| The Question: As I worked in the garden, an earthworm came wriggling toward me, followed by a toad. When the worm changed course, the toad followed, looking as if it wanted to bite the worm. Do toads eat worms? Submitted by: Susan F., Connecticut, USA |
The Short Answer: Yes!
More Information: Most toads will eat almost any animal small enough to fit in their mouths – and sometimes animals too big to fit in their mouths! So earthworms, insects, terrestrial crustaceans, and other invertebrates are all on the menu. One study in Canadian jack pine forests found that American toads were big eaters of ants. But nice juicy earthworms are probably a treat. So the toad you saw chasing an earthworm 
was almost certainly after lunch. There is a Youtube video of a pet American Toad eating a large worm here: YouTube Clip.
Two toad species are common in Connecticut, the American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus – formerly Bufo americanus), and Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri – formerly Bufo folweri). They can look very much alike. The American Toad gets considerably larger, so if you see a four inch (10 cm) toad (with legs tucked in) in Connecticut, that’s almost certainly an American Toad. But if you see one smaller than that, you’ll have to look more closely. The Peabody Museum at Yale University has a nice online guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Connecticut 
(Yale Peabody Museum). Here are that site’s descriptions of the two Bufo species:
It sounds to me like the simplest way to tell an American Toad from a Fowler’s Toad would be to tip them over and look for dark spots on the belly. If it’s got spots, it’s probably an American Toad. If not, it’s a Fowler’s. That should work in Connecticut, where these are the only two species that are common. In other parts of the world, you’d have to know the local species. American Toads and Fowler’s Toads both like sandy soils. You’re more likely to find the American Toad in an upland area, and more likely to find a Fowler’s near a stream or other water, but both can be found in the other’s prime habitat, so that’s not a very good way to tell them apart. You can also listen for their songs in the spring to tell what kind predominates in your area. You can hear the songs at the Yale Peabody Museum site. The songs are roughly similar, but the American Toad’s song is prettier. The Fowler’s has a bit of a punk rock edge:
Bufo or Anaxyrus: As new information becomes available, scientists often revise the taxonomy or classification of animals and plants. This doesn’t change the organisms, of course, it just changes the way we talk about them. The toads of North America have been considered to be a part of the large genus Bufo, but were recently reclassified as belonging to their own genus, Anaxyrus. They are still in the same family, the Bufonidae, which has about 530 species, and is considered by herpetologists to be the “true toads.” However, in common name usage, there are many species of frogs that are also called “toads.” The name/description “toad” is generally given to any frog that lives in a dry habitat. Interestingly, convergent evolution has led to many of these frogs looking very much like bufonid toads, dry, warty skin and all. [modified July, 2015]
Trivia: A group of toads is called a “knot.”
Sources: The diet of coexisting species of amphibians in Canadian jack pine forests. Bellocq, M. I., K. Kloosterman, and S. M. Smith. Herpetological Journal. 10:63–68. 2000.
I have had bufo toads in my front yard for years. They have frog huts and pools. They were eating the meal worms I feed a Robin. Every night my toads came out headed for the meal worms and took dips in their pools. Suddenly one by one they have disapeared. It is still hot here I live in SC and it is August. About three weeks ago there was a snake in my yard. It came out at night and my husband killed it. My fear is that another snake could have eaten my toads. I became so attached to them. I spent hours watching them. Is it possible they moved somewhere else? One Toad has been with me for 7 years. My Siamese cat loves him. The toad would sit by the cat and the cat raps his tail around him. I am lost without the toads. So is my cat.
My American Toad is named Isabel. She is still young I think. But I feed her worms and she loves them. I was wondering if that thing that nearly comes out of her mouth us her tongue. It happens when she eats worms. Or is it the worm trying to escape?
It’s probably Isabel’s tongue that you’re seeing. Click here to see a picture of a toad with its tongue out.
I have hundreds of tiny little tadpoles in my rain barrels that I use to collect water for my garden. I hate to kill them by throwing them in the garden, but they are really in the way. Also, the tiny little adults are VERY LOUD (especially under my bedroom window at night!!! I have gathered all I could into one large rain barrel to mature, but I have a few questions. Do I need to feed them, besides the suicidal insects that end up in the same barrel? Do they eat each other–they are all different sizes? Would they be better off in a nearby lake or would the fish eat them? Are they ultimately beneficial to my garden? Thanks, Kathryn
It will be our one year anniversary having saved a toad from a hospital parking lot. We brought it home to release in our woods but then I got talked into keeping him/her for a pet by my kids. I have researched all about taking care of our toad but still one year later I can not definitively figure out what kind of toad he/she is. Do fowler and American toads interbreed? Kee (short for frogkee, my youngest pronunciation) fits bits and pieces of each description but doesn’t fit any specific one.
A toad is living in the big flower box on my porch. There are lots of bugs there because of lights. The first few weeks he was in and out a lot, but for past 10 days he has stayed in the box. Is this normal in high heat? (90 degrees all week). He burrows deep to stay cool. I put a little bowl of water & saw him hanging out in it last week. But this week he seems to be in same place (moving around a little but not leaving the box) all of the time.
Can oak roads eat red Wiggler worms?
Hi, I assume you mean oak toads, not roads. 🙂 And yes, they should be fine eating pretty much any earthworms. Tom (Sorry for the delay in responding)