# Common Toad Spawn. (FAO Slippery42)



## ViperLover (Jun 7, 2009)

Or anybody else with the know....


Hello,

As some of you may know, I already have come _Rana temporaria _spawn, and I am delighted to say that over the last 2 weeks, I have noticed more and more little tadpoles swimming around. Some of them are getting pretty big now, and I am expecting them to start forming legs within the next few weeks.


I would like to try and find some Toad Spawn, now, I understand that there's a paticular species of British Native Toad, that is illegal to collect. keep, or collect spawn. So I am looking for a few pictures of some Common Toad spawn, so as I can gather a positive ID, which'll prevent me from accidently breaking the law!


Any help would be magnificent.


Thanks a lot!


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## stuartdouglas (Mar 5, 2008)

Basically, you won't find the protected species (I'm surprised you don't know which this is...:whistling2 They don't live anywhere near you, as they live in freshwater pools formed at the edge of salt marshes and sandy dune areas. It's spawn is identical to that of the Comon toad, so pictures will be of no use to you.

The Natterjack Toad (Epidalea calamita)

Any spawn you find in inland ponds will certainly be that of _Bufo bufo_, the common toad.

May i be so bold as to suggest that you concentrate on successfully raising the spawn that you have got first before collecting more?


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## Alex M (May 28, 2008)

stuartdouglas said:


> Basically, you won't find the protected species (I'm surprised you don't know which this is...:whistling2 They don't live anywhere near you, as they live in freshwater pools formed at the edge of salt marshes and sandy dune areas. It's spawn is identical to that of the Comon toad, so pictures will be of no use to you.
> 
> The Natterjack Toad (Epidalea calamita)
> 
> ...


Funnily enough Stuart, there is a colony of calamita not a million miles away from 'ViperLover' but as you say it's unlikely he will find them and anyway the main breeding pool is fenced off, though there are 2 'hidden' pools that are not. Also the spawn does look different, typically calamita lay their eggs in a single row within the string, B.bufo (Common toad) on the other hand lay a double row within the string. Cheers, Al


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## stuartdouglas (Mar 5, 2008)

Thanks for that. We've got a couple of colonies up this way, but I've never got anywhere near the breeding pools, although you can hear the males from quite a way off.


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## Alex M (May 28, 2008)

stuartdouglas said:


> Thanks for that. We've got a couple of colonies up this way, but I've never got anywhere near the breeding pools, although you can hear the males from quite a way off.


Funnily enough, calamita are actually Europe's loudest anuran!, i can't remember precisely how far the call can be heard from off the top of my head but it's a fair few kilometres.


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## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

Natterjack Toad spawn is visibly different from Common Toad spawn.

It tends to be in twin filaments rather than singly like common toad.

I'll check my photo data base and see if I have any images


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## Alex M (May 28, 2008)

slippery42 said:


> Natterjack Toad spawn is visibly different from Common Toad spawn.
> 
> It tends to be in twin filaments rather than singly like common toad.
> 
> I'll check my photo data base and see if I have any images


Slippery, as stated, it's the other way round. It's the calamita (Natterjack) that lays single string spawn - the Common toad on the other hand lays it's eggs in a zigzag or double formation (you sometimes see slight variation with B.bufo but have never seen calamita spawn in anything but a single row). Cheers, Al


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## pollywog (Oct 6, 2005)

I was watching a pair of Bufo bufo up close while they were spawning a week ago, it's quite interesting to watch as the female expells the spawn as 2 strings that then swell and come together to give the double row in a single string. I believe B.calamita also expell 2 strings of eggs but they stay seperated.


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## ViperLover (Jun 7, 2009)

Cheers fellas.

I'm maintaining the container of which the current tadpoles are in daily, regularly removing old water, and adding new to top it up to keep the Oxygen levels reletively high.


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

ViperLover said:


> Cheers fellas.
> 
> I'm maintaining the container of which the current tadpoles are in daily, regularly removing old water, and adding new to top it up to keep the Oxygen levels reletively high.


Did you release the majority of them already?


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## ViperLover (Jun 7, 2009)

Saedcantas said:


> Did you release the majority of them already?


 
Not quite yet, but, very soon I will be.


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## ViperLover (Jun 7, 2009)

Saedcantas said:


> Did you release the majority of them already?





ViperLover said:


> Not quite yet, but, very soon I will be.


 

If I am honest, I am seriously debating whether keeping even a couple perminantly.

Graeme's words in his thread (stickied on this part of the Forum) have stuck, and mean a lot. So, I am thinking it would be best to release them all back, and, obtain exotic amphibians, aswell as exotic reptiles.


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## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

Alex M said:


> Slippery, as stated, it's the other way round. It's the calamita (Natterjack) that lays single string spawn - the Common toad on the other hand lays it's eggs in a zigzag or double formation (you sometimes see slight variation with B.bufo but have never seen calamita spawn in anything but a single row). Cheers, Al


 :blush::blush::blush:!Doh Round way wrong the things getting always I'm


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## ViperLover (Jun 7, 2009)

slippery42 said:


> :blush::blush::blush:!Doh Round way wrong the things getting always I'm


 
Cheers for messing with my head so early in the morning, Graeme!

I had to read that 5 times for it to twig.....:blush:


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## Alex M (May 28, 2008)

slippery42 said:


> :blush::blush::blush:!Doh Round way wrong the things getting always I'm


Haha, it happens! I was a little confused as you're no spring chicken when it comes to our natives (i say that in the least cheeky way possible Graeme!). Cheers, Al


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