Some key facts about toads include:
- Toads can live in a variety of different areas such as tropical rain forests, high mountain regions and hot deserts, but prefer moist environments.
- Toads breathe through their skin.
- A group of toads is called a knot.
- A gland on the back of the toad’s head secrets a poison when the toad is threatened. Therefore always wash your hands after handling a toad!
- Some predators such as grass snakes and hedgehogs are immune to the common toad’s toxin.
- Toads may like on their backs and play dead to avoid being eaten. Some toads such as the Fire-bellied toads from Asia and Europe also have bright orange markings on their underbellies warning predators about their toxic skin.
- Toads are build with thick skin that has a number of warts, which can range in color from red and yellow to brown and gray or black. Contrary to myth, you will not get warts from touching a frog.
- Toads grow in stages much like frogs wherein they first appear as eggs. From eggs, the toad hatches into a tadpole. Tadpoles swim in water and then grow up into the toads that people are familiar with.
- Unlike frogs, toads live on land, but like to be near water.
