Australia and New Zealand are home to over 10,000 mushroom species and whilst only a small percentage of these are known to be poisonous, all mushroom ingestions should be regarded as potentially life-threatening until proven otherwise.
Mushroom ingestion can cause a range of symptoms depending on the species and toxin involved. Whilst many mushroom ingestions result in either no symptoms or purely a gastroenteritis like syndrome, some mushroom ingestions can be life-threatening even with small amounts.
If you regularly have mushrooms popping up in your backyard, the Helpline offers a mushroom identification service. Once a mushroom has been identified, our poisons information specialists can let you know if the mushroom is a danger to your pet and, if so, the anticipated effects.
The cost of the service, which includes the identification and case advice to your veterinarian if required, is $230 ex GST. The instructions for photographing the mushroom, as well as the template backing can be downloaded below. Please call us on 1300 869 738 to initiate the identification process.
