This cane toad was found in a Cranbourne East backyard last week.By Bridget Brady
A CRANBOURNE family had an unexpected visitor last week, when a cane toad hopped into their backyard.
Joanne Baker and her children found the cane toad in her Cranbourne East backyard last Wednesday and immediately knew it was “no normal frog”.
“It was a little bit amazing and a shock, but it was a bit of excitement for the kids… they took it in to school for show and tell,” Ms Baker said. “It was large and ugly so I thought it was a cane toad but I had never seen one in the flesh, so I was not sure.”
Cane toads are not usually found in Victoria, and can be deadly to domestic pets.
Ms Baker and her five children took a photo of their guest and sent it to an expert at the Melbourne Zoo, who confirmed it was a cane toad.
Ms Baker then took it to reptile specialist Shane Simpson at the Karingal Veterinary Hospital who euthanased it.
Mr Simpson said it was only the second cane toad he had seen in Victoria.“They normally come down in fruit boxes or in people’s trucks and cars from places like Queensland,” Mr Simpson said. “They have poison sacs behind their eyes that can cause an irregular heartbeat that can kill a dog.”
But Mr Simpson said the main reason the cane toad was euthanased was to avoid any danger to the local frog population.
Since their discovery last week, Ms Baker said her children had been rummaging around the backyard in search of a “friend”.
