# Cane toads



## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

Is it actually legal anywhere to keep these?
I would think not as they're exotic and they're pests, but I'm curious, because they get big and I like the idea of a big Anuran.


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## Kelly86 (Jul 21, 2011)

eeeew, why would u want one...


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## Snakeluvver2 (Jul 21, 2011)

They make cool captives and I don't think anyone would give a crap if you did or not.


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## Chris (Jul 21, 2011)

Snakeluvver3 said:


> Is it actually legal anywhere to keep these?



I imagine that it would be illegal to keep them in Victoria. Aside from being a pest, Victoria has pretty strong laws on keeping frogs. The last thing they would want is it getting loose & creating havoc down there like it has up north.


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## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

Chris_D said:


> I imagine that it would be illegal to keep them in Victoria. Aside from being a pest, Victoria has pretty strong laws on keeping frogs. The last thing they would want is it getting loose & creating havoc down there like it has up north.


Wouldn't it be too cold for them? Their range is generally more humid and hotter.


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## Kelly86 (Jul 21, 2011)

arnt they poison? like if dogs eat them they die dont they? and im pretty sure you cant touch them. they have been found in nsw recently so they might eventually spread further across australia.... eeeeeeeeeeeew lol sorry but i hate them


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## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

Kelly86 said:


> arnt they poison? like if dogs eat them they die dont they? and im pretty sure you cant touch them. they have been found in nsw recently so they might eventually spread further across australia.... eeeeeeeeeeeew lol sorry but i hate them


Yes, they have paratoid glands that contain bufotoxins. Apparently they only secrete these toxins when they are handled roughly.


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## Chris (Jul 21, 2011)

Snakeluvver3 said:


> Wouldn't it be too cold for them? Their range is generally more humid and hotter.



They're very adaptable, just look at how quickly they're spreading across the country. Although a Victorian winter may just be too cold for a wild caught cane toad. 

FWIW... I think you're nuts in wanting to keep one as a pet, if for no other reason that they're possibly the worst pest to inhabit Australia.


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## Kelly86 (Jul 21, 2011)

oh ok, cool. you should look at the species list of reptiles you can keep in your state. If your legally allowed them as pets they will be in the list


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## vampstorso (Jul 21, 2011)

Kelly86 said:


> oh ok, cool. you should look at the species list of reptiles you can keep in your state. If your legally allowed them as pets they will be in the list



they won't be on any list  (they're an exotic pest)

people are encouraged to kill them...
there's even a tourist event where you go out at night, collect as many as possible, and they euth them at the end :| (can't say I'd find that fun!)


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## Treknotechelaps (Jul 21, 2011)

Who would wanna keep a Cane Toad :shock:??? It should be illegal to keep them anywhere in Oz.
A couple of years ago I heard on the news they found a Cane Toad that was alive in someones backyard in Seaford, Melbourne during the summer...with the Eastern Sedge Frog _Litoria fallax _being able to survive Melbourne's winter its possible such an adaptable species like the Cane Toad could survive in some parts of Victoria, including Melbourne.


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## Kelly86 (Jul 21, 2011)

lol okay, that sounds kinda gross.... if they arnt on a list then i guess you cant keep them as pets  i find them disgusting but i couldnt kill them..... they annoyed the hell out of me when i went to QLD a few years back (alright they freaked me out a bit lol) eeeeeeeeeeeew they make me sick lol


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## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

Ah okay then.
Thanks guys.


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## Tsubakai (Jul 21, 2011)

Plenty of people keep them as pets in other countries.


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## K3nny (Jul 21, 2011)

a great amphibian for dissecting because of its size :twisted:



Elapo said:


> Who would wanna keep a Cane Toad :shock:???





Kelly86 said:


> eeeew, why would u want one...



