Sapo y Gato Amigos

Well not exactly amigos but they don't bother each other.  There are two toads that live in the yard and they usually don't come out till dark.  We were playing in the pool about 6pm last night when I noticed this.   I guess somewhere along the line Tomas the cat has figured out toads should be left alone even though he'll kill just about every other small creature in the yard.  Coyota the dog ignores the sapos as well.   My only complaint is cleaning up their poop every morning.  They must eat a lot of something.

My morning presents

At least the last two mornings. The first was dead baby bats (murciélagos in Spanish).

My neighbors heard something in my new palapa and they thought they might be rats or mice.   Hugo climbed up and couldn't find anything.  The next morning I found the first bat.   After finding the second one we concluded it must be my cat, Tomas, catching them somehow.   Tomas does not let anything live in the yard except toads.   I regularly get mice dropped near the front door ... partially eaten.  Sadly, also a bird or two.

The second was snakes.   Very thin about a foot long and also well chewed

The third is toad poop that looks very similar to their diet which is mostly cucarachas.   Toads (sapos in Spanish) come out at night.   The other evening we watched a toad chase a cucaracha across the lawn. No mice or birds for a few weeks so they may have come to know Tomas.

The rain brings out everything

I'll just call him a rain toad because I don't know what type of toad this is. After 2 days of rain I found 3 of them in my yard this morning. All were about 5-6 inches long. I also found a small land crab in the house. Small crabs can squeeze into/under very tight openings. I assume they both live under ground and don't appreciate getting soaked so up they pop.

Hugo was over working on my back wall today and during a water break I pointed out these toads who were hunkered down next to my front wall. I was surprised at his reaction of getting rid of them because I have pets. Anything that moves in my yard is a target for both my dog and cat.

Hugo's solution was to pour Clorox over them and throw them in an empty lot with a shovel. He said the Clorox (Cloro) will make them puff up and die ... who knows?

Bufo is both Spanish and the scientific name for a large toad. It seems all toads excrete toxins from their back as a protection mechanism and animals/pets can get sick or die if they ingest it. Some toads are much more toxic than others ... and I assume by Hugo's reaction they are quite toxic in this area.

6/24/2012
They are called Sapos here and they eat insects (mostly cockroaches) so now I leave them alone