By Paul Donovan
Frogs and toads love the rain, and as we have been having an awful lot of it over the past few weeks, it comes as no surprise that just about everywhere is crawling with amphibians of multiple colors and sizes. And of course they have only one thing on their mind, to mate, so the evening air is full with the raucous calls of love struck males trying to woo prospective mates.
One of the most prolific species making its presence well known, is the Red Toad Schismaderma carens. Almost any body of water, be it pond or swimming pool, has become the residential address for the Red Toad at the moment. Of course, they are faring an awful lot better in the natural ponds, than they are in chlorinated swimming pools.
The Red Toad is a member of the family Bufonidae, but is a monotypic species within the genus Schismaderma and was first described by Smith in 1849. A lot of references to this toad have given it the alternative name of “Split-Skin Toad”. I am not sure why it should be referred to as this, as it implies its skin is prone to splitting. In all my encounters with this toad over the years, I have never found one with split skin, nor experienced this trait while capturing them, so I am a little perplexed.
Far ranging habitats
Red Toads have a diverse range of habitats, but unlike many other amphibians do not restrict themselves to wet habitats. The greater majority of those I find are in really quite dry areas such as dry savannah and grasslands, often some considerable distance from a body of water. That is not to say they do not have a presence in watery areas, and can occur in marshes, wet pastures, drainage ditches, along river/stream embankments and man-made water catchment areas.
With the exception of the dry Central Kalahari region, I have found this toad over most of Botswana. It is an extremely common toad ranging across much of the African continent, with the exception of North Africa. One of the things I have noticed about this toad, is that although it is extremely widespread, and common, it tends to be encountered more during the breeding season or following heavy rains, than at any other time of the year.
During the dry months when temperatures in the shade can reach a blisteringly hot 40 – 450C (105 – 1130F), the toads almost mysteriously disappear from the face of the planet just as quickly as they appear. It is almost like, when it rains, it rains toads. I suspect that the toads burrow deep into the soil and weather-out the oppressively hot summer months as most toads seem to do. During cooler summer months, they will emerge during the late evening to feed on a range of insects.
Description
The Red toad is of moderate size as far as toads go, with males having a snout to vent length of 8 cm and female’s 9 cm. At first glance, it is easily mistaken for a frog as its skin appears rather smooth, but on closer examination the typical warty appearance can be seen, though this is absent from the head, which is smooth. The head is short and broad, with a ‘stubby’ muzzle. The large mouth protrudes well behind the eye to a point central to the tympanum (ear).
The overriding feature which separates the Red toad from other members of the Bufonidae, is the conspicuous absence of visible paratoid glands (poison glands). Actually, its species name carens comes from the Latin definition meaning “lacking”.
When it comes to coloration, Schismaderma carens is actually quite colorful, when compared to a lot of other toads. The upper half of the body is an orange-reddish-brown color with a grey belly and flanks. The belly is speckled. There are usually two pairs of quite distinctive spots present on the lower region of the back and again on the shoulders, though some individuals may have another pair in between. The spots are not usually joined together, although in some individuals they may be. Where they are, they are joined along the back to form a dark, irregular line running longitudinally from head to rear.
Running from above the tympanum, along the flanks to the rear legs, is a distinctive glandular ridge. This ridge separates the colorful dorsal body from the lower flank, and is often quite dark in color and ‘knobbly’. The tympanum is as large as the eye, and fleshy pink in color. The iris is black with golden flecks. In exceptionally colorful individuals, both the forelegs and hind legs can appear to have orange and black bands running across them. This banding can appear more pronounced in some individuals than in others. I have found individuals where the banding is almost entirely absent.
I am of the opinion that there is a degree of color variation depending on the habitat the toad is found in, and its distribution. Certainly in Botswana, those I have found in the wetter north of the country, seem to be marginally more colorful than those found in the dryer south.
Breeding
During the breeding season, I have noticed that some individuals manifest breeding colors, becoming much more vibrant, with the orange-color turning almost blood red. This can be witnessed in both sexes. Other individuals lose the orangey coloration, and turn browner. I’m not sure why this should be.
