Critters after the Rain (neighborhood, living, pool)

[LivingTheSecret]

Hi,
Does anyone know what the animal is that comes out after it rains. Sounds like maybe some kind of frog? Although the sound is kinda like a strangling cat. LOL We walked one night after it rained and I heard several of them in a watery area "talking" back and forth to each other. We tried so hard to see what it was making the noise, but it was too dark. I'd love to know what they were so I could check them out online.

Thanks!
Melissa

Loving the amazing desert storms!!

[Bungle]

[shiphead]

too dark to see, making a "cat" like nose.... you sure it wasn't a opossum?

[Ponderosa]

The are called spadefoot toads. If it rains really hard (a lot of rain) the tiny toads come up out of the ground and start hopping around. If you get enough of them the sound is really loud. Huge numbers of them congregate near large "puddles" and stock tanks in the desert. The toads will burrow back into the ground and stay there until next monsoon. Life adaptation to conditions in the desert is simply amazing!!

A little info:

The Couch’s Spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus couchii) is a desert miner. It constructs burrows three feet deep or more and spends up to ten months of the year underground. The toad uses a sharp-edged, spade-like tubercle on the bottom of each hind foot. It does an amphibian version of the twist, the toad twist, rotating its body and feet first one direction and then the other to dig backwards into the ground. Not picky about digging its own burrow, though, it will also use the burrows of kangaroo rats or other animals. Couch’s Spadefoot likes to live along washes. It is found from the eastern part of California across the deserts into Central Texas. In California they can be found along washes in the creosote bush zone. When the rains come, and the water flows in the washes, they leave their burrows, lay eggs, and then return to their burrows. Their calls, which sound like the bleating of sheep, can be heard shortly after the rain. The eggs may hatch in only nine hours after being laid, and the tadpoles develop to adults in as few as ten days. Other types of frogs and toads in areas with permanent water may take months or even years to develop from tadpoles to adults. The life cycle of Couch’s Spadefoot toad is adapted to using the temporary water of the washes. If the rains do not arrive, the toad may behave like the desert tortoise and wait in its burrow until the next year. During these extended waiting periods, the toad may develop a coating similar to extra layers of skin, which protect it from desiccation.

[twiggy]

Oh, the cute toads. They got in my pool last year, freaked out my dog. Don't let your dogs bite them, it's not a good thing.

[twiggy]

Ha ha, funny Bungle, nice pic!
I saw one of those last night having a BBQ in my front yard.

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by LivingTheSecret

Hi,
Does anyone know what the animal is that comes out after it rains. Sounds like maybe some kind of frog? Although the sound is kinda like a strangling cat. LOL We walked one night after it rained and I heard several of them in a watery area "talking" back and forth to each other. We tried so hard to see what it was making the noise, but it was too dark. I'd love to know what they were so I could check them out online.

Thanks!
Melissa

Loving the amazing desert storms!!

Hmmm... Oh-oh...

That sounds like the creature from my old neighborhood...

The one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people-eater!

Be careful out there!

[LivingTheSecret]

Thank you, Ponderosa!!

[LivingTheSecret]

Pictures! Reptiles of Arizona - Couch's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii)

[LivingTheSecret]

Cool, more pictures and then a link to hear their calls: Scaphiopus couchii - Couch's Spadefoot