the online meeting place for all who love our amphibians and reptiles
Home Page Live Forums Archived Forums Site Search Identify Record Donate Projects Links
Forum Home Forum Home > Herpetofauna Native to the UK > Common Toad
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Where have all the toads gone
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Where have all the toads gone

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
shirley View Drop Down
Member
Member


Joined: 19 May 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shirley Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Where have all the toads gone
    Posted: 19 May 2004 at 2:24pm
Hello, I am a new user to this forum, can anyone help.  I need some toads for my garden as I am inundated with slugs and snails (I do not use chemicals in my garden) where can I find some in Cardiff, South Wales? I have plenty of water in the garden for the toads, and places for them to hide.
shirley toad lover
Back to Top
administrator View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group


Joined: 01 Jan 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 10
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2004 at 3:41pm

Hi Shirley,

There are 2 schools of thought on introducing amphibians to gardens, the first goes along the lines of it's good to move them as it spreads their genes, the other is that it may not be advisable due to the possibility of spreading diseases.

I guess you have to ask yourself why are there no toads in your garden, do they just not occur locally or is it something lacking in the area. Toads tend use ponds much larger than the average garden ones for breeding and adult toads in gardens are often in the terrestrial stage and using the habitat for foraging - so are there any good local toad ponds?

Slow-worms are also good slug eaters, so perhaps a good heat generating compost heap is worth considering if you don't have one already - they can be magnets to slow-worms.

If you do go for translocation of toads to the garden pond, I would recommend catching tadpoles rather than collecting spawn, as this ensures a good genetic cross-section for the new stock - rather than have a population generated by just a single pair of toads.



Edited by administrator
Back to Top
Matt Harris View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 03 Jun 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 233
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Matt Harris Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2004 at 2:33pm
Shirley,

Current guidance is that it's best not to transfer eggs/larvae from more than about 1Km away, presumably because within this range different populations are likely to share the same diseases anyway.

Cardiff Amphibian Survey 1998 - 1999. May 1999. Chadwick, E. et al. Cardiff University. will tell you the nearest toad populations, if you can get hold of a copy. Alternatively Cardiff Pond Survey 1997 - 1998. March 1999. Carey, J.L. et al. National Museums and Galleries of Wales. would tell you if there are any ponds in your area. Either way, I doubt if you are more than 1 Km away from a toad breeding pond - there are plenty of them in Cardiff.   If your pond is new, you might as well wait for them to colonise it naturally.

If you do find a donor pond, needless to say you will need the owner's permission, and you will have to be careful not to transfer any alien invasive pond weeds - Parrot's Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum occurs in Cardiff

Local Authority Ecologist
Back to Top
evilmike View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 15 May 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 85
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote evilmike Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2004 at 12:24am

hi, iam in Cardiff aswell, and have only ever found one Common Toad in my garden, even though my pond supports a huge common frog and Palmate newt population, just no Toads such a shame :( i have released a few toadlets that i raised from a local source but these seem to have dispersed and have not seen any from winter although they were growing quickly and were remaining in the pond and surrounding area. i just hope that just because i havent seen them doesnt mean there not there :)

 

mike

Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 11.06
Copyright ©2001-2016 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.125 seconds.