Bufo Toad Poisoning:
Not a Hoppy Experience

Good morning, Harmony Animal Hospital. This is Debbie". Debbie listened as the woman's frantic voice issued across the phone line. "Please help me. I just brought my dog inside and she won't stop drooling and shaking her head. She's also rubbing her head along the floor. What's wrong with her?"

Dr. David Cox, the Medical Director, came on the line and asked the owner if she'd noticed any Bufo toads around her property. He described them for her: usually six to nine inches in length, brown to a grayish brown with a creamy yellow belly. "Yes", she said. "I looked out the window earlier and saw my dog Kelly playing with one. Will she be all right?" Dr. Cox soothed the woman and gave her some instructions.

"Take a hose and wash Kelly's mouth out, especially along the gums. Be careful not to point the hose down her throat; we don't want to choke her." This was intended to wash the toxic secretions that ooze from special parotid glands (seen as large oval protrusions) along the toads back in response to threats or squeezing. "After you've washed out Kelly's mouth, bring her right in."

He wanted to examine and treat Kelly, because symptoms that start as excessive salivation can progress to seizures, tight clamped jaws, heartbeat irregularities, and even death.

Bufo toads are found around the world in tropical areas but are not native to Florida. Their habitat is mainly in disturbed areas such as around buildings and in yards, and along canals and ponds. They subsist on insects, vegetation, small birds, mammals, snakes, table scraps and pet food. They are most noticeable during the wet season, and they begin calling for mates in late March. The amorous marine toad makes a sound like a distant tractor.

The Bufo breeds from April to September. The female lays her eggs on the surface of water or wrapped around vegetation in the water. In about three days the eggs hatch into small black tadpoles that go through a metamorphosis into the adult form in 45 - 60 days.

Their skin secretions are highly toxic to dogs, cats, and other animals, and cause skin irritations in humans. Contrary to popular belief, toads do not cause warts.

One solution to the Bufo toad problem is to not attract them in the first place. Do not leave pet food in open containers in the yard. Nuisance toads can be removed and disposed of by placing them in a plastic container in the freezer for three days and then burying the carcass. Wear gloves while handling. It is legal to remove this species because it is non-native. It is illegal, though, to introduce non-native species into the wild.

There is a native species that is similar in appearance to the Bufo toad, the southern toad. The southern toad is smaller in size and has distinctive knobs on the top of its head. There is no indication that this native toad is any threat to our pets and should be left in peace.

With Dr. Cox's help, Kelly recovered completely and is back in the yard chasing squirrels.