LA
Young Chaco toad about half hand size.
No Info:*
Whassup www? When I googled, jeeved, lycosed, and msned the www, all
I got back was my own web pages where I had published pictures of Chaco
toads. Perhaps there is no such critter? Perhaps somebody
named Chaco found these guys in his backyard? Perhaps this chubby
toad exists under a different name? Who knows (besides the Shadow,
of course)? “Chaco” refers more to women’s footwear than it
does to toads. There is a Chaco frog -- not the same critter.
LA
Same young
Chaco toad -- interesting colors, typical toad stance.
Origin:* Not
a clue. We got our first Chaco toad out of Chicago. Seems like
a very pricey toad to be a native of Illinois. And other price lists
include them also. So, it is very unlikely that Chacos come from
Chicago. Maybe a misspelling of Chicago? We need to explore
all possibilities.
LA
Same Chaco toad. Underneath he looks like most USA toads.
Description:
The Chaco toad looks a lot like a standard USA
toad. When you pick him up, he swells up like an American
toad. He also “squirts” like an American toad. He
eats like an American toad. And he squishes down into his substrate
when thinking like an American toad.
LA
When threatened, Chacos put their head down, back up, and swell up like a toad.
Evasive:
Chaco toads do not like you or anyone else to pick them up. When you
mess around in their cage, they put their heads down, puff up, and rear
their back legs up -- like they try to stand on their heads. They’ll
back their butts high up against the back wall of their cage.
LA
Mr. Chaco toad likes a bit of decor. He's an ecological type guy.
Provide Some Decor: You
can successfully keep your Chaco toad in a bare tank. But he sure
looks better when you decorate. Do not expect much decorating help
from your toad. Toads are well known for their poor taste.
Your attempts to decorate his cage seem to improve his
attitude. However, Chaco toads rarely smile.
LA
No smile at all.
LA
Big Chaco toads do not mix well with smaller critters.
Not Good Mixers:
Toads eat nearly anything smaller than them that moves. Chaco toads
are no exception. He would probably spit out the above tiger salamander due to
its nasty skin toxins. Betcha Mr. toad would not give an anole a free pass.
LA
Chaco toad trying to back up from a cup of black-masked ninja roaches.
Favorite Food:
Bugs hit the spot with our Chaco toads. The big Chacos can inhale
several -- so fast it surprises you -- too fast to catch on camera.
Maybe the photographer needs steroids? The smart roaches run toward
him. He catches the ones that try to run away. The sneaky ones
survive by crawling under him. But even this does not make him
smile.
LA
Pic
This is not "Wind in the Willows." Time to go to battle.
Eat those roaches.
LA Pic
Chaco-san meditating before the battle.
LA
Pic
Ninja roach attacking the fearsome Chaco-san.
LA
"So Chaco-san, my superior kung fu has defeated you. Now you
must obey me."
Last Words:
No one ever said Chaco toads (or any other toads) were smart. They
are chubby and usually hungry. Their bumpy skin would probably give
you a “buzz” like the marine toad does. And he probably tastes
just as nasty. You rarely see toads on restaurant menus. The
only thing that likes to eat toads are the opisthoglyphous hognose
snakes. They have special teeth that let the air out of toads to
make them more swallowable. Hognose snakes grow wild in Iowa, so we
are prohibited by law from collecting them. But we seem to have
digressed. Like other toads,
the Chaco toad is very easy to keep and may be a bit cute in an ugly sort of
way. LA
*After
publishing this page on the web, I found out from Kyle Szeto on April 10, 2005 that these
dudes are also called roccoco toads. From there, we found the name Bufo
paracmensis, also rococo, cururú, and Paraguayan giant toad. It
seems they come from the Chaco region in Paraguay -- thus the Chaco toad
name.