What became of the Toad?

[geordief]

A toad got into the house late at night  when I was bringing in furniture from the rain.

I spotted it  on the carpet when I closed the door and went looking for a container to catch it into.

 

I found it against  the wall but it hopped away from my attempts at capture -as far as ,and into the open (cold) fire.

I managed to quickly catch it with my right hand and carried it outside again  where I cast it onto the wet and  grassy   lawn.

I wondered afterwards whether it had suffered any damage from its  brief visit to to fireplace.

It was covered in wood and peat ash(cold as the fire had not been lit since the day before).

Would that ash  have damaged its skin?

It was a wet night which ,with the long grass  would have washed most of it off quite soon I imagine  but I wonder how sensitive a skin a toad has and whether  that might have been very damaging for it.

 

On a related note ,whenever I dispose of those ashes normally I try to  put the somewhere our donkeys cannot get at them because they will eat them and ,again I wonder how good that is for them (they also roll in them)

Edited September 19, 2023 by geordief

[TheVat]

The ash is harmless.  Donkeys and horses eat it when they crave minerals, like potassium.  I gather being covered with ash does decrease the odds of a toad being kissed by a beautiful princess.

[geordief]

30 minutes ago, TheVat said:

The ash is harmless.  Donkeys and horses eat it when they crave minerals, like potassium.  I gather being covered with ash does decrease the odds of a toad being kissed by a beautiful princess.

Not an indication that the donkey's diet is deficient?

In the past ,an ignorant animal  inspector told us to feed them more and  they ended up with laminitis.(the vet told us to ignore her-wrote her a nasty letter)

We just  let them graze the field now and only give them hay if the grass  disappears in winter  or if the weather is inclement.

[Genady]

1 hour ago, TheVat said:

Donkeys and horses eat it when they crave minerals

Do you know if this is also why my dogs chew gravel sometimes?

[TheVat]

Don't know.  Dogs chew a lot of things, sometimes just for something to do, or maybe it's also dental care.   My neighbors dog chews chunks of wood, sometimes will eat poop or clods of dirt.  

1 hour ago, geordief said:

Not an indication that the donkey's diet is deficient?

Hard to say.  If you put out a mineral lick (like ranchers use) and they start licking that, and stop nibbling ash, that might indicate something.  Sometimes with horses it's just about salt.  Out here in the winter you will sometimes see the bison in the State Park licking road salt.  They will gather in groups in the middle of the road and ignore drivers trying to get through.

[Ken Fabian]

I think fresh ash would be bad for frogs/toads, especially if subsequently exposed to moisture without enough water to wash it all off. Ash reacts with water and becomes strongly alkali. I also expect when animals eat ash it is ash that has been rain soaked and leached. Post bushfire rain runoff is notable for being very toxic to aquatic animals.

[geordief]

That was what I wa

12 minutes ago, Ken Fabian said:

I think fresh ash would be bad for frogs/toads, especially if subsequently exposed to moisture without enough water to wash it all off. Ash reacts with water and becomes strongly alkali. I also expect when animals eat ash it is ash that has been rain soaked and leached. Post bushfire rain runoff is notable for being very toxic to aquatic animals.

That was what I was worried about.That poor toad may have had a bad skin burn all over its body unless  it stood  in the rain or got into water quickly.

I didn't have time to think  and give it a wash before throwing it out onto the lawn.

And the donkeys eat the ash straight from the bucket if I throw  it into the field (which I no longer do)

[TheVat]

14 hours ago, geordief said:

That was what I was worried about.That poor toad may have had a bad skin burn all over its body unless  it stood  in the rain or got into water quickly.

I didn't have time to think  and give it a wash before throwing it out onto the lawn.

Failure to wash a toad?  I will be contacting the relevant animal welfare agency in your country.

Thanks to @Ken Fabian for pointing out the alkalinity of wet wood ashes.  I had not realized the pH could go up to 12.   I wish I could edit or delete my misinformation in the earlier post.  I was somehow thinking of the ashes as dry and the toad also, not fully registering it went into wet foliage on a wet night.

Edited September 20, 2023 by TheVat
mrbngspty

[Ken Fabian]

@geordief I've never seen any animals eating fresh ash, but haven't been paying close attention either - I don't doubt the account that your donkeys do but I am surprised. I think some birds will dust bathe in ashes but I doubt they water bathe immediately after. Being wetted but the ash not washed away seems to be the point where it can be harmful.

[geordief]

6 hours ago, Ken Fabian said:

@geordief I've never seen any animals eating fresh ash, but haven't been paying close attention either - I don't doubt the account that your donkeys do but I am surprised. I think some birds will dust bathe in ashes but I doubt they water bathe immediately after. Being wetted but the ash not washed away seems to be the point where it can be harmful.

Yes ,they did a few times (and I stopped disposing of it there when I saw it happening)

They are used to being given buckets of garden /kitchen waste  and so followed me when they see me or the bucket.

They are also partial to the dried,unburned peat(as is the dog) which is no harm.