Deadly Nightshade is Poisonous To Pets

Name: Deadly Nightshade (aka. Devil's Cherries, Deadly Nightshade, belladonna, Dwayberry, Banewort, Great Morel, Black Nightshade, Divale, Devil's Herb, Black Cherry, Silverleaf Nightshade, Naughty Man's Cherries, and Devil's Cherries dwale,)

Toxins: Atropine

Symptoms: Dilated pupils, irregular heart beat, increased aggression, stupor, inability to see, loss of coordination, rapid breathing, paling of the skin followed by a red rash, intense urges to swallow, inability to eliminate, skin may dry out and fall off.

Additional Information: Deadly Nightshade is among the most toxic plants to be found in North America with all parts of the plant containing tropane alkaloids. Fatal levels of the toxin can be ingested from as little as a few berries to a single leaf with the most poisonous portion being the root.

All parts of the plant should be considered extremely poisonous and potentially lethal if ingested. The primary concern for pets is the berries which have a sweet taste to them. With fatalities being reported in horses from ingestion of as little as one pound of plant material.

The toxins in the plant acts by blocking nerve transmission between the brain and vital organs such as the heart and lungs, which results in the body losing the ability to control either the rhythm or frequency of the heart and lung activity.

First Aid: Treatment is consists of is the same as the same as that for atropine poisoning, with injections of physostigmine or pilocarpine providing antidotal affects. Seek Emergency Veterinary Treatment