I posted on Wildlife Gardening, but haven't got any response yet & have been trying to post for a while & just now able to. There is a toad in my garden that is starving to death. I don't know what to do for him & it makes me so sad. He has been here for over a month. I put water on him every time I see him & just today saw him take some of it into his mouth. Does anyone know what could be wrong with him & know of any way I can help the poor toad? Thank you for any help.
ants
Have you tried feeding it? Get some worms and put on a shallow plate. I sometimes buy mealworms for the toad in my yard. I have an old upside down clay flowerpot that I cut a door in, and I put in near one of the sprinkler heads in the shade. The toadhouse is in among bedding plants quite close to my little pond.
I didn't know they ate worms. I will try that, thank you. I do have lots of toad places I have set up & also filled something with rocks & water & put in part shade, part sun where he hangs out all of the time. I have plenty of healthy toads & frogs in my yard. This is the only one I have seen like this & is soooo pitiful. You can see his 'tail bone'. Just skin & bones really. I will try to get him to eat some worms. Any other suggestions? Thanks again.
ants
Well, you might have to consider that this may be an old toad whose time has come...hope not, but it happens. All you can do is help him out a little but I have observed that when they are ready to go they won't eat. When that happens I try to leave them alone so they can meet their end on their own terms...
Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been doing. Built him some nice places to stay dry & some to stay wet in the area where he seems to stay a lot :) Will post pics of what I built for him later. Thanks again.
ants
They will also eat flies snails, beetles, slugs, and earthworms. They need to be kept moist as they absorb water through their skin and do not drink water. They bug must be alive for them to eat them.
Thank you. I figured they would have to be live worms :) I usually see the toad in the white rectangle basket in the middle here. When I water, he hops away, so I figured he might like something he could get in to stay out of the weather when he wants to. So, I found this old piece of tubing laying around & put a layer of potting soil in it & placed it where he can get in & out. I put him in there (just to show him it was there) & threw some worms in there with him. I don't know for sure, but I think he may have ate one. I did see him open his mouth a few times & could see his tongue, but didn't see if he had eaten a worm. He stayed in there a while. I haven't seen him yet today though.
ants
Here is a better view. You can see his 'pond' to the left.
ants
Looks like a Toad Tajmahal to me
A view from the entrance from the tube to the pond & an 'extra' empty flower pot for him to rest in.
ants
LOL :) I didn't realize it while I was adding different things for him, but it DOES look kinda like a 'toad spa' doesn't it? :) He is in the tube in this picture, but guess my phone camera couldn't see him... Can't wait for my camera to get here Tuesday!
ants
I think the toad looks very young? Doesn't he appear to have a 'stub' at the tail?
Maybe he isn't good at finding vittles lol
That 'stub' is his tailbone. I'm tellin' ya, this toad is skin & bones. Pitiful! :(
ants
Ants: Did you try "froggish" massage followed by a manicure and a pedicure? LOL! Seriously, your frog spas is quite funny. He's one lucky guy (or gal). I hope he is progressing!
No, but when I picked him up to put him in the tube, he peed on me & it hurt for a long time, like hot pepppers. I have never had that happen before... The burning... have had plenty of toads to pee on me.
ants
I had a sick toad once. I put some soft dog food in a bowl near him. It drew flies and he just hung out near the bowl and grabbed the flies as they came. I changed the food often so it continued to draw his prey. Fattened him right up.
hey that is a neat idea
Expiring fruit might also be a good thing to try. I put bananas that have reached their "life expectency" at the base of my banana plants and it brings in the flies by the zillions!
What ever happened to this toad??? lol....
I saw this toad a few more times. He had moved out of the frog spa for about 2 weeks. I finally found him & put him back near the spa. He sat in the corner for days. Then it rained for about a week & I haven't seen him again. It has been at least 2 weeks since I have seen him. I keep looking... Last time I saw him I tried to feed him a worm. He just tried to brush it away from him. I will always wonder about this poor toad.
ants
Wow, how sad looking is he! Is it possible he's not sickly, but that he's just some strange breed of toad that he looks that way?
That's a name for a punk rock band: The Anorexic Toad! I'm sorry.
If you ever need to feed a toad just turn on a light out there, it's the bugs, mom.
