The Fowler Toad

Well we decided that after spending the winter with us that it was time to grant Scooter the garter snake his freedom. Scooter doubled in size over the winter eating pinkie mice but never really tamed down and was comfortable in his 20 gal aquarium. So while out fishing the Little Miami I found a toad hopping along on a rock bar. I dumped out a little plastic tupperware bowl I carry some things in my fishing pack with and he was homeward bound. Brenda put about three inches of dirt in the bottom of the aquarium, assorted plastc plants and big piece of bark for him to hid under. She also buried two plastic bowls nested inside each other to the rim in the dirt and filled them with water. The reason to have two nested is so its easy just to lift up the top one to change the water without disturbing the whole tank. So far Toad has instantly started eating crickets and hopping around, he seems much more comfortable than Scooter ever was. Today Brenda put a half dozen little feeder fish in his bowl it will be enteresting to see if he can catch them. Toad is a Fowler Toad, a bit less common than the Eastern American Toad which is Ohio's other species of true toad. When handled roughly Fowler's toads feign death and plays "possum." They may lay on its back with legs curved upward and may remain motionless for several seconds until the threat has passed. Toads have enlarged glands (called the paratoid glands) on the side of the neck, one behind each eye. These glands secrete a viscous toxin that gets smeared in the mouth of any would-be predator, inflaming the mouth and throat and causing nausea so it's important to take care to wash your hands after handling a toad, and to avoid touching the mouth or eyes until having done so. Other than that Toad is proving to be an active and enteresting guy to watch. Scooter we took to Fallsville Wildlife Area and released in the tall grass next to a pond. Plenty of food and tall grass to hide from hawks and other predators in. I set Scooter down in the grass and he coiled up before taking off. I bent down and nudged him a bit and BAM he bit me, then took off thru the grass...