Like most toads, American toads reproduce by laying eggs. The eggs are laid in jelly-like strings, along plants, or on the bottoms of shallow water in ponds.

Learning about American toad eggs is great to add to your knowledge and feed your curiosity. Read on to find out everything you need to know about American toad eggs including some really interesting facts, as well as how to easily identify them.

When Do American Toads Lay Their Eggs?

The breeding season of American toads is triggered by the arrival of warmer temperatures and longer days.

In most of their range, this is from March to July, depending on the latitude.

However, American toads in the Southeast may begin breeding as early as mid-January or February.

American toads often breed earlier than other toads.

Where Do American Toads Lay Their Eggs?

American toads prefer to lay their eggs in shallow, standing, or slow-moving, temporary, or semi-permanent freshwater bodies with little to moderate amounts of vegetation.

Breeding sites include woodland ponds, flooded fields, seasonal pools, temporary rain puddles, flooded ditches, lake edges, river backwaters, open marshes, swamps, artificial ponds, and even deep tire tracks or potholes filled with rainwater.

Like many other amphibians, American toads prefer to breed in waters that are free of predatory fish. They will typically avoid water with fish, as fish often prey on amphibian eggs and larvae.

How Do American Toads Lay Their Eggs?

The males arrive first at the breeding sites and call for mates, usually beginning in the early evening. They will also call during the daytime on warm and humid days at the height of the breeding season.

Females appear at the breeding sites from a few days to one week after the males.

Once at the breeding sites, female American toads will choose their mates depending on individual characteristics of the males’ calls – and head towards the calls of particular males.

The male then grasps her behind her forelimbs in a tight mating embrace called ‘amplexus’.

Once in the amplexus embrace, the pair will swim around as the female chooses a site to lay her eggs. The female then lays her eggs in jelly-like strings, and the male releases sperm into the water, to fertilize the eggs as the female lays them.

The egg strings attach to vegetation or lie at the bottom of the water.

How Many Eggs Do American Toads Lay?

A single female American toad can lay anywhere from 2,000 to as many as 20,000 eggs at a time.

In many toad species, female fecundity (capability to produce offspring) is positively correlated with size, so large female American toads may lay more eggs than smaller females.

Why Do American Toads Lay So Many Eggs?

Like many other toads (and frogs), American toads lay large numbers of eggs as a natural way to counter the extremely high mortality rates they experience in their early life stages.

American toads leave their eggs shortly after laying them. This means the eggs (and tadpoles) are vulnerable to predators, and environmental conditions – leading to very low survival rates.

Of the tadpoles that hatch, there will be intense competition for food and limited resources, meaning again the number of tadpoles will naturally thin out.

When the toadlets leave the water, only a few will live to adulthood and reproduce. The rest will get eaten by predators such as snakes, raccoons, and a wide variety of birds.

What Do American Toad Eggs Look Like?

American toad eggs are black and surrounded by a clear jelly. They are laid in double, gelatinous strands and look almost like jelly-coated necklaces.

Here is what American toad eggs look like:

When first laid, the eggs are very tightly packed together. Over time, the jelly surrounding the eggs absorbs water until each egg is covered with a thick jelly coating.

This enables the eggs to float near the surface of the water, where it is warmer and there is more oxygen.

Sometimes, the egg strings coil up like an old phone cord.  The jelly strings help anchor the eggs to rocks and vegetation underwater, to prevent them from washing away.

Over time, sediment may settle on the egg strands, covering individual eggs and making the strands look like giant worms.

How Long Do American Toads Take To Hatch?

American toad eggs take about 3 to 14 days to hatch, depending on the environmental conditions. The eggs will typically develop and hatch faster in warmer temperatures and slower in colder temperatures.

American toad eggs laid in cooler weather will usually take longer to hatch than those laid in warmer weather.

What Do American Toad Tadpoles Look Like?

American Toad tadpoles are small, ranging from 0.7 to 1 inch (18 to 27mm) in length. They have a blackish-brown coloration, with a clear fin tail.

Young American toad tadpoles can easily be recognized by their skinny tails in relation to the size of their bodies.

They can often be seen swimming close together in schools in the shallow parts of their pond.

American Toad Eggs vs Frog Eggs

American toads and many frog species often lay eggs in the same pools.

However, distinguishing American toad eggs from frog eggs is fairly easy.

Most frogs lay their eggs in large clusters. The eggs look like jelly-like globs, with a developing embryo visible inside each egg.

