Dieffenbachia
Also known as Dumbcane, Dumb Cane, Giant Dumb Cane, Spotted Dumb Cane, Tropic Snow, Exotica, Charming Dieffenbachia, Gold Dieffenbachia, Variable Dieffenbachia, Exotica Perfection, Spotted Dumbcane, Tropic Snow Dumbcane. One plant, one grade per pet — the verdicts below are transcribed from primary sources and human-reviewed.
Care at a glance
What happens if it's eaten
Signs on record for each animal, transcribed from the cited sources.
- oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips
- excessive drooling
- vomiting
- difficulty swallowing
- gagging
- oral pain
- pawing at the mouth
- decreased appetite
- severe throat swelling resulting in breathing difficulty (in rare instances; PPH Dieffenbachia)
- severe oral and throat irritation with severe swelling of the face, difficulty swallowing, and difficulty breathing (rarely; PPH Gold Dieffenbachia)
- swelling of the upper airway making it difficult to breathe (VERY rarely; PPH Spotted Dumbcane)
- death reported with ingestion of Dieffenbachia plants (rarely; PPH Gold Dieffenbachia)
No dog record in the index yet.
When to call the vet
Contact your vet promptly after any ingestion. Pet Poison Helpline describes severe throat swelling with breathing difficulty as occurring in rare instances, and its Spotted Dumbcane entry says upper-airway swelling occurs "VERY rarely". Contact a vet immediately for breathing difficulty or severe throat swelling.
FULL VERDICT →No dog record in the index yet.
Safe swaps, graded S0
Non-toxic on record for cats — verified against the index at build time.
FAQ
Does this Dieffenbachia verdict cover a species or the genus?
The genus. The ASPCA's Dieffenbachia entry and Pet Poison Helpline's Dieffenbachia and Gold Dieffenbachia entries all give genus-level scientific names, so this verdict covers Dieffenbachia as a genus. Some other entries name a single species (Dieffenbachia amoena, Dieffenbachia picta, or Dieffenbachia seguine); each of them also describes oral irritation, and none of them changes the verdict. Check the scientific name on the tag before applying this verdict.