Most visitors never meet most of this. Florida is a big state and its wildlife changes a lot from region to region - a cane toad is a South Florida backyard problem, a black bear is a central and north Florida one, and a crocodile only matters in the far south. These guides are here for the encounter you do have, not because one is likely.
If your dog just bit, licked or mouthed a big toad in Florida, treat it as a cane toad and act now: wipe the mouth, rinse it with water flowing out, and call a vet. The toxin is absorbed through the gums, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission warns that pets can die in as little as 15 minutes without proper treatment. Read the steps below first. Everything else on this page can wait.
First aid: the four steps, in order
- Get the dog away from the toad. Pull the dog back so it cannot bite, lick or eat the toad again. Do not touch the toad or the foam around the dog’s mouth and then rub your own eyes, mouth or a cut – the toxin works on people too.
- Wipe the mouth. Take a damp cloth, towel or T-shirt and wipe the gums, tongue and insides of the cheeks. Switch to a clean section of cloth after each pass. You are physically removing a sticky, milky toxin, so be thorough.
- Rinse so water flows OUT. Use a garden hose on a gentle stream, or a water bottle, aimed at the side of the mouth. Keep the dog’s head tilted down so the water runs out of the mouth and not down the throat. UF/IFAS says to rinse for about 15 minutes; FWC says ten. Go as long as the dog will tolerate it, and never force water into the back of the mouth.
- Call a vet or emergency vet immediately. Do this even if the dog seems fine after rinsing. If the dog is already stumbling, seizing or collapsing, stop rinsing and drive – have someone else call ahead so the clinic is ready. You can also call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at 888-426-4435 (a fee may apply), but that call should not delay getting to a vet.
Signs of cane toad poisoning
UF/IFAS lists very pink or red gums, excessive drooling, frothing at the mouth, pawing at the mouth, head shaking, loss of coordination, seizures and, in the worst cases, cardiac arrest. Other reported signs include vomiting, crying or vocalizing, an abnormal heartbeat, weakness and paralysis. Red gums are one of the signs vets use to identify toad cases, so look at them.
The toxin hits the nervous system and the heart, so this is not a wait-and-see problem. If you saw the dog bite, mouth or lick a suspected cane toad, act before symptoms show up, not after.
What not to do
- Do not induce vomiting. The toxin is absorbed through the lining of the mouth, so vomiting does not solve the problem and adds its own risks, especially in a dog that may start to seize.
- Do not rely on home remedies. Milk, food, oils, human medication and internet cures are not antidotes. There is no home antidote. Mouth decontamination is first aid, not treatment.
- Do not spend time identifying the toad. If the dog has symptoms, it does not matter whether it was a cane toad or something else. Rinse and go.
Cane toad or native southern toad?
Adult cane toads are large – usually 6 to 9 inches long, according to FWC – and reddish-brown to grayish-brown with a pale belly. The giveaway is the pair of huge, triangular poison glands behind the eyes that angle down onto the shoulders. Cane toads have no bony ridges (crests) on top of the head.
Florida’s native southern toad is rarely larger than about 3 inches, has small oval glands and has obvious crests on its head.
Babies are another story. UF/IFAS notes that newly transformed cane toad toadlets are about the size of a raisin and very hard to tell apart from other Florida toadlets. Cane toads are toxic at every life stage – eggs and tadpoles included – so keep dogs from nosing egg strings, tadpoles and tiny toads in ponds, ditches and puddles.
Where and when Florida dogs meet cane toads
FWC describes cane toads as established in central and south Florida, generally south of the I-4 corridor, and UF/IFAS notes a population around DeLand in Volusia County plus scattered sightings farther north. They live where people live: yards, golf courses, school grounds, canal banks, retention ponds and agricultural land.
Adults are nocturnal and come out after sunset, so evening walks and late-night potty breaks are the danger window. UF/IFAS wildlife ecologist Steve Johnson says they are more abundant in spring and summer when rain is heavier, but in South Florida you can find them any month.
In a rental or campground here, sweep the yard with a flashlight before letting the dog out after dark, keep it on a short leash at dusk and at night, and keep its nose out from under bushes. Dogs are far more likely than cats to grab a toad, but UF/IFAS confirms cats that attack one can be poisoned too.
Take food and water bowls in at night
UF/IFAS says outdoor pet food attracts cane toads, and UF experts have described toads climbing into food bowls to eat leftovers – which is exactly how a lot of dogs end up biting one. FWC recommends feeding pets indoors and bringing food and water bowls in at night. UF/IFAS also suggests trimming shrubs, clearing yard debris and turning off outside lights.
If you live here and want to remove toads from your own property, FWC says cane toads are not protected except by anti-cruelty law and can be humanely killed on private property year-round. They cannot be relocated or released. UF/IFAS describes the approved humane methods, which involve numbing the toad with a benzocaine or lidocaine product or cooling it before freezing. Letting the dog “deal with it” is not one of them.
At the vet and after
Tell the vet when the exposure happened, what first aid you did and for how long, and what symptoms you have seen. Keep watching breathing, coordination and heartbeat on the drive.
Which vet? Pet Help lists emergency vets for the counties it covers so far, with tap-to-call numbers. Save the one near where you are staying before the evening walk.
For the bigger picture on these toads, read our guides to cane toads and dogs and Bufo toad poisoning. Our Florida wildlife emergency checklist covers what to have in the car, and if it is a snake rather than a toad, go to what to do if your dog is bitten by a snake.
Save this checklist
- Move the dog away from the toad.
- Wipe the gums, tongue and cheeks with a damp cloth.
- Rinse 10-15 minutes, head tilted down, water flowing out.
- Call your vet or the nearest emergency vet now – do not wait for symptoms.
- Drive immediately if the dog stumbles, seizes or collapses.
Before your trip, look up the nearest 24-hour emergency vet to where you are staying and put the number and ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888-426-4435) in your phone. Ten at night with a foaming dog is not the time to search.
