Amphibians

Profile: Cane Toad (Bufo marinus)

The Cane Toad can also be referred to as the Marine Toad, South American Cane Toad, the Giant Neotropical Toad, Giant Marine Toad and Dominican Toad. The common name ‘Cane Toad’ was adapted from the main reasons of using the animal to eradicate pests that are usually found in sugar cane plantations.

Origin and overview
They are native to South and Central America, densely distributed to both semi-arid and tropical areas. You are likely to find them distributed to Southern Texas in Rio Grande Valley, through to south-eastern Peru and Central Amazon.

On average, an adult Cane Toad measures 10-15 cm (4-6 inches). History has it that the largest specimen of a Cane Toad to ever been recorded measured 38cm (15 inches) in length from the snout through to the vent, with an average weight of 2.65kg. The average life span of this species is 10-15 years while in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.

Cane Toads have a warty dry skin and features dissimilar ridges slightly above their eyes running down to the snout. They possess horizontal pupils, with golden irises. Still on point, a huge paratoid gland lies behind the eye. The color of Cane Toads can be red-brown, grey, and olive or brown all featuring varied patterns. Ventrally, Cane Toads are cream in color, and sometimes may have black or brown blotches. They have unwebbed finger, but the toes’ base have a fleshy web.

A distinguishing behavior of a Cane Toad is its ability to inflate its lungs, gasping up and elevating its body from the ground to appear tall and large before its predator. Characteristically, Cane Toads are very active at night.

Poison
Cane Toads have poison glands which are highly toxic to a lot of animals when they are ingested. The Cane Toad excretes a milk whitish fluid, known as Bufotenin, a chemical classified as Class 1 drug in Australian drug laws, equaling marijuana and heroin, which are in the same class.

Similarly, the effects can be equaled to those of mild poisoning, which causes a stimulating effect, including a mild hallucination that lasts for an hour or less. Bufotenin excretion is in small amounts, although other toxins are excreted in comparatively large volumes, hence toad licking can cause very serious illnesses and sometimes death.

Diet
As for the tadpoles, feed them with boiled spinach or frozen lettuce, introducing small crickets and bee moths as they develop and grow. When they reach medium size, you can introduce crickets, bee moths and super worms.

Adult Cane Toads can be fed with large crickets and basically any insects that can fit in their mouth, introducing an occasional pinkie mouse but only for an occasional special treat. It is recommended that you feed the adult Cane Toads once to twice a week, the medium sized twice to thrice a week while the small sized should be fed at least 3 times a week, and the tadpoles and froglets once, on a daily basis.

It is advisable to dust the food before feeding your Cane Toads using pure calcium powder and vitamin powder. An important tip to remember is that toads shouldn’t be overfed, lest they suffocate and die in water.

Reproduction
Cane Toads are prolific breeders, with the females laying single-clump frogspawns with huge numbers of eggs. Thanks to its diet of living and dead mater, the Cane Toads have a very successful reproduction. The young Cane Toads will be born with a uniformly black color, with a smooth skin. They also miss the poisonous glands, which develops with time as they grow.

Usefulness
Cane Toads are known world over for their voracious appetite. As it may be disadvantageous to people who wish to keep them as pets, the appetite comes to play when they are used to eradicate pests in sugar cane farms. It is a pest evasive group, thanks to its toxin skin which eradicates a large number of native predators who ingest it. On the other hand, farmers record huge losses, because their useful animals and favorite pets eat the toads and dye.

Habitation
Although one of the common names used to refer to Cane Toads is Marine Toad, which it may suggest that they have a link to marine life, they do not. They are purely terrestrial animals, only going to fresh water when breeding. You will find dense populations of Cane Toads in woodlands and grasslands, and in general avoiding heavily forested areas.

Housing
In captivity, you can house your pet in a cage. You can use repti barks or sand as a substrate occupying half of the cage, while the other half is occupied by a bowl of shallow water with some aquarium gravels in it. Unlike other species, the Cane Toad has a permeable skin; hence you should not use potting soil as the substrate because it contains harsh chemicals.

The humidity and temperatures of the cage should also be well maintained, basically normal room temperature of between 70-80F. If humidity levels are high and stay for a long period of time, they can be harmful to your pet.

Basically, for a large Cane Toad, 2 gallons of water per toad will be okay, a medium and small Cane Toad will only require a gallon each per toad. The cage should be thoroughly cleaned once or twice a month, but the water should be changed on a daily basis as the Cane Toads tend to poop on the water. The species is hardy, thus you do not require any specially treated water as you can use tap water, but if you feel unsafe, dechlorinated water will do.

Conclusion
Thinking of a toad pet, the Cane Toad is the best choice, it is a very enduring species, can easily be tamed and do not require any specialized heating or cooling, as they fit perfectly well in normal room temperatures. However, you should cage them securely, lest your other pets feed on them and you end up losing both pets.

Tags: Amphibians, animal profiles, bufo marinus, cane toad, frogs