So, since my previous post, I’ve spoken with the folks over at Toadily Toads about this American Toad. She advised me that if I observed the toad again, that I should not leave it out in the environment in case it is contagious. Since she advised me of this concern, I hadn’t seen the toad. Then, this afternoon, we went out to do some weedwhacking and mowing and this guy was right in the middle of the yard. We immediately snatched him up and put him in a bucket. I then started trying to contact Wildlife Rehabilitators. I eventually reached a nice lady from Ann Arbor that works with turtles and other reptiles and amphibians. I found her through a website, Friends of Wildlife. This was by far one of the most informative websites about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation that I was able to find today. I was really glad to have run across this resource. Before I was able to speak with the Friends of Wildlife, I had spoken with Dustin at Keylore Kennels, he agreed to take care of the toad next week and find someone at MSU to take a look at it. He knows some folks in Lansing that he thinks will be able to help.
Both the Friends of Wildlife and Dustin think that the issue here might be some type of tragedy that befell this toad. This would be a major relief because it would mean that the issue is isolated to this one individual. I’m going to keep him over the weekend and transfer him to Dustin’s care on Monday.
I’m worried about the toad because he isn’t really exhibiting “normal” toad behavior. I’ve seen him outside primarily during daylight or dusk hours, and never at night. I hope that someone at MSU will take an interest and be able to tell us what happened to this little guy. I will certainly be posting any updates that I get here.
Here are a few more views of the toad from today.
