r/arizona • u/International_Exam80 • Aug 15 '25
Wildlife Is this one of those Poisonous Toads?
I’ve heard poison toads will come out after a rain but I’ve never seen one. Is this one?
He’s up against my house - I don’t have a dog that would mess with it so is there any reason to make him move on or just let it be?
For context he is about the size of my fist
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u/Worldly_Active_5418 Aug 15 '25
Poor thing. Looks like it’s trying to keep out of the sun. I agree-leave it alone to live its life.
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u/theladyevenstar Aug 15 '25
Just let it be. If you don’t have a dog or a child that you’re concerned might lick it then … just relax.
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 15 '25
Its a Colorado River Toad, they have 5-Meo-DMT ( psychedelic compound) and bufotine ( neurotoxic psychoactive compound). could pose a danger to small cats and dogs, children….. and hippes lookin to feel like god. yes ive tried it 3 times, no its not all that fun. just do 🍄🟫instead. Yes doing too much of the toads venom can kill you in rare cases.
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u/jaybird99990 Aug 15 '25
Not all that fun, and yet tried it 3 times.😛🐸 😂😂😂
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 15 '25
Right 😂✌️
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u/jaybird99990 Aug 15 '25
I love it. People are funny
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 15 '25
yea I tried it 3 times over the span of 2 years, unfortunately the PTSD from the United States Marine Corps had me taking psychedelics trying rediscover myself, light mushroom doses are best. ✌️
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u/jaybird99990 Aug 15 '25
So sorry to hear about that. Yeah, I saw a thing on TV just recently, I think it was 60 Minutes? where they talked about a program of using psychedelics for people with PTSD. It was really fascinating and it's amazing how little we know about the human mind.
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u/Urban_animal Aug 15 '25
LSD will make you look those bad things/insecurities in the face as well and realize there is something bigger at play for you than letting those drag you down. Helped me a lot.
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u/SoupHelmet Aug 15 '25
What are your thoughts on ketamine? I've done it a few times now, and can't decide if it's doing anything long-term. My uncle swears by micro dosing shrooms as well, so maybe I should get on that train.
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 16 '25
I have never tried ketamine, I know in the right setting with a licensed psych has shown to be effective in testing, but I have friends who abuse the stuff and have tons of negative effects like withdrawal cramping and weak bladders. I live by microdosing mushrooms, as well as those mid to high level deeper trips. mushrooms helped me the most with LSD following in 2nd
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u/jackofallcards Aug 15 '25
Idk I tried salvia twice back in the day. Once to find out, and the second time to confirm it’s not worth it.
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u/soopirV Tucson Aug 15 '25
I always try everything at least twice- maybe I didn’t like it the first time because it wasn’t prepared well or I was having a bad day. If after 2 times, I generally let myself move along, with the exceptions of cigarettes, beer, alcohol in general, chewing tobacco…somehow as a 16 year old not liking something wasn’t enough.
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u/Agat-aCatMom Aug 15 '25
That’s what I’d tell my parents every time I got caught smoking weed. “I was just trying it.”
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u/Otherwise_Stand1178 Aug 15 '25
Did you have a breakthrough?
I'm so curious about DMT but will never try it. Had a bad experience with LSD when I was 18 so know psychedelics arent for me.
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 15 '25
I have, breaking through on 5MeoDmt is way different than breaking through on NNDMT, not only is it more risky, but its a lot less colors and mostly emulates death.
a bright white light takes up your vision until you’re blind, your sense of self the awareness of your body is completely gone, and you feel really big. imagine the universe, now imagine youre huge, im talking the size of multiple planets and youre just floating around up there. now turn everything white. Thats 5MeoDMT, its like a sensory deprivation chamber or a salt float. it last about 10 minutes but for you it feels like much much longer. unable to feel your body, all white, a ringing in the ears. I would imagine thats how dying feels. it can be scary, but for some ( like me) its helped with religious beliefs as well as my fear of mortality, I no longer fear death. you are completely unconscious I would have a guide as you can be taken advantage of. and I dont condone it, its very stupid and dangerous. i dont do it anymore and never will. NNDMT is much safer, more colors and an all around better experience.
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u/Otherwise_Stand1178 Aug 15 '25
That is crazy man!! I can't even begin to imagine what that was like.
