Toadpoles poisonous?

[sirnewt]

Are Toad ( Bufo americanis) tadpoles poisonous. There are a ton in my pond and i have hungry little axies waiting.

 

[Azhael]

Yes, they are.
Even if they weren´t it wouldn´t be a good idea for many other reasons. The main one being that wild tadpoles may pass patogens/parasites onto the axolotls.
Also, i´m not familiar with the conservation state of this species but it might be protected in your area.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Azheal, if they are posionous it sure doesn't affect newts or salamanders! I've been breeding my B. amercianus for years now just to feed the tadpoles to my caudates. A few other members do this as well. I have never had an issue that could be traced back to the tadpoles.

The only issue that I see with them is because they are wild the risk of parasite/pathogen is greatly increased.

 

[Azhael]

Both native and foreign species?
It doesn´t surprise me since many caudate species include Bufo tadpoles in their diet which means they are resistant to the toxin. Here in europe, they all do, with no ill effects.
They are still toxic though, it´s been recorded that fish can die after ingesting one. Mind you, that´s fish...

Perhaps since axolotls have had such a long captive existence they might be more sensitive to the Bufo toxins? Does anyone have any experience on that?

As you say, being wild, they are still a bad choice.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

I've fed them to European species, American species, axolotls. Even Cynops love them.

 

[ed_moyer]

Well, as GWH has said I've been feeding my caudatas toad tadpoles for over 30 years now! I've had more problems with store brought bloodworms than I ever had with tadpoles!!!

 

[Nathan]

Check this out if you have JSTOR access:
The Development of Noxiousness of Bufo americanus Tadpoles to Aquatic Insect Predators
Edmund D. Brodie, Jr., Daniel R. Formanowicz, Jr., E. D. Brodie, III
Herpetologica, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Sep., 1978), pp. 302-306
Published by: Herpetologists' League
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3891557

This was an experiment in which metamorphs and larvae of two anuran species, American toads and spring peepers, were offered to two predacious insects, Dytiscus verticalis larvae (water tigers) and Lethocerus americanus nymphs (giant water bugs). Both insects ate toad tadpoles just as readily as peeper tads, but differentially avoided toad metamorphs (and two water bugs died after eating toad metamorphs). So the toadpoles are evidently not very toxic compared to metmorphosed toads. The toxicity of toad eggs seems to come from maternal secretions rather than any internally produced toxins.

Pathogens and parasites, on the other hand, are a very real danger from wild-caught feeders, especially other amphibians. Proceed at your own risk.

Also remember that this study only looked at one toad species, and two predators.