Arboreal toads....

[Liam Russell]

Just snapped this picture of a common toad in a hole in the trunk of an apple tree, about 1m from the ground (sorry for the picture, I took it on my phone)

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Seems like they climb more oftern then you think. Here is a topic from the Reptiles & Amphibians of the UK forum

http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2850&PN=1

Edit...

I came back in the morning to try and find it again and it wasn't in his hole, but climbing around on the ivy attached to the tree even higher up

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[Ilian Velikov]

Very interesting!..When I last took photos of a Bufo viridis toadlet I realized they are more agile climbers than people thought, when it jumped on the vertical wall of the house and started going upwards! viewtopic.php?f=27&t=135 It's true that the wall has a very rough texture,it is not smooth but anyway..these are "terrestrial" toads, after all!

[Jürgen Gebhart]

Interesting Documenation!!!

[Liam Russell]

Ilian - I remember your post. I wonder if they climb when there is limited shelter for them? This tree is in the middle of very short grass in a garden. It looked like the ground is pretty bare in your post too...

[Ilian Velikov]

Hi Liam,

I don't think that they do it when there's not enough shelter! Should be another reason, because the ground from my photos isn't bare at all! It's in my grandma's backyard, which is a garden with a lot of plants (that's why there's no grass), so has a lot of cover!..I found 3 individuals there, but the one that is on the wall I found inside the house, in the sink! The only way it could've got there is by climbing the pipes through the canalization! I think it searched not for shelter but for moisture!:?:

The Garden

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The Sink, where the toadlet was found!

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Best regards
Ilian

[Liam Russell]

I guess they may have different reasons for climbing. We're having a typical British summer over here (very wet) so I doubt he was looking for moisture, somwhere to get out of the rain perhaps...

[Ilian Velikov]

Yes, you may be right! Different places, different needs!