Attack of the Fire-Bellied Toads

Attack of the Fire Bellied Toad

About a month ago, I went to visit a friend in Santee. He really wanted to
show me this critter he found in his yard. It was a small, green amphibian,
with a bright orange and black belly. "Oh," said I, "That's a Fire-bellied
Toad."

He found it crawling around in his yard, and was going to let it go in
his backyard pond. We looked it up on the web. That red and black belly
suggests it is poisonous, and so it is. The first website offered a caution,
"This is not one of those licking toads. Don't lick it! Wash your hands
after handling it!"

He notified the county. He was told that it was probably an escapee, duh, but
the county wasn't concerned. It takes two toads to make tadpoles!

However, his yard slopes down to a watershed, which feeds directly into the
San Diego River. The website describes this critter as voracious, stuffing everything
it possibly can fit into its toothless maw. I'm here to tell you, that is true!

He gave it to me, and I took it home and set up a terrarium. It is a pleasant little
creature, bright green on the back, bright red and black on the belly.
And it eats everything! I've given it grasshoppers, butterflies, pillbugs,
mealworms and nightcrawlers. Settled on nightcrawlers, they're 70% protein, and
one is a meal that lasts for a couple of days. The critter has gotten fat
on nightcrawlers. He's as wide as he is long! I remove him from the main container
and put him in a smaller feeding tank, so the worms don't dive down, drown and
stink up the aquarium. As soon as you drop a worm in, this little predator lunges
forward and clamps on. Middle, front, back, doesn't matter. He uses his little hands
to shove that worm down his throat. Supposedly, they live about 20 years.
Great. I'll be in my '70s before this toad, excuse the term, croaks.
Guess I'm stuck with him. This is one of those imported creatures that pet stores
sell by the thousands, and sometimes, some of them get out.

African Clawed Frogs were a problem here in the 70s. They were consuming the native
fish and frogs at a disturbing rate. Supposedly, the county took care of that.
But, imported animals often have an advantage, as nothing preys on them.

Fire-bellied toads come from Europe and China. They're here. For some reason, people
want toxic toads as pets. (no, you can't lick them, I already told you!)
They're neat little animals, as toads go, but I wouldn't want them to get loose into
our river system. They are voracious. They are active. They'll eat anything they can
stuff into their faces.

This one isn't going anywhere. But, do you know where YOUR toads are tonight?