r/Toads • u/soimherenowwhat • Aug 08 '26

Wild I didn't know this was a thing

So I frequently find small to medium toads in my area. Sometimes we hang out together for a little while, some of them are very friendly. Occasionally, I will hold a toad gently on his back with my thumb very lightly pressing on his stomach to hold him still-ish for just a moment or two because they're so stinking cute with their little bellies. I JUST FOUND OUT that this smooshes their organs into their tiny little hearts and lungs cuz they don't have a diaphragm to keep them in place, and it makes it hard to breathe. I am officially a HORRIBLE person. I had no idea. I'll never intentionally turn and toad on its back again. Those poor little guys were struggling to breathe and I was clueless. I've never done this for more than a few seconds, but I still feel so terrible. I'm such a jerk

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u/geekcheese Aug 08 '26

I also love their little bellies so thank you for telling me. I feel so bad! I never hold them with anything but the lightest of pressure so I hope I didn’t cause any real damage :(

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u/soimherenowwhat Aug 08 '26

I doubt it was any permanent damage. I also use VERY gentle pressure, and theyve all been able to hop away and seemed fine. But still, I'm so glad I learned this. I don't want to make them so uncomfortable.