Some frogs also lay their eggs singly, often attached to the same stick in a pool.

On the other hand, American toads (and most other toads) lay their eggs in long jelly-covered strings, which may look like a string of black beads. No North American frog or European frog species lay their eggs in strings.

If you live in North America, Europe, or Australia and see amphibian eggs laid in long strings in the water, you can be 100% sure they are toad eggs.

Once you are sure they are toad eggs, you can ID them to see whether or not they belong to American toads.

What Animals Prey on American Toad Eggs and Tadpoles?

Like the eggs of many toad species, American toad eggs are toxic, and are therefore avoided by many potential predators.

American toad tadpoles also exude a toxic substance that is poisonous to at least some of their potential predators. However, they are still preyed on by

• Larvae of predaceous diving beetles (Dytiscidae)
• Newts (Notophthalmus)
• Dragonfly naiads
• Giant water bugs
• Crayfish
• Some birds such as Least sandpipers

What to Do if You Find American Toad Eggs

If you live near a wooded area, especially near a pond, or another water body there’s a chance of encountering American toad eggs in the spring. If this happens, be sure to avoid disturbing the eggs.

Disturbing or removing the eggs from the water could damage them, or even kill the tiny embryos developing inside the eggs.

If you find American toad eggs out of the water, it is best to leave them alone, especially if they are very near the water.

However, if you find toad eggs that were disturbed (by a human or animal) and taken out of the water, you could try to put them back in the water.

If the egg mass is still attached to a stick, very gently put the stick back in the water (just a few inches below the surface).

Still, the eggs are not guaranteed to hatch because the disturbance may have damaged them or killed the embryos developing inside.

Of course, there’s no harm in observing toad eggs from a distance.

Featured image credit: Olivia Gaetz (CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED)

Sources:

BRUCE WALDMAN, JOHN E. RICE, RODNEY L. HONEYCUTT, Kin Recognition and Incest Avoidance in Toads, American Zoologist, Volume 32, Issue 1, February 1992, Pages 18–30, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/32.1.18

Stebbins, Robert C. (1951). Amphibians of western North America. University of California Press

Gerhardt, H.C. Sound pressure levels and radiation patterns of the vocalizations of some North American frogs and toads. J. Comp. Physiol. 102, 1–12 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657481

Ezra Mushala

Hi, my name is Ezra Mushala, i have been interested animals all my life. I am the main author and editor here at snakeinformer.com.

snakeinformer.com

The post Everything You Need To Know About American Toad Eggs first appeared on Snake Informer.

American toads are generalist predators and will eat almost any prey they can catch, overpower, and fit into their mouths. In the wild, they eat snails, slugs, earthworms, ants, spiders, a wide variety of insects, and other invertebrates. In captivity, they can be fed crickets, dubia roaches, nightcrawlers, mealworms, and other invertebrates. 

American toads develop in two main life stages. They start their lives as tiny tadpoles that live entirely in the water. At this stage, they eat algae, plant tissue, and detritus in their aquatic environments.

After about 40 to 70 days, these tadpoles will through a process known as metamorphosis and develop into the adult form American toads that most people are more familiar with

At this point, they become obligate carnivores and will eat a wide variety of prey they can catch. A single American toad can eat up to 1,000 insects every day!

What American Toad Tadpoles Eat in the Wild

American toads start their lives as tiny embryos inside eggs. Their first food source for the developing embryos is the yolk of their eggs.

The yolk provides enough nutrition to sustain the developing tadpoles until they are ready to hatch into the water. This can take anywhere from 3 to 12 days.

After hatching, the tadpoles will have poorly developed gills, mouths, and tails – so they can not properly swim or eat yet.

For this reason, they will spend the first few days feeding on the remaining yolk of the eggs. This will provide them with enough energy to grow and develop further.

After about a few days, the tadpoles would have developed enough to start free swimming and feeding on food sources available in the water.

At this early stage, American toad tadpoles are almost completely herbivorous, and will eat:

• Algae
• Soft roots and leaves of aquatic plants (eg. duckweed mosses)
• Phytoplankton
• Detritus (mostly composed of degraded plant materials)

Due to a mostly herbivorous diet, the tadpoles have very long tightly coiled intestines, that make up more than half of their body mass.

Plants contain cellulose, a compound that is very hard to digest. Because of this, plant matter needs to spend more time in the digestive system. This long intestinal tract gives tadpoles more time to break down the plant matter and absorb as many nutrients as possible.

