If a dog bites or comes in contact with a cane toad, use a damp cloth or towel and wipe the inside of the dog's mouth to make sure no toxins were swallowed, Gioeli told TCPalm.ĭo not flush the dog's mouth with a hose.
Symptoms of poisoning in pets include excessive drooling and extremely red gums, head-shaking, crying, loss of coordination and sometimes convulsions. If a pet bites, licks or even sniffs a cane toad, it could become sick and, if not treated, it could die. They also have been known to eat frogs, snakes, small reptiles, small birds and small mammals. They live in urbanized habitats and agricultural lands but also in some natural areas, including floodplain and mangrove swamps.Ĭane toads prey on anything they can get into their mouths, according to the University of Florida, but they normally feed on beetles, centipedes, crabs, millipedes, roaches, scorpions, spiders and other invertebrates. They can be found in central and south Florida and in an isolated population along the Florida Panhandle. Where did they come from?Ĭane toads are native to South and Central America and were introduced into Palm Beach County to control pests in sugar cane fields, according to the University of Florida. With very few exceptions, any toad in Florida that is larger than 4 inches is not native and almost certainly is an invasive cane toad, according to the University of Florida.Ī cane toad's favorite place: the ground. You can spot a cane toad by its size and its triangular glands, Gioeli said.Ĭane toads usually are 4-6 inches long, sometimes growing to 9½ inches. Lucie County, told TCPalm of the USA TODAY Network in 2018.
Not-so-fun fact: Even cane toad tadpoles are toxic, Ken Gioeli, the University of Florida's natural resources extension agent for St. (Native toads' parotoid glands are oval.) Unlike native southern toads, cane toads do not have ridges or "crests" on top of the head.
They have warty skin.Ĭane toads have large, triangular parotoid glands on their shoulders that secrete a milky toxin. They're tan to reddish-brown, dark brown or gray, and their backs are marked with dark spots, according to the University of Florida.
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