Spotted Toad
(rhaebo guttatus)
Facts
h(252)c(1)q(90)/545435ab768ec9a3afe6922354cea740.jpg)
IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)
Facts about this animal
With a length of up to 18 cm is the nocturnal Bufo guttata a giant among the members of the genus Bufo. In comparison to the other toads it has a relatively smooth skin (it is therefore also called Smooth-sided Toad) The upper side of the head and the back are light brown (a limited physiological colour adaptation to the underground is possible) The few flat warts are darker. The side of the head and the body is seamed by a dark brown band going through the eye. The throat and the belly are red-brown with cream-colored spots, the „drops“ that are the origin of the German name.
Did you know?
When threatened the toads blow themselves up, lower the head and raise their hind quarters and their posterior. If they are grabbed, the males emit a rasping defence sound.
| Factsheet | |
|---|---|
| Class | AMPHIBIA |
| Order | ANURA |
| Suborder | NEOBATRACHIA |
| Family | BUFONIDAE |
| Name (Scientific) | rhaebo guttatus |
| Name (English) | Spotted Toad |
| Name (German) | Tropfenkröte |
| Name (Spanish) | Sapo dorado |
| CITES Status | Not listed |
| CMS Status | Not listed |
Photo Copyright by
Martin Pickersgill
Distribution
| Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Range | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela |
| Habitat | It lives on the ground, close to rivers, or in deep leaf litter on the forest floor in tropical rain forests 50 – 850 m asl. The species seems to be associated with mature gallery forests. |
| Wild population | It is locally common, except in the Guianas where it is rare. Logging, forest conversion and clear cutting are all threats to this species. It is not tolerant of habitat alteration. However it covers a vast range, and the threats to the species are generally localised. |
| Zoo population | 98 reported to ISIS (2007) |
In the Zoo
How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 45 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
How this animal should be kept
This big toad should be kept in a large terrarium (150 x 100 x 100 cm) representing a section of the rain forest. About 20% of the floor is a 15 cm deep pool. The water runs into the pool in form of a waterfall. The floor is covered with rough bark shavings and some Philodendron and Maranta plants are present, as well as hiding spots (roots). A second layer of plants is higher up, representing the canopy of the forest. The toads can be fed cockroaches, crickets and Zophoba larvae. Newborn mice are given sporadically. B. guttata eats any time. Most of the day is spent in the zones shaded by the “canopy” and in the hiding spots. They are most active at dawn. The Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Karlsruhe (Germany) was able to successfully breed this species and published a report in DATZ 11/2005 (Alexander Pieh, Andreas Kirschner und Johann Kirchhauser “Zur Pflege und Nachzucht der Tropfenköröte”). One of the important factors was to provide the animals temporarily with a much larger pool with artificial rain. After some time alone in this bigger pool, the male was transferred back to the original terrarium, where he immediately clasped the female. Both animals in amplexus were then transferred again into the bigger pool, where egg laying (several 10’000 eggs) took place after a few hours. Both toads were then put back into the exhibit-terrarium and the eggs and tadpoles were kept separately. Development went well if the density of the eggs was low and the temperature was over 24 degrees C. When there were too many eggs, part of the embryos died (crowding-effect). After 7 days the tadpoles hatched and after about six more weeks metamorphosis was completed.