do I do?
A: NEVER release a frog or toad into the wild unless the species is NATIVE to that area. This is very important. Non-native species have been known to flourish in new areas and take over, which can lead to disaster, such as the case of the bufo marinus in Australia and let's not forget the American Bullfrog in the US and many other examples. The invasive species will eat animals that it shouldn't, possibly aiding in the eventual endagerment of the native animal or in some cases, eating animals which are already endangered!
The best thing to do is to either give the animal to a pet shop or zoo, wildlife facility or place an ad in a paper and on the internet at various sites that deal with herps, such as the famous kingsnake.com forums. If you are not sure if your animal is native or not, find out and seek help first - do not release the animal unless you are sure. I should also mention that in many states, releasing a captive bred toad, even of a species native to the state is illegal. Check the law in your area.

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Q: Do toads shed or molt their skin?
A: Yes. Toads shed their skin but they don't leave it behind like a snake. They eat it. If the toad is busy shedding, leave them alone. They will look shiny and they will often be puffed up in a funny position as if sitting up. After they shed the old skin, the toad will look clean and light in color. When a toad is very dark, they are often ready to shed. This is a normal practice for toads and I've never encountered one in my 28 years with toads who needed any assistance.

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Q: I'm going on vacation. What can I do with my toads?
A: There is no simple answer to this. Toads do need fresh water which is ideally changed either after each visit to the water bowl, which is usually once a day or less, or if its been laying around a few days and you see a sheen on the water surface it should be changed.Toads can go a few days without food if you've given them plenty to eat before you leave but I do not recommend more than a few days without food. Ideally, it is best to have a trustworthy friend or family member or neighbor come and change the water and toss in some insects that you supply. If that's not possible, you can try your vet's office and see if anyone knows a reliable sitter or if the vet is willing to house the tanks there. Sometimes a privately owned pet shop is a good place to ask around. They often get to know their regular customers and might be able to recommend somebody. You can also try forums like kingsnake.com or others, but this is riskier since you have no real way of knowing who you're dealing with. I've heard of people traveling with their tanks. Most amphibians are stressed out by car motion and so its not my first recommendation but if you have no choice and have the room and a good back, then by all means. What you MUST NEVER do is let them free!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. Even local toads who are native to your area probably shouldn't be let back into nature once they've been indoors a while, but I disagree with critics who say its because they lose their instinct. Toads will duck when you approach their tank even if you've known them for years! Toads are naturally shy and cautious. Also, show me one toad who has ever forgotten how to lash their tongue at a passing insect whether it was provided by you or nature. The real danger is setting loose a NON-native species. If you have to, give the animal to a pet shop or somebody on a forum, but never let them loose in nature.

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Q: Do toads always go to the bathroom in the water?
A: Toads will often go to the bathroom in the water, but not always. If they make a regular practice of going to the bathroom in the water, consider it a good thing - you don't have to hunt for it in the rest of the tank. Just dump the dirty water into the toilet and wash the bowl out with really hot water and wipe clean. If the bowl is porous, do not use soap which can be very hard to get out of the pores. For occasional sterilizing, we bake our water bowls at 250 degrees for a few hours. We strongly advise against using plastic bowls - they can't be baked, tend to be very porous, and all plastics outgas various chemicals, including formaldehyde.

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Q: Aren't toads pests? I read someplace that toads were dangerous, poisonous pest who should be beaten to death. I also heard a neighbor say they can hurt my vegetable garden. Is this true?
A: Toads are NOT pests! In almost all cases, toads are a big HELP to a garden. They do not and cannot poison your vegetables and they should never be killed. They are probably helping your garden by controlling many insects that will destroy your vegetables. Please see our article about attracting toads to your garden by clicking here.
What you might have heard is the unfortunate case of the Cane toad (bufo marinus) in Australia. This poor toad was brought over to Australia by ignoramuses who didn't understand the dangers of bringing a non-native species into an established ecosystem. The toads thrive and are a threat to local wildlife. Even so, they should only be put to sleep in a humane manner. Read the full story here. Remember, in America, the American Bullfrog, found in ponds accross the country are a PEST! Rabbits and other animals have been introduced to Australia and have been labeled an "invasive species". Non-native plants are also a huge problem. These animals and plants all became "pests" in there new environments only because dumb humans introduced them there, then go blame the animal for it's presence! Get educated and learn the truth.
Bottom line: local, native toads in your area are a help to your garden. Not a threat. Give them a toad house and scrap those cancer causing chemical pesticides!