Cane Toad care questions

[Love to Foxtrot]

For Christmas, I will be receiving a Cane Toad! I just think they are neat animals and have wanted one for a while, so I am pretty excited, however odd my choice may seem. I have been reading all of the care sheets that I have found on the Internet, but I would appreciate any care suggestions from anyone on the boards who has kept them. Also, exactly how concerned should I be about their secretions? At the last reptile show that I attended, I held a very large specimen for a long time, washed my hands afterward and I suffered no ill effects from it. The people that I have talked to seem to think that the secretions are not a huge concern and just tell me to wash my hands afterward which seems reasonable. If anyone has any opinions on this matter, I would appreciate them as well!

Aubrey

 

[skinheaddave]

Aubrey,

The thing with Cane Toads is not to eat them. Seriously, you aren't going to get harmed through your skin -- but an unwashed hand in the eye or mouth could be bothersome. The most problamatic thing would be if you got some of the secretions from their parotoid glands. Those are the big things behind the head. That stuff can stop your heart if you injest it and is apparently quite painful/potentially blinding if you get it in your eyes. Thus, you might want to add "don't step on them" to the list of precautions.

As for care suggestions, keep them dry but with a big water dish. I think people generally keep them too wet -- they are toads, after all, not frogs. Ours has been doing well for a couple years now on a diet of mixed invertebrates with occasional supplementation.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Wade]

As Dave implied, they are EXTREMELY hardy. This is how they've managed to become such serious pests in Australia, Florida and Hawaii.

I have heard that if under extreme stress they can actually forcibly squirt the toxin from the partoids. Haven't seen it myself, but it might be worth watching out for.

Wade

 

[wayne the pain]

Yes this is true the large parotid glands behind the eyes if squeezed does secrete the poisin ive never done it on a cane toad but done it with the common toad Bufo Bufo heard its very painful in the eyes of a cane toad though so please dont try it

 

[Wade]

What I meant is, they may be capable of extruding the toxin WITHOUT actually being toched. Not sure if there's any truth to it, however.

Wade

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

Thank you for the replies and care tips! I will be careful to not overstress the toad so I can avoid the secretions as much as possible.

Aubrey

 

[wayne the pain]

just wash your hands after touching it and no licking it and you should be ok =D

 

[Ravnos]

As long as you're not squeezing him, you should be fine. As with any amphibian you should wash your hands before and after handling anyway. I have a rococo, which is a very similar species and have never had a problem with any secretions. They're very cool pets.

Rav

 

[wayne the pain]

now thats nice

please post some more pics ravnos!!! anyone got a B Blombergi?