Hello, Prince Charming
Fat toad, La Ceiba(Updated below)
Our front porch is the favorite hang out for six dogs, occasionally two chickens, and now, this not-so-handsome guy (or girl?).
Why this toad would want to take his afternoon siesta among all the ruckus of the dogs is anyone's guess, but he/she seemed intent upon staying. Even after I brought the dogs inside, he hung around instead of making his escape while the coast was clear.
Man, this guy is sooo fat that he looks like he's going to explode. He must be finding some good eats.
Ooooh! I just remembered − We had to move Chloe's food to the front porch because the fire ants kept getting into it on the terraza. I'll bet this toad is eating dog food. I've been complaining that I have to fill Chloe's bowl twice a day now. I thought it was the puppies, but now I wonder....
Is there such a thing as a balloon toad?Update May 28, 2007:
I received this email from Patty:
So I tried to do some research, but none of the photos show toads as fat as this one so I just wasn't sure. I wrote to Andrew Tillson-Willis, a toad expert in the UK. He immediately identified both this one and the one I posted a few months ago as Bufo marinus (Cane toad), a poisonous toad.
Great. I read in this article, Danger - Giant Toads, that they are extremely dangerous to dogs. Now what? I don't know where the toad is now. How do I keep six dogs away from this toad?
By the way, if you are interested in toads, or just want to see some great photos of toads, check out Andrew's site, Pollywog. He even has a toad forum.
I received this email from Patty:
I don't want to alarm you, but that looks like a bufo toad. We have them in Florida. The good news is, he eats mosquitoes and is generally harmless to humans, unless you touch him and put your hands to your mouth. The bad news is, he exudes a very poisonous substance through his skin, which is not harmful to touch, but if Chloe or the puppies pick him up in their mouths, it could be disastrous. If the dogs pick him up, you will have to hold their mouths open and flush with a strong stream of water. Then take them to the vet. My dog went into convulsions after picking one up. Humans have hallucinations after absorbing the substance through the skin or ingesting it.Patty
So I tried to do some research, but none of the photos show toads as fat as this one so I just wasn't sure. I wrote to Andrew Tillson-Willis, a toad expert in the UK. He immediately identified both this one and the one I posted a few months ago as Bufo marinus (Cane toad), a poisonous toad.
They certainly are Bufo marinus, here's a picture of the one I keep which was imported from Honduras: http://www.pollywog.co.uk/bufo_marinus-2.jpg
Many thanks,
Andrew
Great. I read in this article, Danger - Giant Toads, that they are extremely dangerous to dogs. Now what? I don't know where the toad is now. How do I keep six dogs away from this toad?
By the way, if you are interested in toads, or just want to see some great photos of toads, check out Andrew's site, Pollywog. He even has a toad forum.
Posts
16 comments:
aww thats adorable! I love frogs. We get a lot of them at my house. 5 or 6 of them sit on one of our portch lights. It's fun to watch them sit for minutes then suddenly hop on a moth that flies by.
~Kman's daughter
:-) We used to chase girls around and throw these bad boys at them whenever there was no electricity at night! Fun times...
Wow, I wouldn't want to come across him in the middle of the night!
Aren't you glad I am so smart? Believe me, having a dog nearly die from trying to defend his food dish is very scary. Also, coming up on a 5 lb toad when you are not expecting to see him is scary. These guys have no fear, as they have few natural enemies.
Patty
Looks like Jabba the Hut. There were a lot of Bufo marinus toad in Hawaii where they imported them to control the insects. Some of the nasty boys would stick a cigarette in the toads mouth. Said the toad would suck on the cigarette and wouldn't be able to exhale and eventually would blow up. Yeah right. They looked much darker than the one you photographed. Never saw one that fat or round.
I'm afraid I'm going to have nightmares now about this giant. I just noticed that I'm making this "oh ewe" face.
Maybe pick him up and drop him off at those teenagers' house.
On second thought...don't do that.
Yes, they do eat the dog food and anything else they can get in their mouths.
Australia has a huge problem with them. They have no predators as far as I know and any thing that does eat them dies or is sickened.
You certainly don't want a breeding population so catch all you can, whenever you can.
Somehow they managed to arrive here on Singer Island and we have dispatched several. They don't just eat mosquitos. They will eat other,native species of frogs and lizards and ground nesting birds.
I know you don't want to kill anything so get El Jefe to do it.
Ki beat me to it... I was going to say he looked like Jabba the Hut too! :)
Hi KMan's daughter. Can I call you Kgirl? Actually this one isn't too much fun to watch as it is so fat that it just sits in the same spot all day. Now it has gone somewhere else and I'm glad!
Alex, Did you know they were poisonous when you did that?
Aaron is a scaredy cat! Na na na!
Patty, thanks for the warning. We are definitely going to dispose of it somewhere if it comes back.
Ki, I'm laughing picturing that toad with a cigarette sticking out of its mouth! I'm sure that you had nothing to do with that, right?
Sprout, I wonder what kind of creepy crawlies you are going to find in Copan?
Hi Blackswamp Girl. Thanks for stopping by.
Missed your comment, Tom. I read that they were imported to Hawaii and Australia for the sugar cane fields, which they have since decided was a big error. I also read that they do eat dog food, too. Dog food is too expensive here to be feeding it to the toads!
You say he hasn't come back to the porch, but you also moved the dogs food dish. That may be one way to lure him back. Just keep the dogs inside overnight, and scoop up mr. Toad in the morning.
We have a lot of those toads here in Panama also. And here they are very dangerous for dogs. I have seen 100 pound dogs take after one of those toads and get sick and have to be rushed to the vet.
I'm feeling less and less benevolent towards this toad all the time.
I was checking my Koi pond this morning, in the dark before I went to work and sure enough; one jumped into the pond as I walked by.
It sounded like someone threw a boulder in the water. I'll be out there tonight with a flashlight and my trusty net.
Toad legs anyone?
ewwwwwwwww
toads fat lumpy old thinks looks like my teacher......
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