American Toad Tadpoles Become Omnivores

A few weeks into their development, the tadpoles start to grow legs, starting with the back legs. Their digestive tract will also gradually shorten.

American toad tadpoles at this stage become omnivores and will eat animal protein in addition to plant matter.

They will also eat:

• Aquatic insect larvae (glass worms, mosquito larvae, etc)
• Water striders
• Zooplankton
• Small insects that fall into the water
• Worms
• Carcasses in the water

Whatever they eat, they will eat constantly. They have high energy demands because they are growing very rapidly. Growing big as fast as possible is necessary for survival, as they are at the mercy of environmental conditions.

What Juvenile American Toads Eat in the Wild

After about 50 – 60 days, the tadpoles will go through a process known as metamorphosis, in which they will transform into juvenile toads

During metamorphosis, the thyroid gland secretes a growth hormone called thyroxine.

This hormone triggers the tadpoles to:

• Lose the gills, and develop lungs for breathing air
• Absorb the tail into the body
• Grow strong legs for moving on land
• Remodel other organs to form an adult toad

In addition, the digestive tract shortens dramatically, and the inner lining of the remaining intestine thickens, creating many folds in the process. These folds create a very large surface for the absorption of nutrients during digestion.

Once metamorphosis fully is complete, tiny toadlets will leave the water and live on land

At this point, American toads become obligate carnivores, which means they stop eating plant matter and will only eat animal-based foods.

However, since they are not fully grown yet, they can only eat small live prey.

Wild Juvenile American toads will eat:

• Ants
• Mites
• Small worms
• Small snails, slugs
• Spiders
• Termites 
• Springtails 
• Crane flies
• Fruit flies, and other small insects

As they grow in size, they will be able to eat larger prey.

What Adult American Toads Eat in the Wild

Adult American toads are fully grown, meaning they have bigger mouths and stronger jaws. They basically eat a larger version of the diet they did as juveniles, but their larger size also allows them to eat things they did not eat as juveniles.

Like the juveniles, adult American toads generally prefer to eat live prey and will almost not eat dead bugs or other dead prey items.

Here’s a list of things that make up an adult American toads diet in the wild:

• Worms, grubs, slugs, snails 
• Beetles, stinkbugs, wasps, bees, grasshoppers, cockroaches,
• Spiders, centipedes, millipedes
• Mosquitos, termites, ants, mites, springtails 
• Mosquitoes, fruit flies, crane flies, crickets
• Moths, butterflies, and a wide variety of other insects

Adult American toads are generalist carnivores and will eat just about anything they can fit in their mouths. During spring and summer nights, they often catch and eat insects as they fall to the ground under outdoor lights.

Unlike most toads, who wait for prey to come along and pounce on it, American toads can shoot out their sticky tongues to catch prey.

They also may use their front legs in order to eat larger food. They grasp their food and push it into their mouths.

Although these toads are primarily crepuscular, they will search for food during late afternoons, as the weather gets cooler.

They are very voracious eaters – as earlier mentioned, one American toad can eat up to 1,000 insects every day.

What Adult American Toads Eat In Captivity

Captive American toads can eat all the food they would eat in the wild. The only reason they have a different diet is that most hobbyists cannot easily obtain the wide variety of prey these frogs eat in the wild.

So they are limited to only prey items they can purchase or culture on their own.

However, even in captivity, American toads have to be fed live prey. These live prey items can be purchased in a pet store, online, or even from another hobbyist.

Alternatively, you could culture feeder insects at home if you are up for the challenge.

Here’s a list of things you can feed an American toad in captivity:

• Crickets, dubia roaches, orange head roaches
• Wingless fruit flies, nightcrawlers
• Mealworms, waxworms, Super worms,
• Phoenix Worms, black soldier fly larvae
• Silkworms, hornworms

American toads are not picky eaters, and will readily accept most soft-bodied invertebrates.

The key to a proper diet for captive toads is variety. Crickets and Dubia roaches can make up their diet. However, it is essential that they are supplemented with a good variety of other prey items such as nightcrawlers, silkworms, hornworms, etc.

Be careful to feed the proper size prey for your toads’ size. A good rule of thumb is that a cricket should never be larger than the distance between the toad’s eyes, or the distance from its eyes to its nose.

Also, IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED to feed red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) to captive amphibians. This is because they exude a noxious fluid that contains a toxin known as Lysenin – which is poisonous to many animals.