Apparently they are kept quite often overseas, considering they are one of the bigger amphibs out there and purportedly get pretty tame compared to like say an african bullfrog
Poison is not much of an issue either, providing you don't really lick the darn thing :?

having said that, probably not in Aussie tho. Do they even keep them/have them on display in zoos? (havent been in one here for awhile)

as for exotics, its interesting how with axolotls you don't even need a permit (they originate from Mexico i think, wild ones are endangered/threatened while theres heaps of captives)


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## notechistiger (Jul 21, 2011)

I'd keep one as a pet. So what if they're a pest? Still very interesting and awesome animals.


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## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

Wait, you can keep _Hemidactylus frenatus_ legally in NSW right?
Then why not _Bufo marinus_?


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## snakeluvver (Jul 21, 2011)

You cant find cane toads in VIC, which is a good thing. Why would you want to bring one to Victoria and introduce them there?!


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## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

I would assume the climate is too cold for them to survive.

But then again, as was said before _fallax_ has survived our winter so I have my doubts.


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## reptilian1924 (Jul 21, 2011)

l cannot see why you would want to keep a Cane Toad here in Victoria or anywhere else they are nothing but pest IMO, if your so keen to find out if you can or cannot keep a Cane Toad on Licence, why don't you contact DSE customer service on 136186 during business hours, and see what they have to say whether or not you can keep them instead of asking on a Reptile forum such as APS.

Good luck mate.


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## MR_IAN_DAVO (Jul 21, 2011)

They survive in Central & Western QLD through the winter & it can get below zero. They may not survive snow caped mountains though.


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## SouthernKnights (Jul 21, 2011)

Good luck trying to sell the babies..


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## ron_peters (Jul 21, 2011)

hey all
I noticed that Underwater world at the sunshine coast has some cane toads on display there, they have their enclosure set up like a little suburban backyard, i must say it would be interesting to see the size they can attain as ive read they can grow to a weight of over 200g and a length of 12 inches. I however think it would be cool to keep a pobblebonk, really like their sounds.. Just my 2cents


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## MR_IAN_DAVO (Jul 21, 2011)

I think that you will find that displays at underwater world & the likes of those places are more for public warning of a pest species.
I would be very surprised if you could get a licence to keep them especially in a state where they are supposedly not there yet.
Just wait a bit longer & you might find them in the street or your own backyard.


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## PaulH (Jul 21, 2011)

I remember years ago seeing in a picture magazine I think some girl up rocky with her pet cane toad she fed up on dog food.That thing was a monster.


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## RoryBreaker (Jul 21, 2011)

Cane Toads are not actually listed in Australia as pests . If the Government listed them as a pest , that would mean they would have to spend bulk $$ on thier eradication . Also to get listing as a pest species , they have to be proven as detrimental to agirculture . It seems being detrimental to native wildlife is of no concern . Just wonderful !!

Cheers


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## $NaKe PiMp (Jul 21, 2011)

cats have done more dammage to Australian wildlife than cane toads ever will,and people keep them,so whynot keep a cane toad??

cats and foxes have caused extinctions,cane toads have not.


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## MR_IAN_DAVO (Jul 21, 2011)

Yah they can grow huge if conditions are right & fed up.
Just my personal opinion, comming from someone who has lived in & around central Qld all my life, along side cane toads, is that you would have to have rocks in your head if you wanted to keep them somewhere where they are not yet.
It will only be when they invade the Gov't house yard or start climbing the steps of parliment house,that the polies will take the unwelcome toxic invasion seriously.
It is only that Australian rivers have a different water shed or catchment area that they are not in southern states yet.
It is only a matter of time until some find their way over a hill or around a moutain into another river system that they will continue their ever invasive march, just as they have done in Qld & NT. With devastating effects.

SO why would you to keep them in Victoria?? or anywhere else.??

Cheers
Ian


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## slim6y (Jul 21, 2011)

MR_IAN_DAVO said:


> SO why would you to keep them in Victoria?? or anywhere else.??
> 
> Cheers
> Ian



Know thy enemy...

