# Check this out



## melbel (Oct 5, 2010)

I came across this article and thought it was really interesting.

Over-dosing on poison dart frogs in Bogota - The Amphibian Avenger


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## ConFuCiuZ (Jul 13, 2011)

Wow... Thats crazy and the new specimen related to the phyllobate terriblis


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## Ben Wehr (Jan 23, 2011)

super cool!


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## Dendromad (Jul 4, 2006)

Thats cool! What intrigues me though are the doors on the aquariums in the background! Wonder if they are cusom or commercially available?


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

wow, no offense but that stupid story has been mentioned 3 or 4 previous times.

now understand that i say stupid, because factual information is incorrect, and there is NO reason to lick ANY frog or toad. they say poison is bitter, and they can tell how dangerous the animal is by licking it. we already know what poisons the frogs have, and any semi-intelligent person in the field should be able to identify what frog they have in their hand and how toxic it is from the research already done on the animals. no need to stress a frog by licking it.

even b. alverius shouldnt be licked, and bufotinin (which it produces) is dangerous, and causes severe reactions in some people.

they state how difficult it is to introduce the poison in a way that could substantially affect someone 
"you'd have to have a very unlucky fall, face plant the forest floor and have a frog hop in your mouth. Or something else equally unlikely."

equally unlikely, such as touching the animal, and later rubbing your eye for instance? doesnt seem THAT unlikely to me.

james


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

Re: James' post. Fact check. Bufotenin is not the main point of the abuse of _Bufo alvarius_ (now referred to as _Ollotis alvaria_). It's the 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine. I've written about this here, with a photo of the toxins shooting out.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Very interesting article, John. I had a Sonoran Desert toad when I lived in Arizona. I did not lick him. 

(and yes, I had an Arizona fishing license  )


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

i understand that.

5 meo dimethyltryptamine is what people are usually after, however the animal produces both the 5meo dmt AND 5oh dmt (bufotenin) which has been known to produce serious blood flow issues in some individuals when ingested. however some people ARE out for bufotenin, since its capable of being converted into 4acetlyoxy dmt by removing the hydroxyl group and adding an acetyloxy group. (or so ive been told) this allows the dimethyltryptamine to be ingested orally without the need of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. 

james


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## KingSnake9 (Jul 14, 2011)

This articile was ok


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## tachikoma (Apr 16, 2009)

I remember a while back there was a national geographic special on and they had some older guy at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and he was demonstrating licking on a red galact I believe. ( It has been several years so the species might have been different) I will try to find a clip on youtube or somewhere. Anyone else remember that?


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

tachikoma said:


> I remember a while back there was a national geographic special on and they had some older guy at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and he was demonstrating licking on a red galact I believe. ( It has been several years so the species might have been different) I will try to find a clip on youtube or somewhere. Anyone else remember that?


It was most likely the late Dr. John Daley...the guy who wrote the proverbial book on Dendrobatid toxins.


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