Nuptial pads

[Greg M]

Here are some pics of the nuptial pads on a large male Woodhouse's toad. The pics are a little blurry and the toes look slightly odd because Vida was trying to wiggle and was clenching his hand... Anyway, you can see the pads on his thumb (rightmost digit in pics)...

[Jace]

Thanks for posting pictures, Greg! Will all male toads have nuptial pads such as these?

[Greg M]

The nuptial pads in these pics are pretty typical of Anaxyrus males. Certainly, the local American, Woodhouse's, Fowler's, etc. toads look pretty much like this, sometimes darker... Vida's pads are present year round but seem darker and rougher in the spring... It's a good bet that any mature toad with a thick rough thumb is a male. The females (will post pic soon) have positively delicate thumbs by comparison.

[Jace]

At what age or size can you begin to start sexing toads?

[tgampper]

Thanks, for the pictures, Greg!

I think that most male species of frogs, toads and salamanders that engage in either inguinal or axillary amplexus will display nuptial pads. Inguinal amplexus is where the male grasps the female around the waist (as in clawed frogs and other primitive frogs) and axilliary is where the male grasps the female around the armpits (as in most toads, frogs and treefrogs).

I have two toads, Anaxyrus woodhousii and Duttaphrynus melanostictus, as well as ACFs and Surinam toads. Toads are very cool

[Greg M]

Hi Jo,

With American and Woodhouse's toads, at least, the males are sexually mature in 1-2 years, and the females in 2-3 years, on average. However, good husbandry in captivity can speed things up a lot - SethD has Southern Toads from this year that are already calling. Not sure if the females are mature or not - I believe Seth is hoping to breed them next spring, so I would imagine they are... I have a Woodhouse's toadlet from this year that is developing pads and a dark throat, but his cage-mate is not sexable yet. Part of the problem is deciding whether you have a slowly maturing male or a female... With Woodhouse's toads, the males usually become obvious at about 2 inches or so in length, and I think American toads are fairly similar...

Greg

[Jace]

I have been trying to find out information about my Western Toad, but I can't really find much about them in captivity. Hence all the questions to you!! I am hoping that being a toad, some of the same principles will apply, regardless of the species. I love seeing your pictures, though. I never gave toads much more than a glance until getting Enoch and seeing your pictures. I hope that I can take beautiful pictures of Enoch when he/she is older...do the colours and personality justice!

[Greg M]

I have read some internet reports that Western toads mature rather slowly, but I can't get hold of the primary literature. I'll see if I can from work - I have access to a broad range of journals there.

As an aside, the most impressive and memorable toad that I've personally caught was a Western toad that I caught at a lake called Evans Lake, near Squamish, BC, Canada. It was a very large female, over 5 inches SV. I dove into the water to grab it - it was in some bushes/reeds. Unfortunately, my mom would not let me keep - she thought it was too big! I measured it against my net and sadly let it go. This was over 30 years ago, and I'm still miffed about it!

[Greatballzofire]

I have been trying to find out information about my Western Toad, but I can't really find much about them in captivity. Hence all the questions to you!! I am hoping that being a toad, some of the same principles will apply, regardless of the species. I love seeing your pictures, though. I never gave toads much more than a glance until getting Enoch and seeing your pictures. I hope that I can take beautiful pictures of Enoch when he/she is older...do the colours and personality justice!

http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs....b.boreas.html
There is a picture here of nuptial pads.
I have a bunch of California toads. Next season will be looking for those nuptial pads.

[Greg M]

Originally Posted by Jace
I have been trying to find out information about my Western Toad, but I can't really find much about them in captivity. Hence all the questions to you!! I am hoping that being a toad, some of the same principles will apply, regardless of the species. I love seeing your pictures, though. I never gave toads much more than a glance until getting Enoch and seeing your pictures. I hope that I can take beautiful pictures of Enoch when he/she is older...do the colours and personality justice!

Hi Jo,

I found a few PDFs that mention sexual maturation/reproductive age of Western toads (or the endangered subspecies, the Boreal toad). You'll have to wade through information about habitat, etc., but there's some interesting stuff here. Sorry if you've seen these already... As I mentioned earlier, I fully expect that Enoch will mature in captivity much faster than his/her wild counterparts - Western toads have short feeding seasons in the wild...

Greg

[Jace]

Thanks very much! I never really looked at nuptial pads before, but they are rather interesting...and very noticeable now that I know what I am looking for!

Greg, that is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to find some information for me. Enoch has doubled in size since I got him/her, but considering how small it was, I'm still worried that he is not growing enough. But I rather him grow slowly and surely, instead of fast and with problems. Thanks again!