Posted on 09/06/2025 12:34:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Florida is host to a variety of invasive species, largely thanks to its history in the exotic pet trade.
However, there’s one amphibian you may want to keep an eye out for, as it could prove dangerous.
That’s the cane toad — also dubbed the “Bufo” toad — which was originally brought to Florida in the 1930s as part of a pest control program, according to the UF/IFAS.
At the time, cane toads were used to eat beetles threatening sugar cane crops in the state, though the initial population didn’t survive this attempt.
Instead, around 100 of these toads were released into the wild by a pet importer at the Miami airport in the 1950s. Alongside similar incidents in other parts of South Florida, this incident sparked the rise of the cane toad population statewide, researchers explained.
Nowadays, experts say that cane toads are largely found in South Florida, with populations reaching into the Polk County portion of Central Florida.
However, there’s also an isolated group of these toads that’s been established in DeLand, strangely enough.
If a pet bites or swallows a cane toad, FWC officials warn that the animal could get sick and die as soon as 15 minutes afterward if it goes without proper treatment.
Symptoms can include frantic or disoriented behavior, brick-red gums, seizures and foaming at the mouth.
Owners who spot these symptoms are urged to wash the toxins out of the mouth with a hose for ten minutes while being careful not to send water down the pet’s throat.
Afterward, owners should wipe the gums and the animal’s tongue with a dish towel to remove toxins before getting the pet to a veterinarian’s office.
Despite its toxicity, it’s actually legal to own a cane toad as a pet in Florida, just so long as you don’t release it into the wild.
That being said, homeowners who find cane toads on their property are also allowed to remove and humanely kill them. To do so, it’s encouraged to wear eye and skin protection, as well as latex or rubber gloves.
“It is also very important to make sure that you have properly identified the animal as a cane toad and not a native southern toad, which is a beneficial part of the Florida ecosystem,” FWC officials caution.
Homeowners can also take the following steps to dissuade cane toads from coming onto their property:
Remove places where cane toads or their prey can hide
Cut grass regularly and keep it short
Fill in any holes around structures
Trim the underside of shrubs
Keep branches off the ground
Clear away brush piles
Remove clutter
Remove food that can attract cane toads and their prey
Feed pets indoors when possible
Bring outdoor pet food and water bowls indoors at night
Clean up any food scraps from pet bowls or outside areas
For more information on cane toads and how to handle them, visit the FWC’s website here.
“How many licks does it take?”
As if kissing a frog to see if it will turn into a prince wasn’t weird enough, there are actually cases of people licking frogs to get high.
What Do People Get Out of Licking Toads?
Because of the psychotropic compounds on their skin, licking toads, especially specific species like the Colorado River toad (part of the Incilius Alvarius or Bufo alvarius families and also known as the Sonoran Desert toad), can have a variety of hallucinogenic effects.
These toads secrete substances known as bufotoxins which, when consumed, can lead to psychedelic experiences. It’s possible that those who lick toads are doing so to experience these psychedelic effects.
Licking toads can have different effects on different people. Some people claim to have vivid visual hallucinations, changed time and space awareness, and even spiritual or mystical experiences.
These results are comparable to what other psychedelics produce. However, it’s crucial to remember that licking toads can also be potentially hazardous and dangerous. The chemicals on their skin can cause unpleasant side effects.
Additionally, the handling and harvesting of these toads can devastate their ecosystems and destroy their numbers.
I just have to ask, who was the first person who licked a toad? Somebody had to be the first.
I don’t know why but when I read Toad in the headline only thing that came to mind was Ginger Baker on drums.
https://youtu.be/4Gze0PxDKgQ?si=di-Gc3ZWbKiax3Ve
Homeowners can also take the following steps to dissuade cane toads from coming onto their property:
Remove places where cane toads or their prey can hide
Cut grass regularly and keep it short
Fill in any holes around structures
Trim the underside of shrubs
Keep branches off the ground
Clear away brush piles
Remove clutter
Remove food that can attract cane toads and their prey
Feed pets indoors when possible
Bring outdoor pet food and water bowls indoors at night
Clean up any food scraps from pet bowls or outside areas
If Cane Toads force people to maintain their property in good order I’d say they should still be considered a beneficial species. :D
Keep branches off the ground
Clear away brush piles
Remove clutter
***
Name 3 things that would get you arrested in California.
LOL I laugh but you may not be kidding.
If it harms the citizens it’s law in CA!
As Governor Hair Gel says; “It’s true ... because it’s true.”
First time was really scary. I'm looking at a house my GF wanted to buy. She had her little Pesky Eskie with her and all of a sudden the dog is traipsing around like someone on acid. I knew immediately what was happening and sure enough a few minutes later the dog is laid out stiff as a board, eyes wide open, and screaming like a banshee. We rushed her up to the Vet and gave something to ease the effects and she slowly came out of it.
The first time my senior English Setter got a cane toad, I took her to the emergency vet. (My senior dogs made sure they got sick during premium cost off-hours and weekends.) 2nd time, I gave her an Ativan and watched her rotate her head tracking the hallucinations.
Mike Tyson claims the toads profoundly changed his life:
“When former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson first tried 5-MeO-DMT — also called “the toad” — he said it knocked him off his feet, profoundly changing his life. “I came across this thing called the toad. I smoked this medicine, drug, whatever you want to call it, and I’ve never been the same,” Tyson said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast last year, viewed by nearly 10 million people. “I look at life differently, I look at people differently. It’s almost like dying and being reborn… It’s inconceivable. I tried to explain it to some people, to my wife, I don’t have the words to explain it. It’s almost like you’re dying, you’re submissive, you’re humble, you’re vulnerable — but you’re invincible still in all.”
5-MeO-DMT: The 20-Minute Psychoactive Toad Experience That’s Transforming Lives
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcarpenter/2020/02/02/5-meo-dmt-the-20-minute-psychoactive-toad-experience-thats-transforming-lives/
I was going to mention the fact that Tyson said it helped him. Of course, do you want to take advice from Tyson?
I was going to mention the fact that Tyson said it helped him. Of course, do you want to take advice from Tyson?
Better than taking a Left hook from him.😳
it has a mullet
wears a muscle shirt
usually has a can of beer
give wide berth
My buddy who was never into drugs and hates marijuana suddenly decides to try LSD at 60 y/o. Now he wants to try ayahuasca which is 5-MeO-DMT same as the toad stuff. And he wants me to do it with him. It’s describe as a religious experience and sometimes atheists become theists after taking it. I’m kinda intrigued but also kinda chicken lol. I too started experimenting with psychedelics later in life in my 50’s. LSD shrooms and mescaline but I’m afraid to try this one. I told him you do it first and let me know how it goes lol. The other psychedelics I tried worked great against anxiety and depression and I didn’t find the ‘trip’ all that scary. The sensory distortions were way less than I expected. But it doesn’t hurt to have a valium around just in case lol.
Just as an aside magic mushrooms have been found to delay aging and significantly extend lifespan.
Study shows psilocybin from ‘magic mushrooms’ delays aging and significantly extends lifespan
https://www.earth.com/news/study-shows-psilocybin-from-magic-mushrooms-delays-aging-and-significantly-extends-lifespan/
Feed them to Reticulated pythons and resolve both problems at the same time.
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