Author Topic: Made a friend at work this morning.  (Read 3760 times)

Offline hickory n Steel

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Made a friend at work this morning.
« on: August 17, 2019, 02:13:10 PM »
Well at least for the couple minutes the little fella stuck around.

I almost stepped on the toad out by the trash compactor, so I picked him up and let him go somewhere safer.
I've always loved frogs and toads since I was a baby , and whenever I meat one it makes my day.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2019, 02:17:52 PM by hickory n Steel »
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Offline torqueman2002

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2019, 05:06:11 PM »
Toads are making a 'come back', around my yard at least.

For the last 2-3 years, I've seen more and more, but still not the numbers of say 10 years ago.

I move them to safer spots, where they are out of the path of the mower, whenever I spot them.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2019, 06:59:28 PM by torqueman2002 »
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Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2019, 06:31:40 PM »
I get the feeling this little guy may have been snacking on crickets, for some reason they're everywhere.
Man the bastards are annoying, I wish there were more toads to eat them.
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Offline fatfillup

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2019, 06:45:00 PM »
If there is food, the toads will come :))

I remember seeing 50 or more on my patio once when some little insect was swarming, mating, being born, whatever.  The next morning at the shop, which is close, there was a toad so bloated, he couldn't jump.  Had to move him out of the way. 

Offline m_fumich

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2019, 09:06:01 AM »
I love seeing the toads in my yard. They’re all Fowlers Toads around here. I rarely see an American Toad. I say hello to them every time I see them. Bubble bees are a close second. Before we moved to where we are now, the same 4 toads would congregate in front of my door and sit there eating bugs all night. They wouldn’t even move as I went in and out the door. I could reach down and pet the biggest one and it would just sit there.


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Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2019, 09:51:04 AM »
I love seeing the toads in my yard. They’re all Fowlers Toads around here. I rarely see an American Toad. I say hello to them every time I see them. Bubble bees are a close second. Before we moved to where we are now, the same 4 toads would congregate in front of my door and sit there eating bugs all night. They wouldn’t even move as I went in and out the door. I could reach down and pet the biggest one and it would just sit there.


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We used to have so many frogs and toads in my dad's backyard when I was a kid because at one point my mom got mad and turn his legs loose  ;D

Beyond frogs and toads I love lizards as well.
A few years back I had pair of blue belly fence lizards living out back which I named Hoss and Little Joe.
I've always heard they're poisonous in some way but I never new a kid who would actually wash his hands after touching them.
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Offline m_fumich

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2019, 11:30:31 AM »
Funny fact about the Fowler’s Toad.

The Fowler’s Toad has a mating call like any toad. The male let’s out his call and the female replies with the SAME CALL for the males to follow back to her to have a good time. The result is that males can’t distinguish between males and females when moving in on the call of another toad. The males have a “release call” for when another male grabs on to get a little action. Effectively, the toad yells “Hey, I’m a dude. Back off.”


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Offline m_fumich

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2019, 11:39:44 AM »

I've always heard they're poisonous in some way but I never new a kid who would actually wash his hands after touching them.

They’re not poisonous. The glands on the back of their head secrete a toxin and makes them taste bad to predators. One side effect is that the animal will get high. You may have heard of “licking toads to get high.” That is how it’s done. My mother had a dog that was so hooked on getting a toad buzz on that she’d inadvertently kill any toad she found. She just kept mouthing it until it died. She never did any real damage that you could see but they never survived her attempts to get high. The dog would be high as a kite for an hour or so.

I’ve gone one now that will mess with the toads but not to that extent. I’ve seen her do it. She chases them because they hop a lot and she will grab them. She lets go quickly. Probably because of the bad taste. She gets after them again when they start hopping. She will come back inside foaming at the mouth which is a result of the toxin.


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Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2019, 12:44:03 PM »

I've always heard they're poisonous in some way but I never new a kid who would actually wash his hands after touching them.

They’re not poisonous. The glands on the back of their head secrete a toxin and makes them taste bad to predators. One side effect is that the animal will get high. You may have heard of “licking toads to get high.” That is how it’s done. My mother had a dog that was so hooked on getting a toad buzz on that she’d inadvertently kill any toad she found. She just kept mouthing it until it died. She never did any real damage that you could see but they never survived her attempts to get high. The dog would be high as a kite for an hour or so.

I’ve gone one now that will mess with the toads but not to that extent. I’ve seen her do it. She chases them because they hop a lot and she will grab them. She lets go quickly. Probably because of the bad taste. She gets after them again when they start hopping. She will come back inside foaming at the mouth which is a result of the toxin.


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Interesting, thanks for the info.
As a kid i had a tiny one that I kept which would hang out on my shirt all day, people thought it was a lizard pin or something until he moved his head.
I no longer catch and keep wild animals for the obvious reason that they belong in the wild.
I've always been told that cats get high off of eating spiders, and by the way my cats acted it seems plausible but I do doubt it.
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Offline stokester

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2019, 03:10:00 PM »
I'm frequently greeted by one of these guys.  It's a juvenile five-lined skink which live under my deck and in/around the garage/shop.  This one is only about 4-5" long and will lose the blue tail as he ages.  The more critters to eat bugs!
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Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Made a friend at work this morning.
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2019, 03:28:53 PM »
I'm frequently greeted by one of these guys.  It's a juvenile five-lined skink which live under my deck and in/around the garage/shop.  This one is only about 4-5" long and will lose the blue tail as he ages.  The more critters to eat bugs!
Beautiful animal there.
You're lucky to have them around.
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