Typically, males reach the breeding grounds a few days before females, and then begin their courtship serenades. They float at the water’s surface like little red balloons and begin to call with a long, loud whooping song. Typically, calling and mating takes place during the day. Mating follows that of just about all frogs and toads; as the males begin to call, the frenzy of testosterone charged individuals floating around nearby, means anything that moves is considered potential mating material; be it living or inanimate. I remember sticking my hand in one pond to retrieve something I’d dropped, only to have it swamped by love struck males.
Males play follow the leader, following one another around the pond which can sometimes be a heaving mass of bodies with little space in between. As soon as one is thought to have secured a female, all the other males move in like a rugby scrum. These mating balls may be as large as footballs bobbing around at the surface. Beneath this frenzied activity, it is not uncommon for the entombed female to drown due to the sheer number of males on top of her.
Although this toad has a preference for breeding in deep, muddy ponds, the choice of pond does seem to be quite liberal, and just about any body of water will be used. I remember finding one male who’d somehow found his way into a washing up bowl, calling for a mate. Responding to the males serenades, females enter the ponds and amplexus (mating) commences. As the pair begin moving through the water, the female lays strings of eggs which the male fertilises. The eggs attach to vegetation and are usually laid in double rows.
Each female can produce around 2000 or more eggs, before leaving the pond – if she has the chance. Sometimes, males do not know when enough is enough, and I have watched females exiting ponds and travelling some considerable distance from the water with a male or two still clinging to her back.
Once egg laying begins, the pond quickly turns into a cooking pot of semolina. The eggs are black in color and approximately 2-3mm in diameter. Within a week or so they begin to hatch, and the pond then becomes full with ‘swarms’ of gregarious tadpoles. The tadpoles are quite distinct from other species that may be found in the pond, for they have a horseshoe-shaped flap of skin on the head. The tadpoles feed on just about anything they come across in the pond, and begin to grow rapidly. Within about a month, to month and a half, the tadpoles have metamorphosed into toadlets.
Although thousands of eggs may be laid, only a small number will become toadlets, and even a smaller number reach adulthood. The tadpoles are eaten by dragonfly nymphs, water scorpions, terrapins and other aquatic animals. As the toad lacks poison glands, they fall victim to a variety of birds including Hammerkops, Herons, birds of prey, as well as several species of snakes, including Herald snakes, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia.
Captive care
I have kept the toad on a number of occasions in a standard 120 cm (48 in) aquarium with a 30 cm base layer of sandy-soil mix topped off with leaves. This I sprayed twice a day to keep damp, though never to the point of saturation. I used this depth of substrate, as I partitioned off a third of the aquarium with a glass divide to give a sufficient depth of water for breeding.
I did not install any supplementary heating as the aquarium was placed on a shelf in a warm room, which I suppose was around about 22-28oC (71-82oF). The water was not filtered, and I put some sand in the bottom for a base, and a few plants. Again, it wasn’t heated, but was ‘tepid’ in temperature. Still further, the only lighting the aquarium received was that which shone through the window. As the toad is nocturnal, lighting is not directly important to their wellbeing. Although, a dim nightlight may be beneficial, as this toad is attracted to outside lighting in residential areas where they feed on moths and ground crawling insects.
As for feeding, just about any feeder insect will be taken. You could also try supplementing earthworms in their diet, which seem to go down as a treat.
The one occasion I bred this frog, I raised the ravenous tadpoles on chunks of meat and fish. When they metamorphose, the toadlets are similar coloration to the adults, but slightly more subdued.
Tail end
If you can get them, I think this is an underrated toad for captive care. It is hardy, feeds well, and has the looks to go with it. Their only downside is they bury themselves for days on end, so they are not always visible. Sometimes, it feels like you are looking after a tank of soil. One way around this, may be to include more surface hiding spots such as pieces of cork bark, broken flower pots, etc.
