Two weeks ago, Sita was repotting plants and found Jabba on the surface of one of the pots. This time, it was much darker in color and moved very slowly. “I left it alone and put the pot back where it had been,” Sita said. “The next day, Jabba was gone. It is most unusual for a toad to start hibernating in July. Here in East Texas, July, August, and early September have daily highs near or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“I read up toads and suspect she is a Gulf Coast Toad, which is supposed to live 1-2 years in the wild. Jabba was fully grown when I first met her which would indicate she was maybe a year old then. She spent two summers mostly on the front porch, so that makes her possibly three years old,” Sita explained. “I never asked her age.”