A woman turned a wild toad that frequented her porch into a rising Instagram star, and the photos of
- Savannah Mikell, a college student in Florida, noticed the same spotted toad visiting her home's front porch.
- Mikell started to take pictures of the toad in a detailed dollhouse doing everyday tasks like barbecuing, surfing the internet, and watching movies.
- Toby Toad's Instagram account has been making thousands of people smile.
- Mikell told INSIDER that Toby keeps coming back to her porch, even though he generally runs free.
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
In the latest edition of humans making social media accounts for animals, one woman from Florida has turned a wild toad into a budding Instagram sensation.
Savannah Mikell, a 23-year-old college student living in a rural town near Gainesville, Florida, grew up noticing toads flock to the porch of her home during summertime.
Throughout the past month, she noticed one toad in particular that frequented the house, and she decided to make it the subject of a made-up storyline, Mikell told INSIDER in an interview.
"I garden a lot, and I always noticed this one toad that had vibrant colors and a lot of spots," Mikell said. "I thought it would be funny to take a piece of furniture from a dollhouse that I own and put him on the couch. At first, it was meant to be a joke for my Facebook friends, but it blew up, and I kept including the toad in more scenes."
Read more: These Are The Most Popular Animals On Instagram
Now, followers of Toby Toad, or Yaboi_Toby_Toad on Instagram, can see the wild toad living its best life as it stars in elaborate scenes, such as tea parties with mini-sandwiches and movie nights with tiny snacks.
Keep reading to see the pictures of Toby Toad that are making people smile.
Toby Toad is just like us. He enjoys everything from game nights ...
"Toads aren't too afraid of humans, so you might think it would be difficult, but I don't find it hard to place Toby wherever I put him and have him sit still for the photo," said Savannah Mikell, the brains behind the Toby Toad Instagram account.
... to cooking up a summertime meal on the grill.
Don't forget the ketchup.
Mikell places Toby Toad in furniture from her childhood dollhouse, which she said was built by her aunt, a professional miniaturist.
A miniaturist is someone who builds or collects small-scale items, such as Mikell's dollhouse, which has details like crown-moldings and lifelike furniture, she said.
From packaged foods to lifelike silverware, Toby Toad's lifestyle seems pretty realistic.
Mikell said the scenes she creates for Toby Toad's Instagram photos are all from the dollhouse she's had since she was a child, but she's also started browsing Etsy and making props of her own.
"Ever since Toby has gotten more attention online, I want to keep adding new props and items in the pictures," Mikell said.
Mikell said it doesn't take much work to place the toad in a realistic sitting or standing position.
"I'm very gentle with him. He's either sitting, or I prop him up so it looks like he's holding the object or table," Mikell said.
Toby Toad is multi-talented. He can repair a car ...
Toby Toad's 15,000 (and growing) Instagram followers cheer on each post.
"Toby for President," one user wrote.
... and play musical instruments.
Mikell said she thinks the overwhelmingly positive response she's gotten with the Toby Toad account says something about her generation.
"The typical social media influencer might make you feel like you have to go work out or appear a certain way," she said. "With an account that's an animal and something more lighthearted, there's nothing to compare yourself to — it's just something funny, and something to make you smile."
Despite Toby Toad's Instagram lifestyle that includes tea parties and a beautifully decorated home, Mikell said she wants people to know that she does not trap the toad in the dollhouse.
"I still let Toby live in the wild. He doesn't sleep or stay in the dollhouse, but he just keeps coming back to my porch," Mikell said. "That's how I'm able to keep taking pictures of him."
Mikell said the Instagram amphibian's next appearances might involve a beach-themed dollhouse and festive costumes for a holiday calendar.
Mikell said that her aunt, who built the dollhouse featured in Toby Toad's photos, is retrieving another dollhouse that's decorated as a "super-detailed beach house" from storage for future toad photoshoots.
But she has to act quickly, because Toby Toad might be on a photoshoot hiatus once the weather gets colder, Mikell said.
"I'm also going to take his holiday pictures for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, because once it gets cold outside, he might burrow, and I might not see him again," Mikell said.
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