# TOADS and FROGS



## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

*Some of you may remember that about three years ago, I found a toad and put it near my pond. For the next three years, including this one, many, many tadpoles appeared in the spring. This year, they seem to be growing larger than the two previous years. Still though, they are no more than 1/2"-5/8" in total length. And there are hundreds.*

*My question is, How long does the process take for toad tadpoles to become full fledged toads? The past two years they all seemed to disappear before they got to the stage where they are now.*

*I also have about a half dozen Bullfrogs, that have been around for several years. These guys I raised from tadpole stage. Each year, in late Spring, they disappear for a few weeks, then return for the remainder of the Summer and Fall. They hibernate somewhere in or near the pond, and reappear in the Spring to start the process all over. Is it possible that they are wandering off looking to mate? If so, how far will these guys and girls travel for love making?*


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Why such large type? 

Only a couple of those hundreds of tadpoles will live to become toads. They can travel a long distance and generally wander away as long as there are adult toads in the area. They can live several years, though I find one site that says 2 years and another than the females mature after 3 years. They take about a month and a half to go from tadpoles to toads. 

They usually make a burrow to hibernate during the winter.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

"Why such large type?" 

"The better to see it with, my dear"

Thanks Torby. I know alot of them will not make it to see adulthood. I believe the several year life span is more to reality. Toads do not tend to live too near water. It's only at mating time when you will find them there. I was curious about the Bullfrog exodus for the several week time span. I spotted one this afternoon chilling out, or should I say warming in.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

We have toads all the time. Frogs show up in the fall, after they shut off the irrigation to the corn fields. They seem to die over the winter though. THis year there were some live ones in the spring, but they I started finding them floating dead about every day, none left.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Ever see one in this state? I think a parasite ate it from the inside out. There are three holes in it; the big one in the belly and another in the lower jaw that you can see here and one eye is missing. The body and head are complely hollow.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Thank you, Semp, for the great pic of the dessicated toad. What a high-pixel camera you have. Your photographic skills are top-notch.

I'd just finished a nice bowl of stawberries 'n corn flakes. I thought, "Now, to go up and check the board for new posts, then to bed."

Uurrp.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey, people post pictures of Diesels, don't they?


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 06/02/2009 8:52 PM
Hey, people post pictures of Diesels, don't they? 








On a _train board_?

Les


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 06/02/2009 8:52 PM
Hey, people post pictures of Diesels, don't they? 






That was just foul, Good thing im a nice Diesel Guy...........


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

My thoughts: 

Someone is slipping Viagra into the water. 

not good.... 


gg


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Viagra Wear? them little blue guys are a life saver on a friday night HE HE HE


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Dead Toad: Strictly a symbolic post... 

The empty head represents a politician. 

The empty stomach, our wallets when the politician gets through. 

The missing eye, the politician's inability to recognize let alone solve a problem. 

The immobility of the corpse, our politicians at work. 

_NOTE: a nondenominational post_


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Rich,

I've never heard a better description of a politician.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Jerry,

It sounds like your frogs could be the victim of some sort of pesticide.


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

Posted By Madman on 06/03/2009 6:08 AM
Jerry,

It sounds like your frogs could be the victim of some sort of pesticide.















Viagra....


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Or Celexa


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Rich,

That was classic!

Note the rear foot that's curled up: deformed from a lifetime of grasping our money.

The hollow interior, a politician's promise.

The belly-up position, he lost the last election.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Les on 06/03/2009 7:28 AM
Rich,

That was classic!

Note the rear foot that's curled up: deformed from a lifetime of grasping our money.

The hollow interior, a politician's promise.

The belly-up position, he lost the last election.



I am reminded of a "Peanuts" comic by Charles Schultz, it was something along the order of:

Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown are laying on a small hill looking at the sky. 

Lucy asks if they ever see recognizable shapes in the clouds.

Linus points at a cloud and says it looks like Rodin's "The Thinker" and another that looks like Michelangelo's "The Stoning of Stephen".

Charlie Brown thinks a moment and then says, "I was going to point out the horsey and the ducky, but I don't think I will now."


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 06/03/2009 9:39 AM
Posted By Les on 06/03/2009 7:28 AM
Rich,

That was classic!

Note the rear foot that's curled up: deformed from a lifetime of grasping our money.

The hollow interior, a politician's promise.

The belly-up position, he lost the last election.



I am reminded of a "Peanuts" comic by Charles Schultz, it was something along the order of:

Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown are laying on a small hill looking at the sky. 

Lucy asks if they ever see recognizable shapes in the clouds.

Linus points at a cloud and says it looks like Rodin's "The Thinker" and another that looks like Michelangelo's "The Stoning of Stephen".

Charlie Brown thinks a moment and then says, "I was going to point out the horsey and the ducky, but I don't think I will now."






















Yeah, I remember that one. Schultz was one of a kind. (Good kind.)


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Les on 06/03/2009 7:28 AM
Rich,

That was classic!

Note the rear foot that's curled up: deformed from a lifetime of grasping our money.

The hollow interior, a politician's promise.

The belly-up position, he lost the last election.



Les,

Those are definately worthy ammendments to the "politician description". hehe!


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## Schlosser (Jan 2, 2008)

An Oldie but a Goodie, 

How can you tell when one is lying? 

Check to see if his lips are moving.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Politician!?

NO!!

The poor toad was an honest hogger. He was highballing a camelback 4-6-0 on a garden railroad when the main rod broke loose from the crosshead and hollowed him out!









I'm a Reading RR fan, and I just couldn't resist.

Have fun,
David Meashey


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