Is legal to own a cane toad in the U.S? Is it illegal to lick a cane toad? If it’s legal, where can I purchase a cane toad for a uh gift for a uh friend?
I thought cane toads were native to Hawaii…they were imported to Queensland to eat the cane beetle, and they’re speadig like wildfire thru eastern Australia …
My garden’s full of the little buggers. I stood on one in the dark the other night and it just hopped off croaking dismally. My foot tingled for about an hour afterwards.
I found a place on the web to buy them so I’m guessing it is legal but there were no prices given and they didn’t seem to be the kind of people who sold their pets to people who wished to boil them up and get high from them.
Stick to smoking banana skins, it’s easier and cheaper.
Cane toads (Marine toads) are a feral pest in Hawaii. Thy’re native to South America (Brazil IIRC) and were introduced to Hawaii to control cane beetles and from their to Queensland.
Licking cane toads is not recommened. I’ve got sprays of the venom in my mouth as a kid from shooting them with air rifles. Your entire tongue and lips go partially numb and you speak like you’ve had a novacaine injection at the dentist. Hours of fun for small boys.
Toad venom is psychoactive, but it’s more of a psychotic than an hallucinogenic and from all accounts the effects are not pleasant. It is hallucinogenic at high doses but unfortunately is frequently fatal at moderate doses. Added to every toad produces venom of a different strength so measuring dosage is impossible. Every year there are a few people hospitalised on Queesland due to licking/smoking toad skins. They all reported some sort of buzz, some of them just prior to being shipped to the morgue.
I’ve never done it for a buzz, but I can tell you the venom is the most bitter stuff you can imagine, it numbs your mouth and causes you to drool. By all accounts it’s a bad trip when it does work, and it’s indisputably fatal when it doesn’t so I really can’t see it being worth it.
That being said you can have all the ones in my back yard for free (+postage and handling). I usually manage to kill one or two a night.
The Cane Toad, Marine Toad, or Giant Toad (Bufo marinus) is native to the New World tropics/subtropics from south Texas to central Amazonia and southeastern Peru. They are quite common here in Panama. They have been widely introduced, to Florida, Australia, and Caribbean and Pacific islands, usually with the idea of controlling insect pests. As has been the case with many such introductions, they don’t control the insects and end up becoming pests themselves.
I just found some for sale on the web at a biological supply company at $32.00 for a “pack of three.” However, the site says:
This indicates they are legal to possess, although regulated in states where they could possibly become established if introduced. In the 1970s I kept several for a behavioral project as part of my herpetology course.
As others have stated, these are quite noxious beasts. Although they can be found at pet dealers, it is very inadvisable to purchase one unless you have a serious interest in it as a hobbyist. I would certainly not purchase one for a “friend” as a joke, and you’ld have to be demented to want to try to get high on one. You would be better off with angel dust - it’s probably safer.