When feeding insects with a hard exoskeleton to your pet (such as mealworms or super worms), try to make sure the insects have recently molted, as an insect with a large, hard exoskeleton is difficult to digest and may cause impaction.

As for fruit flies, I recommend Hydei fruit flies as they are considerably bigger than the Melanogaster fruit flies and make a richer meal for your toad.

Can You Feed a Captive American Toad Wild Bugs?

You could feed your American toad wild-caught bugs. Just be 100% sure they are from a clean area that’s free of pesticides or other chemicals. Avoid feeding bugs that can sting or bite, such as large spiders, hornets, bees, etc.

However, it is generally not a good idea to feed captive toads wild bugs or other wild prey. This is because wild insects may carry diseases and parasites that your toad is vulnerable to.

Also, wild bugs in a seemingly clean area could be carrying pesticides they picked up from another area.

Gut-Loading & Nutrient Supplements

Captive-bred feeder insects are often raised on a cost-conscious diet that is meant to help them grow quickly. This means they are not as nutritious as wild insects that eat a wide variety of vitamin and mineral-rich food.

If your toad is given a low-nutrient diet, it could develop health problems such as metabolic bone disease – which is a fairly common issue in captive amphibians.

For this reason, it is important to increase the nutritional value of the food you give to your toad.

This is mainly done in two ways: dusting, and gut loading.

Gut Loading

Gut loading is the process by which feeder insects are fed nutrient-dense foods at least 48 hrs before they are offered to the toad. The intention is to pass those nutrients on to the toad when the insects are eaten. 

The process is simple

• Give your feeder insects nutrient-dense foods, such as fresh vegetables with lots of vitamin C.
• After eating this food, the feeder insects will be much more nutritious and pass the nutrients on to the toad when they are eaten.

Dusting

Besides gut loading, another way to ensure your frog gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs is by dusting its food with high-quality powder calcium and vitamin supplements.

Most hobbyists use commercially manufactured supplement powder specifically designed for reptiles and amphibians.

The process is simple:

• First, add a small pinch of supplement powder into a small container such as a cup or an empty cereal container. The powder should only be enough to lightly dust the insects.
• Place one feeding’s worth of feeder insects in the container
• Gently shake the container so the supplements lightly coat the insects
• Once finished, you can offer the dusted insects to your toad.

It is a good idea to consult a veterinarian for specific directions on supplementing your pet’s food since many variables go into determining the best supplementation regimen for each animal.

Following your veterinarian’s instructions could help you avoid over-supplementing food.

Otherwise, a good starting point is to dust with a good quality calcium supplement fortified with vitamin D3, 2-3 times a week.

How Much & How Often to Feed Your American Toad

Generally, adult American toads will have to be fed every two or three days, while young toads will need to be fed every day or two.

However, this is not set in stone. If an adult does not eat much during feeding sessions, they may have to be fed every other day.

In addition, the enclosure’s temperature will determine the feeding frequency.

If the temperature is low, your American toad will have a slower metabolism and be less active, so it won’t need to each much.

At warmer temperatures, your toad will have a much faster metabolism and will need to be fed much more frequently (every other day).

Regarding how much to feed your American toad, the general rule is to only offer as much as the toad can eat in a 20-minute feeding session.

American toads love to eat! Be careful to not overfeed your toad. Use personal judgment to ensure most of the food offered is being consumed.

Keep a close eye on the toad so you can adjust their diet accordingly. If your toad is becoming overweight, consider reducing the number of food items you feed them each meal.

Likewise, if they’re underweight – you need to feed them more food items per feeding or feed them more times per week.

How Long Can American Toads Go Without Food?

Generally, healthy adult American toads can go for as long as two weeks without food if the environmental temperatures are low, and the toads have a reduced rate of metabolism.

Juvenile American toads can not survive long without food as they are still growing and have higher energy needs.

However, this isn’t to say you should test the endurance of your toad.

In most situations, it’s a good idea to offer food to your American toad at least two-three times per week.

What American Toad Tadpoles Eat In Captivity

American toad tadpoles have a different diet from metamorphosed adults. During the first few days after they hatch, they will absorb the remaining yolk around them so feeding won’t be necessary.

