Fowler's Toad

  This past Saturday while cleaning up my backyard I came across a toad. So I have decided to write a blog on natural history of the common Fowler’s toad that I found. However the toad I found was not so common. After I picked up this toad I noticed something different about him. He only had one hind limb. It appeared that below the femur, of the right hind limb, the tibio-fibula was missing. The toad, that we named Nubby, seemed unaffected by his condition; it also appeared that it was not a recent injury. By all accounts he looked like a healthy amputee that was able to jump away from us when he was put down.

  The Fowler’s toad, Anaxyrus fowleri, is a common site in most backyards of the eastern United States and they range from southern New Hampshire to parts of northern Florida and as far west as the eastern portion of Texas. Fowler’s toads share a similar appearance with the American toad, only the number of warts differs. The warts on the Fowler’s toad are three or more warts in a dark spot on the dorsal side of the toad. These toads live about five years and reach sexual maturity around two years of age. Females lay eggs in a string formation where there can be as many as 10,000 on a single string, however it is more common for approximately half that number to be found. After the eggs are laid the male comes along and fertilizes the eggs. The eggs hatch in two to seven days and tadpoles will complete metamorphosis 30 to 40 days later. These toads eat a range of different foods that consist of slugs, earthworms, sowbugs, and a wide variety of insects and larvae.
  The Fowler’s and American toads are common and most everyone has seen or held one some time in their life. For me I never grow tired of seeing these guys in my backyard and around my house. In their own way they are adorable and important to the environment. I hope for the little amputee, Nubby, that he lives a full life and dies from old age and not the absence of his hind limb.