Remove one (or more) from breeding selection...

Jolly interesting creatures to observe...

Generally a very interesting creature...

Easy to look after...

Hardy...

Easy fed...

Geez - the list goes on!

It is not illegal to keep them as pets in Queensland - though it is not advised.

I kept about 30 at a time as pets, they had a big enclosure that was plugged in... I think the conditions were too cold for them though, none survived.


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## Chris (Jul 21, 2011)

MR_IAN_DAVO said:


> Yah they can grow huge if conditions are right & fed up.
> Just my personal opinion, comming from someone who has lived in & around central Qld all my life, along side cane toads, is that you would have to have rocks in your head if you wanted to keep them somewhere where they are not yet.
> It will only be when they invade the Gov't house yard or start climbing the steps of parliment house,that the polies will take the unwelcome toxic invasion seriously.
> It is only that Australian rivers have a different water shed or catchment area that they are not in southern states yet.
> ...



I think one has to pick his battles Ian... judging by some of the comments in this thread unless you dramatically lower your IQ (like down to single digits) you're going to become a very frustrated man :lol:


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## Jeffa (Jul 21, 2011)

Can/will large toads eat smaller ones without having any ill effect? Could be a good way to bump off little fellas and incentive to have a large one as a pet as I live in central Q.L.D
Cannibal lector would be a good name...


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## MR_IAN_DAVO (Jul 21, 2011)

Jeffa said:


> Can/will large toads eat smaller ones without having any ill effect? Could be a good way to bump off little fellas and incentive to have a large one as a pet as I live in central Q.L.D
> Cannibal lector would be a good name...



I don't know that they are cannibals as eat there own, but I have seen one with green frogs legs hanging out of its mouth.

I agree that cats & foxes are a total waste of time as well & should be licenced & desexed if not breeding & further more should be kept in enclosures or your own backyard, however you want to do it. & you could even stretch that to dogs if you want.

Thanks Chris D for the warning & I know exactly what you mean, but it is beyond me to give up on such a close to the heart wildlife threatening thing such as cane toads & feral cats & feral pigs etc.

Until people have witnesed the destruction themselves & lived with them for so many years & watched the decline of native species around us, they have NO idea.

Cheers


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## Chris (Jul 21, 2011)

MR_IAN_DAVO said:


> Thanks Chris D for the warning & I know exactly what you mean, but it is beyond me to give up on such a close to the heart wildlife threatening thing such as cane toads & feral cats & feral pigs etc.
> 
> Until people have witnesed the destruction themselves & lived with them for so many years & watched the decline of native species around us, they have NO idea.
> 
> Cheers



Agreed mate, & your passion is admirable. I too have seen what you're talking about, it just frustrates me reading some of the illogical & ill-informed comments in this thread. Sometimes you just have to walk away....


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## dihsmaj (Jul 21, 2011)

You guys' passion is so admirable. Cane toads are devils on earth and they will destroy everything they set their sites on. They are so destructive and NO-ONE knows what they can do unless they live in QLD, NSW, or the NT.



MR_IAN_DAVO said:


> you would have to have rocks in your head





Chris_D said:


> unless you dramatically lower your IQ (like down to single digits)


There is no need to insult people's intelligence.


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## SouthernKnights (Jul 21, 2011)

I would still love to see one in the for sales section  Would read...
Cane Toad, common name *!**!
100% het for pain in the ***
Proven breeder
Will swap for adult GTP


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## camspeed (Jul 21, 2011)

I have so many in my yard in summer you can't walk outside without nearly stepping on one. Have counted 50+ on any given night. Also if you're going to hit them with golf club, choose a lofted club such as a pitching wedge. If you use a driver they don't clear the fence and you just end up with dead toads in your yard. 

Recently on a trip to Brisbane I found one had decided to come with me in my luggage as well, and I've found dead ones in my house, in my bedroom. A complete pest, nothing else.

Maybe the op would like a mosquito collection as well?


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