Once the tadpoles begin moving around and free swimming, you can start feeding them boiled and finely chopped vegetables such as:

• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Baby spinach
• Zucchini

Apart from vegetables, you can also feed:

• Algae wafers
• Plant-based fish flakes (for herbivorous fish)
• Aquatic frog and tadpole food 

When the tadpoles start to grow legs and lose their tails, you can start feeding them late-stage tadpole food, as well as fish flakes for omnivorous fish.

Finely grind the fish flakes in a blender – until you get a fine powder. You may have to sift the ground food through a small wire mesh sieve to remove larger pieces.

Like the adults and juveniles, American toad tadpoles benefit from a varied diet so it’s important to rotate their diet. You can use both vegetables and commercial food to give greater variety.

What Juvenile (Baby) American Toads Eat In Captivity

When the tadpoles go through metamorphosis (in about 50 – 60 days) and transform into toadlets, they become obligate carnivores – so they have to be fed small live prey.

Since they are not fully grown yet, they have to be fed a smaller version of their adult diet. The food has to be gut-loaded and dusted with supplements.

American toad toadlets can be fed:

• Pinhead crickets
• Wingless fruit flies
• Springtails
• Small mealworms

As the toadlets grow in size, they will be able to eat larger things.

The toadlets have huge appetites so they have to be fed every day – and as a general rule, their food should be dusted more often than an adult’s.

Be careful to feed the proper size prey for your toadlets’ size.

As earlier mentioned, a good rule of thumb is that a cricket should never be larger than the distance between the toad’s eyes, or the distance from its eyes to its nose.

What Human Foods Can American Toads Eat?

Toadlets and adult American toads are obligate carnivores and are instinctively attracted to movement while hunting for food. For this reason, they will not eat the vast majority of human food.

Humans do not typically eat live food and tend to cook most of their food, so human food will not even register as food to most toads, including American toads. If you try to offer human food to an American toad, it will not eat it and will go hungry

How to Feed an American Toad in Captivity

The most straightforward way to feed a toad is to simply dump the food into its enclosure and let the frog have its fill.

However, some amphibian owners find it easier and safer to feed their pet in a separate enclosure, free of bedding and furniture.

This way you can be sure your toad eats all its insects, the prey cannot hide, and the toad will not pick up any bedding when grabbing prey and mistakenly ingest it along with the prey.

Some toads, especially those that are still getting used to a new place may be shy and reluctant to eat. In this case, you could entice the toad to eat with the use of some feeding tongs.

Use the tongs to gently hold the food item, then rub it near the nose of the toad. Once he sees it, he will grab it and eat it.

Common Feeding Mistakes

There are a few common mistakes many new toad owners make when feeding their pets.

Using Dead Bugs

In the wild, frogs and toads are ambush hunters that are attracted to prey by movement (motion). For this reason, American toads won’t eat dead bugs. If you offer your American toad dead bugs, it will most likely ignore the food and starve. You should only offer live bugs and other prey items.

Using the Wrong-Sized Feeder Insects

Toads do not chew their food but rather swallow it whole. Feeding a tiny toad a disproportionately large insect could lead it to choke.

Never give a toad anything larger than the distance between its eyes. The bigger the toad, the larger the prey it will be able to eat.

Forgetting to Gut Load Insects

As mentioned earlier, captive-bred feeder insects do not contain as many nutrients as wild insects. They are often raised on a cost-conscious diet that is aimed at making them grow quickly and keeping costs low.

Forgetting to gut load or dust insects before feeding them to your American toad means the frog will not get all the nutrients it needs. This nutritional deficiency can lead to serious health problems, and could even be fatal.

Not Using a Varied Diet

Different food items have different nutrients. Not giving an American toad a varied diet means it will not get the right variety of nutrients it needs and may end up weak and malnourished.

Switch up the food items offered to the toad every few feedings so it gets a nutrient-rich diet.

Feeding Food With a High-Fat Content Too Often

Captive amphibians are not very active animals, so they do not burn off calories. This means giving a captive American toad high-fat food (such as wax worms) too often may lead to obesity.

Obesity can then lead to many health problems. For this reason, it is important to limit food with a high-fat content to only an occasional treat.

Overfeeding/ Underfeeding

Overfeeding a toad can lead to obesity, which could lead to several health problems. Alternatively, underfeeding means the toad will be undernourished and have poor health.

Why Isn’t My American Toad Eating?

1. It Is Still Getting Used to a New Place or Is Shy

The most common reason a toad won’t eat is that it is under stress, or still getting used to a new place. This is a very common problem with newly acquired toads.

