I realize this little toad is in no way an insect, but I figure since he feeds on insects he would qualify for being included on this blog, he is all white, plus he is just plain cool....did I mention he is WHITE? I received a phone call from a man living in Missouri City, MO who said he had found an albino toad and wondered if we would like to have him. He sent me some photos and after looking at them I assured him I would love to have the toad for an exhibit animal at my office. My supervisor lives near this guy so he said he would pick it up for me. Now we have this beautiful little white toad in our office.
He is not a true albino, he has instead a Leusistic abnormality. Meaning he has the inability to produce pigment cells. Some animals with this defect will have patches of white where the cells are abnormal, resulting in a pie-bald appearance. This little toad is completely white, so his entire surface area lacks normal pigment cells. He has black eyes, rather than pink which indicates he is not a true albino.
We've had him about 3 weeks, and he has almost doubled his size. He eats like a little piglet, consuming 6 or more crickets each day. I just think he is the cutest little guy in the amphibian world right now.
Just thought I would share such a unique creature with all of you readers. It just goes to show you never know what will show up once you venture outside.
Very cute! I hope I speak for many "bug people" when I say I like herps too, and it's fine for you to add a few posts of anything else that might be interesting.
ReplyDeleteJust curious if you can tell what kind of toad this is without any identifying markings?
Southern Toad
DeleteHe's sure cute!
ReplyDeleteIt is funny how bugs and herps go hand-in-hand isn't it? They are my two favorites, and I know many insect lovers that feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteI showed this little guy to our wildlife biologist at work and he seems to think it is an Eastern American Toad.
Thanks Jay-Leigh...I am sure fascinated by him (or her).....except when he pee's on me. I was showing him to our biologist yesterday to see if he could tell me what species, and he shot a stream of pee out at me that drowned my clothes! (the toad, not the biologist...LOL)
ReplyDeleteI breed toads as they are my specialty. I am always looking for new color mutations in north american toad species. Matter of fact I search the web nearly daily for such mutations which is how I found your blog today. Anyway, I would be very interested in acquiring your toad to add it to my breeding projects. If you would be willing to part with it I can pay cash, trade you a captive bred albino(not leucistic)toad, or a combination of both. My e-mail is: sethdoty444@gmail.com if you would like to contact me and discuss this further.
ReplyDeleteRegards...
Seth Doty
I have a small baby true albino north American toad
DeleteSo, you're scarring the ....out of him, I think it might be a toad defense.Great speciman.
ReplyDeleteSeth I am on my way out the door, but wanted to take a second and let you know I will think about selling or trading him/her and email you later when I get home.
ReplyDeleteSteve---I definitely scared ____ out of him. It's the one thing that toads do that is just plain not cool! especially in front of 6 of your co-workers! LOL
a) super interesting, b) cutie!, c) THANK YOU (well, I said "Ahhh, bless you" out loud) when you said NOT albino but has a "Leusistic abnormality." Biologist habit: first thing I did was look at the eyes and when I saw they were dark, I thought "not albino." And you totally explained that.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!! =) (sorry, uncommon level of accuracy makes me very happy)
LOL Bio, I figured the Title of "Albino Toad" would lure em in....then I could explain...hehehe
ReplyDeleteI just love this little guy. Sooo cute! I've always liked toads though. I couldn't keep my hands off them when I was a little girl!
Very cool find! And nice blog too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan, this was a first for me. I was happy to have it, but unfortunately it has since passed away. I found out that many of these animals with color oddities don't live very long. It is kind of sad, but I guess that is mother natures way.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know anything about toads but, a neighbor posted a pic of a white, all white toad on our Next Door app. He said it has blue eyes! It got on his jeep at Walmart & stayed on it as he drove home! I can’t find anything on white roads with blue eyes. Can you help identify it?
ReplyDeleteA neighbor posted a picture of a white, totally white, toad on Next Door. He said it had blue eyes! It got on his jeep at the store & stayed there all the way to his home. It looks pretty big & really white. I can’t find anything about white toads with blue eyes. Do you know what it is?
ReplyDeleteSad that you took a happy little creature out of the place he was created to be, just to show him off in your office. How would YOU like that if it happened to you?
ReplyDeleteOccasionally animals are removed from the wild for educational purposes. This happens at nature centers, schools, zoos, state parks, etc., all over the world. The value of sharing It with the public is weighed against the benefit of leaving it in the wild. In the case of this toad, being an albino or rather a leucistic specimen chances are it was not going to survive long in the wild. Their coloring makes them conspicuous and easy to spot by predators.
DeleteOne came onto our porch Last night (researching brought me to this blog). My daughter, the zookeeper, suggested the leucistic variation. Very cute. He snagged a grasshopper and made his way back into the lawn. Pretty cool experience.
ReplyDelete