During the spring, male toads will relax in pools of water and call to female toads, hoping to attract company, not to mention the chance to procreate. Once you find a toad, don’t make any sudden movements. Approach it slowly. Be careful not to squish the toad when moving any rocks or other heavy materials.
If the toad “waters” in your hands, don’t be alarmed - it’s not pee, it’s water released from their water bladder. You cannot get warts from handling toads. Don’t handle a toad too much, as the oils on your skin can hurt it after a while.
If you continue to practice your toad hunting skills, each new acquisition requires about 5 gallons worth of space. If you catch baby toads, smaller plastic ‘critter keepers’ from the pet store will be more than sufficient for housing before the toad nears full size – which can be over four inches long! Clean the interior of the toad’s enclosure once a month with heavily diluted bleach – shoot for about 5% bleach and 95% water. If you only intend to keep your toad for a few days, a box with a reliably closing lid and no holes larger than a dime will also work.
Know that toads are nocturnal, and will likely bury themselves in the substrate during the day – so don’t be worried if you can’t spot your toad. Lightly spray the substrate with water every day. This will make it easy for your toad to maneuver around their domain and comfortably lounge in choice pockets of substrate. Replace all of the substrate every 2 to 4 months.
Carefully add a piece of wood. Your toad will likely burrow right beneath it. A hollowed out log is even more exciting, as a lazy toad can simply post up inside of it. As long as there is adequate substrate and you keep it clean and moist, the toad will be able to regulate it’s temperature. Room temperature is okay, even with natural cooling of 10-15 degrees F in the evening. Toads do not need artificial lighting for warmth. Replace the water in their toad tubs daily.
Toads will also eat minnows, earthworms, and other insects as well. You may have to dangle non-lively critters in front of your toad to bait them into attacking. Make sure you only feed your toad food that is smaller in size than the width of your toad’s mouth. Toads are naturally ravenous beasts, and may attempt to swallow things they probably shouldn’t. Let your toad eat as much as it wants for fifteen minutes every evening. Remove any food they attempt to hoard at the conclusion of their nightly feeding session.
Toads love small, dark recesses. Turn a small ceramic flower pot upside down and prop it up with a rock or other natural materials. Leave the ground of your toad abode un-floored. Toads like to dig.
Create a pond or other water feature in your yard. For an especially easy water feature, install a bird bath at ground height. A backyard pond will attract all sorts of biodiversity, including toads.
If there’s a stream or wetland on or near your property, do your part to protect existing toad habitats. Do not allow pollution or development on or near your land. Consider allowing your yard to serve as a habitat for wildlife generally, as a healthy natural ecosystem is best for all animals, including toads. Find information specific to the health of your watershed online, from organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency.
Help biologists who study amphibians by participating in a scientific monitoring program online. Learn about the invasive species in your area and try to keep them out of your habitat, so the toads you know are safe. Cane toads are a particularly dangerous invasive species, as they can kill larger predators – and even pets – that eat them.
Recognize cane toad spawn: long, jelly-like strands with black dots all along the strands. Remove strings of eggs from the water and dispose of them in your compost, bury them in your garden, or leave them in the sun to dry out.
Place a dead cane toad inside a funnel trap and submerge the trap in a body of water where you’ve found evidence of cane toad presence. The secretion from cane toads’ shoulders will attract cane toad tadpoles, helping you curb the species presence in waterways around your home by catching them before they take over completely. Dispose of tadpoles by burying them in your compost or garden.
Wear gloves, rubber boots, and a sack to catch adult cane toads. Collect cane toads at night using flashlights and other concentrated light sources, which will immobilize toads.
Put the toad(s) in a plastic container with airholes punched into it. Place the container in the fridge for at least four hours. This will put the toad(s) into a coma-like state. Place the container in the freezer for at least three days. This will kill the toads as humanly as possible. Most communities that struggle with cane toad infestation will have a collection center that will kill and dispose of cane toads for you.
A golf club is an immature and sadistic item to touch any animal with in any way. Similarly, spraying toads with aggressive chemicals is a vile way to treat animals. In particular, do not use bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or Dettol. While each of these have a reputation for killing toads, they may simply maim them, and cause immense pain to the animals. Furthermore, avoid the use of chemicals to ensure that you are not adding anything that may harm other species to the environment.
