Toads are out and about; be careful where you step. You can see from this eastern American toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus) why toad skin patterns are used as models for hunting and military camouflage. I probably wouldn’t have seen her Friday if she didn’t have a gleam in her eye ring.
Toads change their skin colors when under stress, when they move from habitat to habitat, and when temperature or humidity changes. However, when a small predator, such as a garter snake, zeroes in on a toad, the toad also often will puff itself up dramatically to appear to be too large to swallow.
If that doesn’t work and the predator sniffs or grabs the toad, the amphibian will exude from its parotid glands a nasty substance (bufotoxin) meant to signal that the toad is not palatable. (It also may emphasize that point by defecating dramatically.) That works on some predators, but not all.
Which brings us to a warning: Bufotoxin is not lethal to humans, but it can irritate our eyes and mucous membranes significantly; wash your hands after handling a toad and don’t touch your face before you do so. It’s a good practice not to let children pick up toads if you don’t have the ability to wash their hands immediately afterward.
The toxin can be harmful to cats, dogs, and other smaller animals, so don’t let your pet “play” with toads. Nonetheless, contrary to some legends, touching toads will not cause warts to grow on you, your child, or your pet. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 14, 2023.)