There’s a Malay idiom that goes, “seperti katak di bawah tempurong” – translated, “like a frog under a coconut shell”. It refers to people who live in a sheltered, enclosed environment, their world being life under that proverbial coconut shell.

Well, we’ve got something like that in our garden – except it’s not a frog…

I’m not sure what kind of toad this is, specifically. It looks like a really old, faded Asian toad to me.

…and it’s not a coconut shell.

This tilted box at the edge of the garden often has interesting surprises beneath when I bother to look…

I discovered this toad in the same spot that we recently found the young common Wolf snake hiding – under a styrofoam box I use for growing young plants. The toad doesn’t shelter here every day (I’ve checked) but does return fairly frequently.

It’s a very dark grey colour, and I’m not sure of the actual species. However, if I had to guess, I’d say it was a very old Asian toad because of the lighter markings. It lacks the colours I’ve seen on the other Asian toads here, and the left eye looks white and possibly blinded – unless it has an eyelid that closes when it’s sleeping.

I would guess that, like other garden toads, this fellow is nocturnal and goes hunting at night, then finds a nice, dark place to hide during the daytime. I’ve already started referring to it as our toad under a styrofoam box…

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