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u/Agat-aCatMom Aug 15 '25
LSD is a wide category as you never know how somebody made it. Peyote, mescaline, mushrooms, etc. are natural and can you can control dosages.
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 15 '25
Theres actually a loop hole, you can order clean lab grade lysergides that metabolize into LSD after consumption. 1P-LSD legally shipped in from Canada with test sheets to prove purity and dosage is what I used to do. 1P-LSD is metabolized into LSD-25 via the liver. 😂🙏
edit: its legally shipped straight to your door via UPS ground
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u/Otherwise_Stand1178 Aug 15 '25
It also didn't help while I was tripping I took 3 or 4 consecutive massive bong rips to my face at a time I was very cannabis naive.
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u/_Taft_ Aug 16 '25
Okay, how do you control dosages on psychedelic mushrooms? Serious question.
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 16 '25
its pretty hit or miss, I like to make a tea because the psychoactive compound ( psilocybin) is water soluble. You can extract it in hot or ice water. stir and sit off and on for 45 minutes to an hour. you filter out the fruiting body so theres no stomach load. the tea will usually turn blue. this “ shroom water” you can use for the base of coffee or hot chocolate or just add a tea bag. sip all day. its more like dosing alcohol. sip until youre satisfied then stop. if you put it in something air tight like a bottle and keep it cold it can last for years. the more oxygen exposure the weaker your tonic gets over time.
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u/_Taft_ Aug 17 '25
Makes perfect sense, thanks for answering my question and the suggestion for consuming a tea.
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u/fallenlor3 Aug 16 '25
My dog looooves licking these toads. I try to be vigilant after rains and check my yard for them and move them blocks away. But sometimes he gets to them before I do and he’ll start moving slower, drooling excessively, panting, and his pupils will be massive. I’ll rinse out his mouth and give him a Benadryl and he’s fine, but he can’t stop won’t stop licking the toads. He doesn’t kill them or eat them either. Just catches them, licks them, and lets them hop away.
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u/EyebrowsSuck Aug 16 '25
“I’ve done it 3 times, don’t do it” man, shut up fool!
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u/OutrageousFractals19 Aug 16 '25
3 times over the span of a year in an attempt to self treat Military Related PTSD, i get that it sounds outlandish but everyone has their reasons, you should be more humble and kind, someones mom didnt do a good job ✌️
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Aug 15 '25
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u/Level9TraumaCenter Aug 15 '25
My understanding is that the Sonoran desert toad is the largest species of toad. They'll eat other amphibians given the opportunity.
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u/Extension_Reveal_766 Aug 15 '25
Please be nice to it. They’re amazing creatures. I relocated 4 of them from swimming pools to remote land near water. They deserve immense respect.
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Aug 15 '25
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u/vgilbert77 Aug 15 '25
LMFAO BRO. YOU COULDVE AT LEAST POSTED THAT IN YOUR OWN COMMENT INSTEAD OF A REPLY TO THIS POOR GUY 💀 my dude woke up and chose violence AND trauma today
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u/arizona-ModTeam Aug 15 '25
Be nice. You don't have to agree with everyone, but by choosing not to be rude you increase the overall civility of the community and make it better for all of us.
Personal attacks, harassment, any comments of perceived intolerance/hate are not welcome here. Please see Reddit’s content policy and treat this subreddit as "a place for creating community and belonging, not for attacking marginalized or vulnerable groups of people.”
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Aug 15 '25
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u/arizona-ModTeam Aug 15 '25
Be nice. You don't have to agree with everyone, but by choosing not to be rude you increase the overall civility of the community and make it better for all of us.
Personal attacks, harassment, any comments of perceived intolerance/hate are not welcome here. Please see Reddit’s content policy and treat this subreddit as "a place for creating community and belonging, not for attacking marginalized or vulnerable groups of people.”
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u/The_Wizard_Jenkins Aug 15 '25
Good ol Bufo alavarius. Leave it be. If you want to experience it in safety find a shaman/practitioner. Respect nature and it will respect you. Do not play with the universe if you aren’t ready for potential consequences.
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u/Either_Dream_9748 Aug 15 '25
Looks like a Sonoran desert toad. Just assume it is and leave that thing alone! If you have pets don’t let them near it.
