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Sonoran desert toad

The Sonoran Desert Toad

  • 30 August, 2019
  • Critter Man
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Daily Critter Facts

The Sonoran desert toad is Arizona’s largest toad and one of the largest toads in North America. These toads are notorious for their poisonous paratoid glands behind their eyes, on either side of their head. More on this below. These toads are found in central Arizona to southwestern New Mexico and Sinaloa, Mexico around oak, desert scrub, semi-desert grasslands, and sometimes pine-oak woodlands up to elevations of around 5,800 feet. They usually reside near permanent water sources. These toads come out in large numbers during the monsoon season and sometimes a couple months before, in areas with a permanent water source.

First the Stats…

Scientific name: Incilius alvarius
Weight: 2 lbs.
Length: 8 inches
Lifespan: Up to 20 years

Now on to the Facts!

1.) Desert toads, like most toads, are nocturnal (active at night).

2.) They eat centipedes, insects, spiders, lizards, mice, and other amphibians. But they will eat just about anything they can get into their mouths.

3.) Another name for these toxic toads is the Colorado River toad or sapo grande, which translates to “big frog”.

4.) Throughout the dry season, the Sonoran desert toad will hide and brumate in rodent burrows or other underground retreats.

5.) Their toxins have hallucinogenic qualities in humans and can cause nausea and extreme vomiting. If enough of the toxin is ingested it can cause death, even in humans.

But wait, there’s more on the Sonoran desert toad!

6.) Symptoms of poisoning in pets include: pawing at the mouth and/or eyes, crying or other vocalizations, excessive drooling, inflamed or pale membranes in the mouth, difficulty breathing, unstable movements, seizures, high temperature, and eventual collapse & death (if not treated immediately).

7.) During mating season, males will develop nuptial pads on the thumbs of their forelimbs, to help hang on during amplexus (when the male grasps the female in a kind of coitus position).

Did you know…?
Their gland secretions are highly toxic to dogs, cats, and other small to medium size pets! Neurotoxins containing 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin cause a host of issues and can even lead to death!

8.) Males either call for females from shallow pools of water of their breeding pond or physically search for females.

9.) Females lay up to 8,000 eggs in a long gelatinous “stringer”.

10.) Tadpoles emerge in about a month or less and begin their metamorphosis.

Now a Short Sonoran Desert Toad Video!

Learn more about all kinds of cool critters, right here!

Be sure to share & comment below!

amphibianArizonadesertSonoran desert toadtoadtoxictoxin
Critter Man

With over 45 years of critter experience to my credit and hundreds of zoology teaching hours to people around the world, I have amassed not only a continuing thirst for critter knowledge but a desire to teach others all I can about the majesty and wonder of our natural world. Critter Science is a culmination of such knowledge. I have hands on as well as book acquired intel on all kinds of critters. Whether they're on land, sea, or in the air. I will never say that I know everything about all animals. That's impossible, even for a savant. But, that being said, ask me any animal question and I'll answer it. If I don't know the answer, I'll get an answer for you!

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