A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a list with toads and how old they could get. I didn’t find any and at that moment I decided to make my list!
So I went and looked for all the toads I could find, listed how long these toads live and made a nice article about it! I hope you enjoy it! It took me a couple of hours to make but I think you will find it valuable.
So, how long do toads live? As you might already think, this is largely dependent on the species. Some species become older than you think (it might surprises you how old some toads can get) and some species do not get that old.
Do you have a particular toad in mind? Read on to see if your toad made the list and find the information you are looking for!
How Long Do Toads Live?
American Toad
At the start, we have an interesting one and there’s a difference between in the wild and captivity.
American toad lifespan?
In the wild, most American toads do not survive for more than 2 years in the wild (and if they do they get around 10 years old).
In captivity, however, some American toads can live up to 36! There is a story about a captive toad that lived till 36 and was only killed by accident!
Western toad
Western toads are normally living in the mountainous areas of northwestern North America where they live at sea level but also near or above regional treeline.
How long do western toads live for?
In their natural habitat, they grow up to become sexual adults in about 3 to 6 years and live a happy life that contains about 10 to 11 beautiful years! The boreal toad attains a maximum age of around 9 years.
California Toad
As you might know, toads, in general, are good climbers. This isn’t any different in California toads. You can spot them on steep walls of a canyon in San Bernadino County for example and other beautiful places.
How long California toads live for?
The California toad can become very old! There once was found a tadpole that was raised in a classroom in Orange County in 1993 and it survived past the 21 years mark!
Yosemite Toad
Yosemite toads are one of my favorite toads. They are one of my favorites because of the way they look. They look like danger!
The Yosemite toads are toads that like to live in high elevations and are only found in the montane to sub-alpine elevational zone (1,950 to 3,445 meters).
How old can great plains toads get?
The male toads can live up to an age of 12 years. The females, however, can get a little older and can get 15 years old.
Great Plains Toad
The Great Plains Toad is a large species of toads that is native to central North America. He is grey with hints of brown and green and overall just looks amazing.
They grow to anywhere between 5.1 and 11.4 centimeters (or for our friends who like it in inch: 2 and 4.5 inches.But now to business…
How old can great plains toads get?
They tend to have an average lifespan of about 11 years. So if it is a pet of yours, you have a friend for a relatively long period of time!
Green Toad
Green toads are awesome and live in certain areas of Europe and Western-Asia. Interesting to know is the fact that you can’t find this species in The Netherlands or Belgium!
They live in many habitats that included semi-desserts, urban areas, and even mountainous areas.
How old do Green Toads get?
They have an average lifespan of about 7 to 10 years.
Black Toad
The black toad is also known as the Inyo toad or Deep Springs toad, lives only in the deep springs valley of Inyo Country in California.
The toad is covered in black with some white stripes that form over his whole body.
And you can recognize it by the white mid-line that runts down its spine from head to rump.
How old do Black Toads get?
The black toad has an average lifespan of about 12 years.
Fowler’s Toad
The Fowler’s toads are small toads that are mostly nocturnal which means that they are more active at night. Spotting them is difficult because they have a brown, gray, or olive kind of color and grow up to be only 5 to 9.5 centimeters (or 2 to 3.5 inches).
Their native habitat consists of flood plains, wooded areas, river valleys, you often find them near ponds and you can even find them in agricultural and marshland fields.
How old do Fowler’s Toads get?
They have a typical lifespan of about 5 years.
Smooth-sided Toad
As the name already suggests, the smooth-sided toad is one of the very few toads who have smooth skin! They live in the tropical forests of northern South American and Now,
Did you know that warts behind this toads’ eyes are called parotid glands?
These are glands that produce toxins to keep away predators. The toxins that are secreted from this glands interfere with the heart function of a predator and can even cause death due to heart failure!
How old do Smooth-sided Toad Toads get?
When these toads are in human care, and taken care of well, they can live up to 10 years.
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad
The Oriental Fire-Bellied toad is one of my favorites! This is because of how he looks. I find the fact that his belly is all orange or red very, very cool! Did you know that these toads are native to China and Russia?
Fun to know about this species is the fact that they cannot extend their tongues like many other frogs and toads do to catch their prey. Instead, they need to leap forward and so catch prey with their mouths
The Fire-bellied toads are toads that are higher up in the range of how old they can get.
How old do Oriental Fire-bellied Toads get?
These frogs often live to be 12 to 15 years old. When they are in human care, they can even reach about 20 years.
Red-Spotted Toad
The red-spotted toad, as the name suggests, has red spots on its body. It is a small toad species growing to 3.7 to 7.5 centimeters (or 1.5 to 3.0 inches) and has a flattened head.
Fun to know is the fact that juveniles look just like adults but has more prominent ventral spotting. Also, the undersides of a red-spotted juvenile toad are yellow!
How old do Red-Spotted Toads get?
The red-spotted toad has a life expectancy of about 11 years.
Oak Toad
The oak toad is a small toad that looks dangerous. This toad can be gray, brown or even nearly black and often has scattered reddish warts on its body.
Now sometimes the oak toad gets confused with the American toad, the Fowler’s toad, and the southern toad… But you can distinguish them by the yellow/orange stripe that runs from the top of its head all over his back.
How old do oak Toads get?
The average lifespan of an oak toad is a bit unclear. However, there are some records that this species of toad can live up to 4 years in captivity, but the average lifespan in captivity is 1.9 years.
Gulf Coast Toad
This toad is what is a medium-sized toad. They can grow up to a varying length of 5.1 to 10.2 centimeters (or 2 to 4 inches). The cool thing about these toads is the fact that they vary in color.
They can be nearly black, to having different shades of brown and grey with a white or yellowish colored stripe down the center. You can find the Gulf Coast toad in different habitats.
You can find them in open grassland, semi-arid regions, suburban backyards, and even some forests.
But how old do Gulf Coast toads get?
These toads can live up to 10+ years, so they are in the upper range of the lifespan spectrum.
Cane Toad
The Cane toad is also known and the giant neotropical toad (or marine toad). The cane toad is a large terrestrial true toad (a true toad is a toad that is a member of the Bufonidae family, in the order Anura (frogs and toads).
They are native to South and mainland in Central America but with time these toads got introduced to certain areas in Oceania, the Caribbean, and Northern Australia.
The Cane toad is the largest toad in the world and can average a length of 10 to 15 centimeters ( 3.9 to 5.9 inches) when fully grown. The largest specimen ever recorded had a whopping length of 24 centimeters ( 9.4 inches)!
How old do Cane Toads get?
In the wild, Cane toads have a life expectancy of about 10 to 15 years.
When they are held in captivity, it is considerably longer and they can live up to 35 years.
Conclusion
I hope that you have learned quite a bit about the life expectancy of different toads. I also hope that the additional information was helpful and that you overall have enjoyed reading this post.
For Further Reading
Below are some topics that are related to this one and you might find them interesting to read!
Here’s an interesting article about what toads eat (and what not).
Here’s an interesting article about hibernation in toads. How it works, their diet and more.
Hi, I’m Mike, and I’m the creator of amphibianlife.com. If there was one word to describe it? It would be: passionate about Amphibians! Whether you want to know more about amphibians or have a presentation to give at school, you’ve come to the right place.