Well, it’s time for another cheat sheet for parents to add to their little resource library of things their children are going to encounter. I felt that toads are a great example because most children experience a frog or a toad and sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between them. I mean, we know the basics; frogs and toads are related… somehow… and they are amphibians but what else can you say about them.
In actuality, there are several things that you can say about toads and I have compiled a little cheat sheet for that.
The difference between Toads and Frogs:
There are only a few different things that will help you differentiate a toad from a frog and these are:
- Location: A frog spends most of its life in or very near to water. Toads, on the other hand, will travel away from water and many people will find them in their garden, which I have been doing over the last few weeks as I get my garden together. Usually, I find at least one every other day.
- The Skin: Frogs tend to have smoother skin that feels wet to the touch while Toads have bumpy skin, more warts and they feel slightly dry to the touch.
- The Legs: Frogs usually have long strong legs while a toad has a shorter body and shorter, muscular legs.
- The Attitude: Frogs tend to be shy and will quickly slip away when fingers are trying to grasp them. Toads are usually not as timid and can be very easy to catch. They are also more likely to just sit and relax in your hand if you are not being cruel to them.
- The Movement: Frogs jump and although toads will jump, they are more likely to crawl along on all four legs than jump.
- The Eggs: If you have spotted some eggs it is pretty easy to determine what will come out of the eggs. If they are in a cluster, almost like grapes, then they are frogs. If they resemble a string of black beads coated in a clear jelly, then they are toads.
A few more facts:
- Toads are amphibians
- Toads do not have teeth
- Toads have poison sacks behind their eyes to deter predators. When a predator bites down on a toad, its mouth is filled with a horrible taste and they will usually remain sick for a few hours since many toad species do not have enough poison to severely injure an animal.
- Toads belong to a family called bufonidae.
Life cycle of a toad:
- Egg: an adult toad lays eggs in water
- Tadpole: the eggs hatch and tadpoles live in the water with external gills similar to a fish. They live off of plant and animal matter.
- Mature Tadpole: the tadpole matures and will develop hind legs first at about 6 to 8 weeks.
- Young Toad: the lungs develop into internal lungs and the front legs grow. The tail shortens until there is no tail left and the young toad can live on land fully.
- Adult: the toad becomes an adult
Some resources:
This site will actually take you to many great sites related to frogs and toads and you won’t have to go too far to find what you are looking for. 42explore
Hope you enjoyed my cheat sheet for Toads today.
Sirena Van Schaik
