Toad's habitat

[Janenat]

Hello

I decided to clear away an ivy I'd let grow in a corner of my garden that gets no direct sunlight, mainly because it was getting difficult to stop growing through to next doors garden. Anyway I was being careful and rescued a few caterpillars when I suddenly noticed this toad (?) I moved him further up the bed under some ferns so I could carry on. My question is would he have been hibernating in my ivy? I've no pond or water for spawning, in fact I've no idea where the nearest water would be. I've had a toad in my garden before, normally see him july, august time, around the same area of garden, also in my compost heap for a while - plenty of slugs
Would it be the same toad coming back?, or am I assuming too much and that he actually lives here all year and I just haven't seen him? Also am I assuming alot by calling it a "he"?
I've planted some more ferns in the corner, will that be enough cover or should I build a "home" for him I saw mentioned in another thread?

Any thoughts welcome

Many thanks
Jane

[~T~]

Your toadie is a froggy (you may be right calling it a he as it looks like a male or maybe a juvie female). Frogs and toads spend a lot of the year away from water so I wouldn't worry too much and it's possible you are seeing the same one. The ferns should provide cover for him and even better would be constructing a woodpile as they love to hide in them.

[faz]

agree with ~T~

[Janenat]

Excellent thank you, well that's my assumptions out the window, I always thought frogs had to be near water, which is why I assumed it was a toad, I did look through the Gallery and thought it looked like the pictures of toads, how do you tell them apart then?

I did have a woodpile under the ivy which I've put back, so hopefully he'll be OK

Many thanks
Jane

[dampflippers]

Quite often males will hang around in the pond (I have 3 that line up next to each other every night waiting for flies etc), but not always.

[GCN lova]

frogs and toads become terrestrial after breeding and find damp areas to stay in. do your neighbours have a pond?

[Janenat]

No, not that I know of, there is a garden with a high hedge, (7ft Leylandii!) that might be a possibility.
How far would they travel to get to water? Also meant to ask, doesn't anyone know how long they live for?

Many thanks
Jane

[GCN lova]

common frogs live for up to eight years but maybe they may live longer in captivity. toads live for 8-12 yrs old but 20-40 in captivity .

do you also have newts in your garden? or more than one frog in your garden? if you do you may have a pond nearby. also, they travel quite far from their hibernation sites to their breeding ponds but mostly hibernate nearby. the result is often squashed amphibians on the roads.

hope it helps,
GCN lova

[Janenat]

Thank you, hopefully might have my visitor for a couple more years then
I did come across a newt once - behind my compost heap! So maybe there is a pond hidden somewhere nearby. I've only ever seen the solitary frog, and assumed (?) it was the same one.

Thanks again
Jane