Males usually call in or near shallow water or from small mounds of soil or grass surrounded by water. Males occasionally call from wooded habitat located within about a 100-yard radius of breeding ponds. The call is a high clear trill that lasts an average of 14 seconds. Houston Toads may call from December through June. Most breeding activity takes place in February and March, and is stimulated by warm evenings and high humidity.
Toads emerge from hibernation to breed only if moisture and temperature conditions are favorable.
Females, responding to calling males, move toward the water to mate. The female lays her eggs as long strings in the water, where they are fertilized by the male as they are laid. Young toadlets are about one-half inch long when they complete metamorphosis. They then leave the pond and spend their time feeding and growing in preparation for the next breeding season. Houston Toads, especially first-year toadlets and juveniles, are active year round under suitable temperature and moisture conditions.