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Where have all the toads gone: |
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shirley Member Joined: 19 May 2004 No. of posts: 1  View other posts by shirley |
Posted: 19 May 2004 Hello, I am a new user to this forum, can anyone help. I need some toads for my garden as I am inundated with slugs and snails (I do not use chemicals in my garden) where can I find some in Cardiff, South Wales? I have plenty of water in the garden for the toads, and places for them to hide. shirley toad lover |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090  View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 19 May 2004 Hi Shirley, There are 2 schools of thought on introducing amphibians to gardens, the first goes along the lines of it's good to move them as it spreads their genes, the other is that it may not be advisable due to the possibility of spreading diseases. I guess you have to ask yourself why are there no toads in your garden, do they just not occur locally or is it something lacking in the area. Toads tend use ponds much larger than the average garden ones for breeding and adult toads in gardens are often in the terrestrial stage and using the habitat for foraging - so are there any good local toad ponds? Slow-worms are also good slug eaters, so perhaps a good heat generating compost heap is worth considering if you don't have one already - they can be magnets to slow-worms. If you do go for translocation of toads to the garden pond, I would recommend catching tadpoles rather than collecting spawn, as this ensures a good genetic cross-section for the new stock - rather than have a population generated by just a single pair of toads. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Matt Harris Senior Member Joined: 03 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 196 View other posts by Matt Harris |
Posted: 20 May 2004 Shirley, Current guidance is that it's best not to transfer eggs/larvae from more than about 1Km away, presumably because within this range different populations are likely to share the same diseases anyway. Cardiff Amphibian Survey 1998 - 1999. May 1999. Chadwick, E. et al. Cardiff University. will tell you the nearest toad populations, if you can get hold of a copy. Alternatively Cardiff Pond Survey 1997 - 1998. March 1999. Carey, J.L. et al. National Museums and Galleries of Wales. would tell you if there are any ponds in your area. Either way, I doubt if you are more than 1 Km away from a toad breeding pond - there are plenty of them in Cardiff. If your pond is new, you might as well wait for them to colonise it naturally. If you do find a donor pond, needless to say you will need the owner's permission, and you will have to be careful not to transfer any alien invasive pond weeds - Parrot's Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum occurs in Cardiff Gwent Amphibian and Reptile Group (GARG) |
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evilmike Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2004 No. of posts: 85 View other posts by evilmike |
Posted: 24 May 2004 hi, iam in Cardiff aswell, and have only ever found one Common Toad in my garden, even though my pond supports a huge common frog and Palmate newt population, just no Toads such a shame :( i have released a few toadlets that i raised from a local source but these seem to have dispersed and have not seen any from winter although they were growing quickly and were remaining in the pond and surrounding area. i just hope that just because i havent seen them doesnt mean there not there :)
mike Mike Lister BSc hons Ecology & Env management |
- Where have all the toads gone |