This big frog visited us for the weekend...We are pretty sure it is a Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. The choices were limited to Bullfrog or Florida Gopher Frog by a couple at a show I went to Sunday. DH went searching and just as I'd been told the "eardrums" were used as the identifying factor...
These frogs are really pretty big...in the picture it's in the bottom of a big tub
Watch out! - those are the ones that eat my birds ;)
Watch out too, it's almost time for the Bufo Toads to come out of hibernation. If you have dogs thats really bad news! My poor Doxies will no longer have the run of the yard.
Pati
Our dogs do play with the small Bufos when they find them...our lab in particular likes to carry things in his mouth. He'll drool like crazy then he just paws at them. We try to move them on out of the yard when we find them. Thank goodness we don't have B marinus...that would be scary!
We already have the cuban tree frogs moving in. I hate to kill anything but "they" say that using one of the "caine" creams will put them deep asleep...then it's "humane" to freeze them for three days...
Wow! Mr. Frog. Makes my tree frogs look teeny. My hanging plants are croaking again. Yeah spring!
Bullfrogs have escaped into the wild near me and so we go and collect any found to try and stop a takeover.
I'd never seen one and foolishly went along with the small plastic box I collect grounded bats in.
My oh my he only just fitted!! I had to ooze him in and he literally took up the whole space. It wasn't even a fully grown one I found out later!
Nice photo Stacey
Stacy I have read about the Cuban tree frogs. You are supposed to kill them like you say. I read they will eat all of the other frogs in their path.
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/7074498.htm
This message was edited Feb 18, 2004 11:31 AM
LOL Hilary, they are much bigger than I thought too! I can just picture him being 'oozed' into a little box. What do you do with them once you have them?
I guess they'd be pretty destructive in an area where birds and such would not recognize the danger. Thinking about Poppysue's killer frog!
Delisa, I'm like the woman in the article, the thought of killing them makes me queasy and there is NO WAY I could stick them in a freezer live or aware...that seems awfully cruel. I'll use the benzocaine to put them to sleep first. From what I've read the 'caine' creams often kill them anyway. Actually the whole thing sounds like a job for DH! LOL I'll give them to him to dispose of!! Yeah, good idea!
Yes, I didn't ask questions, but I think they would have to be put down as an alien.
I trust the person I gave it to to do the right thing. They have a wild life park and are responsible with the way they treat their animals. They will keep any they can alive, though in captivity for aliens of course. But I think there might be too much likelihood of these escaping...
Dang that thing is huge! blech......my poor little tree froggies, run, run!
Dawinism in action on a smaller scale, or perhaps not if they keep moving northwardly!
Wonder what beastly beasties await me in France LOL
Some of those frogs and toads you have look positively scarey ;)
At the risk of everyone thinking I'm gross and anti-frog/toad, I will share with you my way of handling the solution of disposal of them. In the summer when the Bufo Toads are out, I walk my Doxies carrying a heavy pointed shovel. When I see one I cut it in half and dispose of the remains in the garbage. I take this drastic approach because I have lost two big dogs and one small one to the Bufo poison. Rosey, the Doxie with NO memory, has had the antidote twice at $85.00 a shot. It is a terrible death for a dog, and the toad problem is growing worse every year. Australia has a research program trying to find a means to eliminate them. So far, no luck. Sorry to run on so long. but I HATE TOADS!!
Pati, the Bufo toad you are talking about, would this be the really big Cane Toad? Bufo marinus?
Edited to add this link about Florida Frogs and Toads:
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/frogs/
This message was edited Feb 18, 2004 3:34 PM
That's the one, Floridian, BUFUO MARINUS. When I left Miami I thought I had left them behind, but they are here also and heading north. When you said your doggie drooled when he played with them it really scared me. That's the first indication that they have come in contact with them. The procedure at that point is to get the hose and wash their mouth out, then clean their gums with a washcloth, then PRAY! If too much toxin has been absorbed they will stiffen and then convulse. We saved one dog by the vet giving a shot into an artery that went directly to the heart. She lived, but never gained complete use of her back legs again. They are supposed to be nocturnal and bury under something in the daytime, but if you have Dachshunds digging them out just makes the game all the better!
That's one dangerous animal by the sound of it. Hope your dogs all stay clear from now on!!
They are sooooo bad! The Australians are doing really serious research. They hope to introduce a microbe that will act as a natural predatator. It seems that soon they will be world wide. I killed one on my patio that would cover am 8" dinner plate. Their mating call sounds like a large diesel engine running. I am dreading March, the start of the mating season.
Pati
Oh Pati, that's too bad, it's a terrible toad. We don't have them around here that I know of (yet) but if I ever see one it will be dispatched post haste...by DH
The little Bufos make Cooper drool sometimes but don't seem to have any other affect. We've tried to teach him not to and we stop him and save the toads but...
DON'T SAVE THOSE TOADS! I have found them in the bottom of flats where pots were sitting in a little water. They had laid their eggs and it was full of tiny ones the size of a grain of corn. This was on my deck that was about 4' high. They climb steps and will come into your house. My daughter has a problem with them coming into her carport after the dry dogfood, but her Jack Russell never touches them....go figure!
Pati
More pictures please so I can make sure what I am looking for......have to save my little Betsy!
WEEDS, here's a site with pictures and information.
http://www.wildherps.com/species/B.marinus.html
Hey Connie,
it might be a good idea to keep your little girl away from any toads. We've always had big dogs so I'd say better be safe than sorry. Bufo marinus, the Cane Toad, is a REALLY BIG toad! No mistaking that one. The little guys are our native toads and are being threatened by several exotics now. Most of them get start getting active in the evening, around dusk.
There's a link in one of my posts above that gives all sorts of info on Frogs and Toads of Florida
See you on 4-2. (I'm almost positive...maybe Paul too)
GREAT and thanks
I guess this is kind of an old post now, but when I saw this picture I recognized it as a Rana catesbeiana as I did some work with these as a part of my schooling. It seems that the general consensus is that it's a cane toad, but after looking these up a bit I disagree. I believe Floridian was correct in the first place, and it is indeed a Rana catesbeiana, or Bullfrog. Here are a couple of websites that contain identification information for both species:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Rana_catesbeiana.htm
http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/canetoad.htm
(The second one is from Australia, but is still relevant.) Bullfrogs are still invasive, outcompeting native species in many parts of the country, but it sounds they are not quite as big of a problem as the cane toads! Anyway, I just wanted to contribute my two cents...
--Dana
DANAK, glad you bumped this up. This is the time of year that I go into "overdrive" looking out for the safety of my Dachshunds. This starts the mating season of the Cane Toad and while they are nocturnal, my Doxies dig after them where they hide out during the day. I have lost two big dogs and one small one to their poison and Rosey (the mini-Doxie) has had the antidote twice. Maybe you think I am radical on the subject, and you're right. But if you had ever seen one of your dogs die a horrible convulsive death, you would understand.
I HATE CANE TOADS (BUFO MARINUS)
Dana, Welcome to Dave's Garden! Thanks for the positive ID on that Bullfrog! A post is never to old to respond too...sometimes they get pulled up from past years and that's often fun. I don't think anyone thought this was a cane toad, I think the thread just took a turn towards the bufos! LOL
I enjoy all our little Bufo toads and we have lots of them. I find them in odd places http://davesgarden.com/t/397386/
Luckily our dogs are big enough to play with them with no ill effects
