Toad Information
Where do Toads Live?
Common toads are found all over Britain, and spend more time on dry land than frogs and may remain in one area all summer. The Natterjack has a very restricted range and is only found at a few coastal dune, saltmarsh and inland heath sites in Britain.
By mid-October, most toads and toadlets have retreated to dry banks, holes used by small mammals, compost heaps, amongst dead wood, under garden buildings and other places offering shelter. They will stay in these sites through the winter, but may take advantage of mild patches of weather to forage.
Where do Toads Breed
In the spring, males are usually the first to emerge from their over-wintering sites and make their way to their breeding ponds. Toads have a phenomenal homing instinct and will travel through all sorts of obstacles to reach the breeding site.
Some female toads will arrive at the breeding pond carrying a mate, but others arrive alone and are quickly swamped by the waiting males and at times when there is a shortage of females, one female may be swamped by a number of males, creating a ‘toad ball’. This scenario is often fatal to the female toad, who is drowned in the furore.
Toad eggs are encased in jelly and laid over a 24hr period in a string around submerged weeds. A string of up to 7mtrs in length can contain over 4000 eggs.
After 14 days the jelly disintegrates and the tadpoles swim free, and continue to develop in the pond for up to 85 days. They will leave the pond when they no longer have tails, usually after rain.
What do Toads Eat?
Toads have huge appetites and have always been considered the gardener’s friend. They will pretty much swallow and living animal that they can manage, which includes caterpillars, beetles, slugs, spiders, snails, woodlice, ants, and even larger prey like newts, young frogs and even small mice.
Toads can become very tame and friendly and as such can be offered titbits such as live mealworms. With regular feeding they can even be encouraged to come to you when called!
What Predators do Toads Have?
The toad has a defence mechanism against many predators where it secrets a foul tasting toxin from its skin glands as a white milk when threatened. This substance is highly unpleasant to any predator that trys to mouth a toad, but some predators are not deterred. Hedgehogs, stoats, weasels, rats and corvids such as crows and magpies are on the list of predators. Dogs are frequent killers of toads, but pay the price by discovering that toads don’t taste too good, sadly at the expense of this valuable amphibian.
Threats to British Toads
The main threats to toads in the UK are the loss of breeding ponds and disruption of migration routes. Road building and development have created many obstacles for toads travelling to their breeding sites, as well as the loss of these ponds as a result of house building and other developments.