To remedy this, try hand-feeding the toad with the help of feeding tongs/tweezers. Use the tongs to gently hold the prey item, and wiggle it in front of the toad to entice it to eat.

If this does not work try moving the toad to a dark room, and leave it alone to relax and settle down for a while. In the wild, American toads are primarily crepuscular creatures, so they will be more active in the dark and twilight hours.

2. You Are Feeding the Frog at the Wrong Time of the Day

Despite being crepuscular, American toads can usually eat at any time of the day. However, sometimes individual toads may have their own feeding preferences.

If your American toad won’t eat during the day, try feeding it just before the lights turn off in its enclosure. Or, If you’re not using a UVB light, during the evening time as the sun is going down.

3. The Prey Item Being Offered Is Too Big

Another reason an American toad may reject food is that the prey item you are offering is just too big. Remember, toad do not chew their food, so they will not eat anything they can now swallow whole.

As a general rule, never offer a toad any prey larger than the distance between its eyes.

4. It Is Not Accustomed to the Food Item Being Offered

Another possible reason a toad may reject food is that it is not used to eating the food you are offering. Try switching the food item being offered. Most American toads will readily accept live crickets, dubia roaches, and other soft-bodied invertebrates.

5. The Environmental Temperatures Are Low

Remember, toads are ectothermic (cold-blooded animals). When the temperatures are low, they will have a lower rate of metabolism, and be less active, so they won’t have the biggest appetite.

This is perfectly normal, and the toad will have a much better appetite when the temperatures are warmer.

Common Questions About American Toad Diet

Can American toads eat worms? 

In the wild, American toads will eat any worms they can catch – and In captivity, they will readily accept live earthworms. They are instinctively attracted to movement when hunting for food, so they will not eat dead worms.

Can American toads eat fruit?

American toads are obligate carnivores as adults and do not eat fruit or any other plants. Their digestive systems are suited for digesting animal-based foods, rather than plants matter.

What do American toad tadpoles eat?

Green tree frog tadpoles are mostly herbivorous and eat algae, the soft roots, and leaves of aquatic plants, plankton, and detritus. As the tadpoles grow, they become omnivorous and will eat aquatic insects, carcasses in the water, and other animal-based foods.

What do baby American toads eat?

American toads start as tadpoles that eat algae, soft plants, and small invertebrates. Over time, the tadpoles will transform into baby gray tree frogs that are obligate carnivores. Once transformed, baby American toads will eat ants, mites, termites, mosquitoes, and other small insects.

Featured image credit: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (CC BY 2.0).

Sources

Virginia Herpetological Society. Eastern American Toad Anaxyrus americanus americanus. Accessed at: https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/eastern-American-toad/index.php

Grossman, S. 2002. “Anaxyrus americanus” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed at: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anaxyrus_americanus

Canadian Herpetological Society. American Toad Anaxyrus americanus. Accessed at: https://canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=American Toad

The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). American Toad (Bufo [Anaxyrus] americanus). Accessed at: https://srelherp.uga.edu/anurans/bufame.htm 

Ezra Mushala

Hi, my name is Ezra Mushala, i have been interested animals all my life. I am the main author and editor here at snakeinformer.com.

snakeinformer.com

The post What Do American Toads Eat? first appeared on Snake Informer.

American toads are mildly poisonous. They have large parotid glands behind the eyes, and warty glands on the skin that produce a milky poisonous fluid known as bufotoxin, which tastes bad to many predators. This secretion is very irritating when it comes in contact with your eyes and mucous membranes, but it can make smaller animals such as dogs or cats sick.

Despite their poisonous secretion, American toads are usually harmless to humans. Their toxin is only harmful when ingested (such as when you pick up an American toad with your bare hands, then rub your eyes before washing your hands).

As a safety precaution, do not touch or handle American toads (or any other toads) unless necessary.

If you do handle one, remember to thoroughly wash your hands with antibacterial soap and water after. Do not rub your eyes or stick your fingers into your mouth or nose before washing your hands.

American Toads Are Only Mildly Poisonous

The majority of toxins found in toads are in the large parotid glands located behind the eyes.

That being said, it is important to note that toads typically do not secrete their poison at will. It has to be squeezed out. For this reason, animals at more at risk than humans.

A curious dog or cat might fall victim to an American toad if it bites the toad and squeezes out the poison. Small or sickly dogs/cats are at the greatest risk.