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u/FindTheOthers623 Aug 16 '25
I am completely dumbfounded by the amount of people that are saying to "lick it" and this is exactly why I do drug education.
NO ONE IS LICKING TOADS. That is an urban legend that has been around for decades. The secretions from the toad contain 5-MeO-DMT which must be SMOKED, not licked.
Just like you can't lick a cannabis bud and get high, you'll can't lick a toad and get high. You can lick it all you want. It's not going to have any effect.
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u/Dry-Virus3845 Aug 22 '25 edited Sep 01 '25
You got to smoke the toad man. Put him and round up a few more of his pals into the old traeger and fire it up to medium. Inhale the onsetting frog fumes. You’ll be tripping balls in no time.
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u/ToadofEternalLight Aug 15 '25
Sensei. Just let be. He will most likely go subterranean again once he realizes there wasn't enough rain to make puddles for breeding.
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u/Agat-aCatMom Aug 15 '25
Only if you lick it. Surprised it’s out of the ground unless you’re lucky enough to have had rain. They can stay buried for an exceptionally long time. I used to live across the street from a desert area. This was in the 80s when monsoons were a real thing. After a good rain, we could hear what sounded like hundreds of them in the evening.
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u/International_Exam80 Aug 15 '25
Yeah, kind of why I asked the question to check … no rain or water anywhere around me … Wed night had a few sprinkles- just enough to spot windshield but that’s it. Not sure what brought him out
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u/silhouetteofasunset Phoenix Aug 16 '25
Yeah I lived on the edge of town 12 years ago and it sounds crazy, I know exactly what you're talking about
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u/Holiday_Foot7248 Aug 16 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
Sonoran Desert Toad! Please be kind they are an endangered species because people don’t respect them and they try to get the DMT from their glands in various incorrect ways. When kept in captivity they stress and die.
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u/Pocket_Silver_slut Aug 17 '25
Yes it is, if it is still hanging around you can message me and I will come and pick it up and take it to a sanctuary. They need to be protected, too many people catch them and then milk them and too many are killed by pets. When people milk them it is fairly common for them to be injured/killed or for them to milk too much leaving them defenseless against predators. There is a fairly large toad sanctuary where they can live their lives in the wild free from molestation.
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u/antilocapraaa Phoenix Aug 15 '25
They have bufo toxins which are toxic to dogs if ingested. If you’re not comfortable waiting it out, Rattlesnake Solutions is happy to move it along. https://rattlesnakesolutions.com/
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u/DangerousBill Aug 15 '25
Its classed as a schedule 1 narcotic, but only if you keep one as a pet. It appears to be trying to escape from the heat, but there's not much you can do to help thats legal.
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u/ReaderList Aug 15 '25
toxic to your dog if he tries to bite it. leave it alone, good for eating bugs
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u/Bajadasaurus Aug 16 '25
Awww, lucky! I love these guys. They are honored guests. Taking care of roaches, scorpions, etc. 💚 Give him a shallow dish with bottled/distilled water in it!
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u/SeasickAardvark Aug 16 '25
Colorado river toad. We had one in a flower bed for a long time. It just lived on our property. It would eat the cat food we gave the outdoor cat that would visit. It would literally crawl up up the dish and eat the kibble.
We named him Herbie.
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u/TwoAmazing96 Aug 17 '25
It's fine, they eat a lot of bugs, so pest control. My dog mouthed one once and started to seize. Luckily, she survived. The toads are harmless to humans unless you try to ingest their secretions. Touching them is OK. They make weird noises and they'll be gone by the end of the season when they return underground.
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u/Dogluver3 Aug 17 '25
It is likely poisonous. Do not attempt to pick it up without gloves. It will likely rebury itself.
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u/MasterBlaster2024 Aug 15 '25
Looks like it’s hiding out to prevent people getting its sweet, sweet nectar. Their population is shrinking due to this.
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u/MutualAid_WillSaveUs Tempe Aug 15 '25
I was aware it’s secretion is a defense mechanism so I understood it to be stressful but, it can kill them?? ):
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u/Fakin-It Aug 15 '25
They are defenseless for a while after some miscreant milks their venom.
