Life Stages of a Toad

Frogs and toads, although they have several difference, share the same general life cycle with all amphibians. The process begins with a male and female toad laying and fertilizing eggs. It progresses through various stages. Along the way a young toad has a tail and uses external gills. Later in the process, it loses the tail, grows legs, and develops lungs instead of gills. At each stage the toad is referred to by a different name. Each stage takes place at a certain number of weeks into the cycle.

  1. Spawn

    • The female toad returns to a river or stream. A male toad finds her and jumps on her back, a process called amplexus. He wraps his legs around her. As she lays eggs in a long chain, he fertilizes them. This egg mass is called spawn, which is different than the individual eggs. The spawn only refers to the group of eggs as a whole, but doesn't refer to how each egg develops on its own.

    Egg

    • The yoke within the egg splits into two sections. This splits again to create four sections and continues splitting in this fashion. The yoke begins to look like the raspberries inside a jello cup. After this the embryo begins to develop, it starts looking like a tadpole. The embryo grows longer. If you look closely, you will see it swim about in the egg, feeding upon the yoke to survive.

    Tadpole

    • The egg begins to hatch between days six and 21, depending upon the type of toad and other factors, such as environment. It breathes through external gills, which can be seen from the outside. The tadpole does not swim for the first seven to 10 days, but floats around in the plants, while it continues to grow. Four weeks into the process, the skin grows over the gills and they become internal gills. Between six to nine weeks after hatching, the tadpole grows legs, but keeps its tail.

    Youth and Adulthood

    • Between weeks nine and 12, the tail shortens. Front legs begin to grow and the lungs develop. At week 12 the toad looks like other toads, only much smaller. It does not leave the water until somewhere between 12 and 16 weeks after hatching. It will return again later to mate and fertilize more eggs. Until then, it lives away from water, eating insects and other bugs.