Spadefoot Toad

Earlier I stumbled upon this site while my daughter and I tried to learn about Couch's Spadefoot Toad. I have NEVER done this messaging thing - hope I don't come across as an idiot.

My daughters, 8 and 10, and my husband and I were swimming in our backyard when my 8 year old cried out "There's a frog in the pool!" She's a cutie. Googled and found out that she is a spadefoot toad. We had a couple of monsoons last week here in the Phoenix AZ area, which explains her presence. Don't know for sure where she came from, we live in the city. Perhaps she's been in the dirt in our backyard all along - who knows.

My daughter said "she feels like a pickle" so that's what we named her. Held her and played with her for hours. She's so cute, and I love those eyes with the golden shimmer! Couldn't figure out what we needed to have in order to keep her, so we were going to leave her in the pool overnight. But when it got dark she kept circling around the edge of our pool, trying to get out. I felt bad for her, thought she was hungry or wanting to mate or bury herself in some mud so I scooped her out of the pool. Again we were mezmorized watching her behavior in the backyard. When we saw her eat a baby pincher-bug with that giant pink tongue... then I wished we would have kept her! Maybe she will be back in the pool in the morning...

She's definately native to this part of Arizona, so if we do find her again - I would like to keep her. Could someone help me do this properly? I'm guessing I need an aquarium, Pickles is about 2 inches long so probably 2ft X 1ft would do. I know she needs a water source, some mud or moist soil to bury herself, some crickets or other live bugs. How about heat? Will she need a companion? Any feedback I get will be helpful. Sorry to be such a novice - but I have just fallen in love with this little thing and I will only keep her if I can do it the right way.

Thanks

We don't have frog care sheets on our site, but you can google and find information, such as:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaphiopus_couchii
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/toads.htm#spade
http://kozmicdreams.com/amphibians.htm
http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_spadefoot.html
http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/index.html

I'll have to admit, it wasn't the easiest thing to find information on, and I'd read all those pages.
You might have to back up and go for information on frogs/toads in general, since I couldn't find a really good site just devoted to this species. But keep trying and you should be able to find enough information!

good luck! I am also fascinated by the cute little face of this creature. What a perfect name!

Thanks for the links! We went to the public library this week and checked out a pile of toad books too. I don't know if you've read my blog, but we did end up keeping that toad. Wish I had more time to chat but I'm off to a dental appointment. Oh joy.

You did the right thing removing the toad from the pool. If it can't get out, it could drown.

Another thing to research are the state wildlife laws in AZ. Is it legal to keep native animals? And is this particular species under any protected status?

Good luck with the toad!

May I respectfully suggest:

http://www.toadilytoads.com/


Toads make great pets for sure. I'm way across the country in Massachusetts but actually love AZ and hope to relocate some day

luvmycreatures said:

May I respectfully suggest:

http://www.toadilytoads.com/


Toads make great pets for sure. I'm way across the country in Massachusetts but actually love AZ and hope to relocate some day

Click to expand...

When I was about eight or ten I hat a toad myself(actually my mam did)
We kept her for more then a year or so.I remember her sitting on the outside table,between the dishes:wacko:catching the fly's who were fliying around it.(Bufo bufo)
Petro