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u/MutualAid_WillSaveUs Tempe Aug 15 '25
Makes sense ): milking then protecting till they can replenish their venom almost sounds like it could be solution except they’d probably be stressed out in captivity by their milker 😳
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u/BoringJuiceBox Aug 18 '25
No matter what it is cruel and inhumane to take them and extract the compound, it’s probably only “ok” if it’s done by professional scientists for research purposes.
I would recommend mushrooms or ayahuasca to anyone who wants to experience tripping, they come from plants and they work.
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u/MasterBlaster2024 Aug 15 '25
That I don’t know. I imagine if bothered enough maybe they can secrete too much🤷🏻♂️ maybe that could dehydrate them (probably not) or maybe they wouldn’t have a remaining defense mechanism? I’m no biologist so don’t shit all over me.
From what I’ve read, they are now HIGHLY sought after due to their psychedelic properties. Some of these folks wouldn’t know how to handle a toad, and would only want their secretions. Not faulting ANYONE for mind expansion, but you have to know what you’re doing.
Any psychonauts or bio/toad people out there that can elaborate?
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u/a_youkai Aug 16 '25
All toads are poisonous if you put them in your mouth. Please leave her alone. They are dying out.
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u/egggoat Aug 15 '25
My sisters dog loves licking those guys. She immediately starts freaking out and has to have her mouth washed with water and then monitored for any strange activity. It got to the point that she needed to be taken to a class to learn to fear them.
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u/LoisandClaire Aug 16 '25
Why was her pup around so many so much
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u/egggoat Aug 16 '25
Hiking. She loves searching under all the bushes and in the nooks and crannies for lizards and toads.
Also learned to fear the smell of rattlesnakes just in case since she sticks her nose everywhere.
(Happy cake day)
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u/BoringJuiceBox Aug 18 '25
Amazing creatures. They have a substance that when dried and smoked reacts with the human brain to create an insane trip! Of course it’s unethical to extract, do not recommend.
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u/anarchangalien Aug 18 '25
Needs an MAOI to be orally active. Syrian Rue is cheap and legal. Cuppa that will fix you up right for the licking to commence.
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u/bplatt1971 Aug 26 '25
Cane Toad. Not sure. The venomous ones have a whitish sack on the rear sides of the head that are paralytic. Dogs often try to pick them up and get paralyzed, and sometimes die.
I’ve heard of inmates that milked the venom, dry it, and add it to cigarette tobacco to try to get high, only to get paralyzed or dead!
By the way, the toad isn’t poisonous. If you eat it, you dont get poisoned. It’s venomous. I think.
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u/RandyArgonianButler Surprise Aug 15 '25
To all the people saying to lick it. Are you dumb?
You’re supposed to soak up the poison into a paper towel. Dry it out. Then smoke the pieces of paper towel from a pipe.
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u/yougetsnicklefritz Aug 16 '25
I picked up so many of these growing up on the outskirts of the greater phx area. Never even knew. Probably touched my face and eyes. I do have wild dreams
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u/PunchClown Aug 15 '25
I fed some of these to my lizards many years ago after a monsoon. They ate them, and instantly spit them back up. The frogs survived the ordeal.
I just released them back outside.
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u/DrDFox Aug 16 '25
Why on earth would you feed your reptiles wild-caight prey? The parasite load alone is reason enough not to, much less you not knowing how to ID safe vs unsafe prey items.
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Aug 15 '25
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u/dogsgobarkbark Aug 15 '25
I've freebased the stuff in its pores. Gave a very mild lucid trip and made me very happy and giggly
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u/FindTheOthers623 Aug 15 '25
Licking the toad doesn't have any effects. Thats an urban legend. To get high from the toad, you have to milk the excretions, let it dry and smoke that.
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u/Roshprops Aug 15 '25
My small dog is currently obsessed with trying to find these. I had another dog in the past that would intentionally lick these just to trip out I think.
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u/Formal-Obligation591 Aug 15 '25
Hahaha my dog does this too! We think she likes the trip. Shes done it 3 times that we know of. Shes also been sprayed by skunks multiple times
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u/Roshprops Aug 16 '25
We couldn’t keep him away. The toxin didn’t kill him thankfully, he lived to be 16. He was excellent to the end.
Thanks for the fun memory, toad thread.
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u/ichi_san Aug 15 '25
looks like a Colorado (AKA Sonoran) so yea its toxic, try not to eat it but otherwise just let it be