Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus)

Common Name: Cane Toad or Marine Toad

Latin Name: Bufo Marinus

Native to: Cane Toads are originally from Central and South America but were introduced to other countries in the 1930s. They can now also be found in Australia, Florida and Hawaii. They were introduced to rid these countries of Cane beetles that were swarming sugar cane plantations but unfortunately they failed to control these pests and started posing a serious threat to native animals.

Size: Males are known for being much smaller than females, they usually average 20cm with females averaging around 25cm. The largest specimen recorded weighed 2.65 kg (5.8 lb) with a length of 38 cm (15 in) from snout to vent.

General Appearance: Juvenile Cane Toads are generally a grey-brown and adults adopt an orangey brown colour. They have venom sacks situated on the sides of their head that secrete a white substance that should not be touched.

Toxins: The toxins secreted by these toads is highly toxic so it’s recommended to wear rubber gloves when touching the toad or doing any maintenance work inside its tank. If you do use your bare hands they do need to be washed thoroughly as these toads are to blame for many animal deaths. The secretion is called Bufotenin and is classified as a Class 1 drug under Australian drug laws. It’s not recommended to lick your toad, no matter what your friends down the pub say, although it can have the same effects as some illegal drugs, it causes mild hallucinations and can result in serious illness and even death.

Sexing: Mature males can be heard calling and is the easiest and most reliable way of sexing Cane Toads. They also have darker skin on their throat and nuptial pads appear on the first and second fingers during the breeding season. Females are also much bigger and more of a round shape when adults.

Housing: These toads are very large so a large terrarium is needed. The minimum tank size for a single specimen would be 24” x 18” x 18”. A woodland type set-up is ideal with; sandy topsoil, orchid bark, peat and/or moss as a substrate. They need a shallow water bowl that’s filled with bottled spring water or de-chlorinated water; it must be no deeper than the toad’s head height at rest and must be replaced daily as ammonia and bacteria will build up quickly. They’d also appreciate cork bark, sturdy leafed plants (Artificial or Real), rocks, logs and commercially available hides as tank furnishings. I’ve personally found adult toads to be more confident, younger specimens hide more often so the more hides in the tank; the better.
These toads need a daytime temperature of 26°C and a nighttime temperature of 23°C which can be provided by the use of a heat-mat and thermostat. The heat-mat must be placed underneath one third of the tank. This provides a thermal gradient. A fluorescent UVB tube on a timer is the recommended light source.
Spot checks must be done daily and in these checks you must remove any soiled material then once every two three weeks I tend to do a full clean out of the tank, washing all furnishings and the tank thoroughly.
Lastly, it’s very important to provide a strong lid as adult Cane Toads are very strong, last thing you need is an escapee.

Feeding: Juvenile toads need to be fed on crickets, mealworms and other suitably sized insects. Their food should be dusted three times a week with a calcium and vitamin supplement. Adults should be fed a varied diet of crickets, giant mealworms, waxworms, locusts and fish and should be fed every other day. Most toads will only eat live food but the Cane Toad will take defrosted pinkie mice. Food for adults only needs to be dusted with supplements once a week.

I hope this information helps, there’s not many online caresheets about Cane Toads and the information above is from a mixture of sources plus my own experience.