If you come across a snake, leave it alone. Native snakes are not aggressive and the majority of bites by venomous snakes occur when a snake is trapped and handled. According to the University of Florida Museum of Natural History's website, www.flmnh.ufl.edu, ''The only acceptable treatment for venomous snakebite, involves the use of antivenin. So if you or someone else is bitten by a venomous snake, seek immediate medical attention at the nearest hospital or medical facility. Stay calm, remove any rings that could restrict circulation if tissues swell, keep the bitten limb below the level of the heart, and immediately seek medical attention. Your most important aids in getting to a hospital and treatment may be car keys or a cell phone.'' If possible, kill the snake and take it with you. (Handle it very carefully; reflex bites have been known to occur in the minute or so after death.)

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue operates Venom 1, an antivenin service that covers all of South Florida.

If you spend time outdoors in Florida, or even if you only venture into your yard, it's worth learning how to identify a snake so you don't mistake a harmless creature for one that's poisonous. The Museum of Natural History's website also provides a colorful identification guide written for the layman.

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• Q: I found an enormous toad sitting in my dog's food bowl. It left when I kicked the bowl. What kind of toad is it? Is it dangerous? And how can I prevent it from coming back?

• A: It sounds like you're dealing with a bufo toad, Bufo marinus, also known as the cane or marine toad. It's a nuisance species, native to Central and South America. It was first introduced to Florida in 1936 in Palm Beach County in an attempt to control sugar cane pests, but it's thought they established themselves in Miami-Dade County after some 100 imported toads were accidentally released at Miami International Airport in 1955.

In general they're harmless to humans, but when they're threatened they secrete a toxin from the large glands on the sides of its head that will certainly irritate mucous membranes. But the poison is strong enough to kill a dog or cat if the toad is swallowed. It's much more likely that a dog will bite a toad -- rather than swallow it -- and the toxin is released into the dog's mouth.

According to the University of Florida, symptoms include drooling, head-shaking, crying, loss of coordination, and, in more serious cases, convulsions. The dog's gums often turn red (an indicator veterinarians use to distinguish toad-poisoning from epilepsy). It advises dog owners to be familiar with normal color of the gums.

A dog exhibiting these symptoms should immediately have its mouth washed with a hose (keep its head down so it doesn't swallow water), and it's gums rubbed to remove as much toxin as possible. Then take it to the vet. With prompt attention there's usually no lasting effect other than discouraging the dog from doing it again.

Bufo toads are here to stay so we need to learn to live with them. Still, there's no need to attract them either, which you're doing when you leave your dog's bowl outside, especially if there's some food in it. Either pick the bowl up as soon as your dog has finished eating or feed your pets inside.

Another reason to leave them be in your yard is that they eat pests. They also kill smaller native wildlife, too.

Since cane toads are an introduced species, the law allows you to kill them; it's not legal to hurt them. Releasing them somewhere else is also illegal. Note that it's smaller, native relative, the southern toad, Bufo terrestris, is harmless. A toad smaller than your fist is not necessarily a cane toad.

A humane way of disposal is to put some well wrapped dry ice in a sealed container and then add the toad. (Keep it separate from the ice, which will ''burn'' it.) The toad goes into a stupor as the temperature drops and the carbon dioxide released by the dry ice will smother it. If you don't want to do it yourself, hire an urban pest trapper instead.

Learn more on the University of Florida's website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW046.