American Toads Are Not Venomous

If you are like most people, you have probably (at least once) used the words “venomous” and “poisonous” interchangeably.

But, you should know that there is a difference between these two concepts. Most poisonous animals are not venomous, and most venomous animals are not poisonous. Confused?

To make things simple:

• If an animal has to bite or sting you to inject its toxins, it is venomous.
• If an animal secretes its toxins outside of its body, and you absorb the toxins when you come in contact with the animal, it is poisonous.

In other words, Venom is actively injected, usually through stings, fangs, or barbs (think rattlesnakes, scorpions). Poison on the other hand is delivered much more passively and has to be absorbed/ingested into your body.

It can be ingested when it comes into contact with your eyes, lips, mucus lining of the nose, or open cuts on your skin (think poison dart frogs).

American toads secrete toxins to stop predators from eating them, but cannot actively inject these toxins into a predator. This means they are poisonous, but not venomous.

What Other Ways Do American toads Defend Themselves?

Apart from a poisonous secretion, American toads have other ways to defend themselves from predators.

As the first line of defense, they have a coloration that helps them camouflage or blend into the leaves and other debris in their environments.

When an American toad sees a predator getting close, it will crouch and remain still, relying on camouflage to escape the notice of the predator.

However, sometimes camouflage alone is not enough. When an American toad is spotted by a predator (especially a snake), it will inflate its lungs, lower its head, extend its hind limbs, and lift up its body to make itself more difficult to swallow. Sometimes, it may even urinate on itself to become a less attractive meal.

These toads will only rely on their poison as a last resort defense when all their other defenses fail to dissuade the predator.

Are American Toads Dangerous to Humans?

American toads typically aren’t dangerous to humans. While they do secrete a toxin, it is unlikely that anyone would ever be seriously harmed by this toxin unless the toad was licked, placed in the mouth, or swallowed.

Since most people won’t try to eat or lick a toad, the most likely way you would be harmed would be by handling an American toad with your bare hands, then rubbing your eyes, or sticking your fingers into your mouth without first washing your hands.

Doing this would enable the toxins to be absorbed by your mucus membranes and likely lead to strong irritation and general discomfort.

If the toxin comes in contact with your eyes, you may get a very painful sting, similar to the feeling you get when chili gets in your eye. It may even cause inflammation in the mucous membranes of your eyes.

You can also ingest the toxin when you handle an American toad with open cuts or scratches on your hands. This would most likely lead to an intense burning sensation and a feeling of numbness at the point of contact. But usually nothing more serious.

For this reason, it is a good idea to avoid handling American toads or any other toads. Although their poison is not lethal when ingested by humans, it can still be very irritating.

If you ever need to handle a toad, remember to avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth until you have washed your hands. Also, avoid handling toads with your bare hands if you have open cuts or scratches on your hands.

It’s Not Just the Toxin You Should Worry About

The other concern for American toads is, like many amphibians, they can carry salmonella and other germs that are harmful to humans. Toads can carry salmonella bacteria in their intestinal tract and continually pass them off in their waste.

The bacteria do not cause any illness in the toad – so an American toad carrying salmonella bacteria may look very healthy, but can pass the bacteria off to humans.

You can be exposed through either direct or indirect contact with the toad its droppings, or anything the toad came in contact with. (For example, if you touch an American toad, it is droppings or water where the toad has been, then touch stick your fingers into your mouth without first washing your hands).

Exposure to salmonella can lead to an illness known as salmonellosis which is characterized by diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.

Most infections only cause mild illness, but sometimes, the bacteria can spread to the bloodstream leading to serious illness.

Fortunately, you won’t get sick by simply touching a toad. The bacteria can only cause illness when they are ingested. Therefore, thoroughly washing your hands with anti-bacterial soap immediately after touching an American toad should keep you out of harm’s way.

Are American toads Poisonous to Dogs or Cats?

Since American toads secrete a toxin, a dog, cat, or any other pet that bites or picks up an American toad would get a mouthful of foul-tasting toxin and most likely let go right away.

If a dog (or cat) ingests enough of this toxin, it may droll, foam at the mouth, and in some cases even vomit. If a dog (or cat) swallows enough of the toxin, it will be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and the dog (or cat) could fall very sick.

Your dog (or cat) is most likely to have an encounter with an American toad from March through September when toads are the most prevalent. Especially in the very early morning hours or after dark when toads are more likely to be active

If you find your pet harassing an American toad, quickly separate the dog from the toad. If the dog has the toad in its mouth, quickly remove the toad from your pet’s mouth. Call your veterinarian or pet poison control line afterward for further instructions.

