PHOTO OF A POISON TOAD

[bertha katzenengel]

I didn't get a photo of the result of his having carried this inside:



A tree frog. It wasn't hurt. He dropped it just after coming in the door, and then he started drooling. I thought the frog was dead, but it was just playing dead. After a couple of minutes it started jumping. I caught it and put it in the baggy, and Mrs. V. took it outside.

Toby foamed at the mouth for about five minutes. I was scared and called the vet; they said it was normal.

We're still finding spots of drool on the walls. Poor kitty, but he kept running around the house, shaking his drooling, foaming face, frantically trying to get frog out of his mouth.

:rofl:

Poor Toby. I hope he remembers not to pick up frogs anymore.

Subject edited in a shameless attempt to get more people to look at this. :7 The rest of the post -- where I've referred to "frog" -- not edited. Tucker caught my bon -- uh, mistake. ;)

[AlienGirl]

1. Looks like a toad to me

Tree frogs have big sticky pads on their feet. Toads have big poison glands behind their eyes. That one's a toad. Possibly hallucinogenic, too, though it would take a braver person than me to try a lick. :scared:

Tucker

[bertha katzenengel]

2. A-ha! Toad, frog . . . I have been told an easy way to tell is that frogs

have indented waists and toads don't. I didn't even realize this last night.

Big poison glands, eh? Well. He'll probably never pick one up again. Now if I could just get him to stop eating plastic.

Thanks for the tip!

[AlienGirl]

3. The easier way to tell is...

By and large, frogs have smooth and slippery/slimy skin; toads have rough and dry skin. Also frogs lay eggs in a cluster and toad eggs are all in a single-file line.

Tucker

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. It's not a tree frog. It's a toad.

We have both around here. Actually, we have what I believe would qualify as a shitload of tree frogs, but that's definitely a toad.

[bertha katzenengel]

5. Yeah, I'd been corrected.

We have a million of both. "Shitload" - yep. After warm thunderstorms, if one's out driving one has to drive on a carpet of amphibians.

[bertha katzenengel]

6. KICK! And before you correct me re "frog," read my edit note. :-)

:bounce:

[Cannikin]

7. Tree frog. I love them. They jump on my mom and she screams

[bertha katzenengel]

11. Woo hoo! We have tree frogs as well as toads, but I don't

think ours are quite that colorful. :)

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

8. Hows the cat doing now?

:hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

12. Oh, he's just fine, MadAsHell. I think he's a little embarrassed, though.

:snicker:

[Gato Moteado]

9. not only is it a toad...it's a toad in the genus "bufo"!

put that in your pipe and smoke it! literally. some people crystalize the toxic secretion of the colorado river toad (also a member of the genus Bufo) and smoke it. supposedly you get a euphoric trip out of it.

many kids looking to get a buzz actually lick the skin of the giant marine toad (Bufo marinus) because the toxin supposedly yields a trip of sorts.

all amphibians secrete toxins to protect themselves from predation. some types are much more toxic than others. for example frogs of the genuses (or is it geni) dendrobates and phyllobates secrete a highly toxic chemical and the secretion of some species within those two genuses can be deadly if ingested or injected into the bloodstream.

here's a species of dendrobates (Dendrobates pumilio) that is quite abundant on my property. the bright coloration is a give-away that this guy shouldn't be messed with, though the toxins from this particular species aren't deadly to humans.

http://i16.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/b13/vegematic/dendrobates1.jpg

having freepers over for dinner? how about frog legs! ;)

[bertha katzenengel]

13. I googled "poison toad" last night and saw bufos --

but the articles said that they would kill cats and small dogs. Toby's fine.

You have a beautiful frog there. :bounce:

[Gato Moteado]

15. if your cat had actually ingested the toad.....

...it's possible he could have gotten sick or maybe died, though i really doubt it would have been fatal. they taste real bad so a cat will usually spit one out before eating it. my guess is that the species of Bufos you have in maryland aren't nearly as toxic as Bufo marinus though, otherwise dogs and cats would be dropping like flies.

Bufo marinus are common throughout the southeast, especially florida. they were introduced from south america and they've become pests because they eat and outcompete the native toads. i know people who had dogs and cats that had gotten very ill after biting into a bufo marinus. australia has them too and they wreak havoc there as well. native toads are great, though, as they are a great natural control of insects. the best thing to do is keep tabs on your cats when they are outdoors for the cat's safety and the safety of the delicate natural wildlife populations. exploding Bufo marinus populations aside, toads, frogs and other amphibian populations have been suffering a significant worldwide decline for over a decade. entire species have gone exticnt, such as the golden toad here in Costa Rica. the decline is a mystery but many biologists believe it is linked to global warming.

by the way, there's also a skink found along the east coast that apparently is toxic to cats. i know someone whose cat ate one of these skinks and got permanent nerve damage from the neurotoxin.

when i lived in austin, the feral and outdoor cat population was ridiculous. some blocks had dozens of them. obviously domestication has altered their natural instincts, as predators generally don't live in populations that dense. especially cats. they did horrible damage to the bird and small animal populations. interestingly, here in costa rica, i rarely see feral cats. part of it probably has to do with the fact that they would be the prey, particularly in the rural and rainforest areas. but even in the city, i don't see many cats walking the streets. there are a lot of street dogs though. for some reason, cats just aren't as popular here as a pet as they are in the states.

while i'm not crazy about domestic cats, i am wild about big cats (as pointed out by my DU name). we have about 5 species of them down here and so far i've only seen one species, a jagarundi. but, there have been many reported sightings of jaguars in the area around one of my properties up in sarapiqui. when i have time, i plan to spend weekends up there to try to photograph one. if i am able to capture one with my camera, the good folks at DU will be the first to see it.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. We get those in our yard

I had no idea they were poisonous!

[bertha katzenengel]

14. Yipes!

Toby foaming at the mouth freaked me. :scared: Do you have cats? Dogs? Warn them!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. My cats are indoor.

And Wolfgang prefers a frisbee to the local wildlife; though he will chase a squirrel off the porch given the opportunity. :)