While waiting to get help, you can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed by doing the following:

• Use a clean damp cloth to wipe the gums, tongue, and roof of the mouth
• Wash the cloth thoroughly between wipes
• Continue this process for 10 minutes

Alternatively, you could flush the mouth of your pet with large amounts of running water. Be careful to rinse the oral cavity but not force water down the throat. Try to point the dog’s head downward to decrease the chances of water being swallowed or inhaled.

Immediately following this, contact your vet. Do not wait for your pet to develop poisoning symptoms before you contact your vet.

Toads Can Carry Parasites

Toads and frogs are known to carry roundworms, tapeworms, and other parasites. This means if a dog (or cat) eats an American toad, it is not only at risk of poisoning but may also consume parasites and develop a parasitic infection.

Also, dogs (or cats) much like humans, can contract salmonella bacteria through contact with toads.

Safety Precautions to Take When Handling American Toads

Generally, it is not a good idea to handle amphibians. This is because they have a very delicate absorbent skin that allows liquids and gases to pass through.

This means that oils, salts, lotions, perfumes, soap, insect repellents, sunblock, and other substances you might have on your hands can pass right through their skin and end up inside their body.

For this reason, it’s advisable to observe amphibians from a distance, without physically touching them.

If you ever need to handle an American toad (such as moving it off a road), take the following precautions to protect both you and the animal.

Before Handling

• Thoroughly wash your hands so they are very clean, and rinse them EXTREMELY well. Not just clean from dirt, but from perfumes, lotions, or any other substances that could harm the toad. Make sure to completely wash off any soap residue so it does not remain on your skin (it can harm the toad).

Even better, you could wear protective gloves (powder-free vinyl gloves or nitrile gloves).

Wearing gloves will not only prevent you from coming in contact with toxins and bacteria that may be on the toad’s skin but will also protect the toad from harmful substances you may have on your hands.

When Handling

• Keep the toad away from your eyes nose and mouth and, be very careful not to rub your eyes, or touch your nose, or mouth.
• As you handle the toad, do it very gently and with care so you do not injure or stress the toad in any way. Avoid squeezing the toad too hard, or applying too much pressure on it.

What to Do After Handling

• Very thoroughly wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap under running water.

Even if you were wearing gloves, it is still a good idea to go the extra mile by washing your hands. As earlier mentioned, American toads secrete a toxin and may carry bacteria that can be harmful, so it’s best to protect yourself.

Before washing your hands, do not touch anything (you could spread bacteria) – and remember not to rub your eyes, touch your face, or put anything into your mouth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are American toads poisonous to touch? American toads can be poisonous to touch. Remember, they secrete poison from the parotid glands behind their eyes, and warty glands on their skin – and you can ingest this toxin if you do not wash your hands after touching an American toad.

The toxin is not absorbed through your skin but can be absorbed when it comes in contact with your mucus membranes, or breaks on your skin.

Are American toads poisonous to humans? American toads produce a milky poisonous fluid known as bufotoxin, which can be poisonous when ingested by humans. This toxin may cause irritation and general discomfort, but is not lethal to humans. However, eating or licking, or placing an American toad in your mouth could make you very sick.

Are American toads poisonous to dogs? American toads produce a toxin known as bufotoxin, which is poisonous when ingested by a dog. This means if your dog eats, licks, or bites an American toad, it is at risk of poisoning. If a dog ingests sufficient quantities of this toxin, it could fall very sick.

Are American toads poisonous to cats? Since American toads produce a toxin, they can be poisonous to cats. A cat that licks, bites, or eats an American toad may ingest the toad’s toxins Insufficient quantities, the toxins could make the cat very sick.

Final Thoughts

American toads are beautiful amphibians that are fun to observe in the wild and make awesome pets. The only danger comes when you handle them so it’s best to leave them alone!

If you ever need to handle one, doing it very carefully and washing your hands immediately afterward, should keep you out of harm’s way

Also, you could wear gloves. The risk of absorbing the toxin from an American toad can be significantly reduced by simply wearing gloves and observing sufficient hygiene. With proper handling, American toads can be harmless creatures.

Ezra Mushala

Hi, my name is Ezra Mushala, i have been interested animals all my life. I am the main author and editor here at snakeinformer.com.

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