A Lowdown on Frog’s Diet

Frogs are some of the most interesting creatures in our planet. These amphibians undergo the process of metamorphosis, in which they start their lives as eggs that hatch into small tadpoles. Tadpoles are algae-eating herbivores that breathe through gills. Gradually, they develop hind and front legs. Their gills disappear and are replaced by lungs. Their herbivore diet also becomes carnivore. If they’re not eaten by a predator, they can live for as long as 40 years. If you own a pet frog, one of the ways to lengthen its life is to give it the right diet. Here are pieces of information about frog diet that you need to know about. 

What to Feed Baby Frogs

Baby frog diet is different from the diet of a mature frog. As mentioned earlier, tadpoles are herbivores while frogs are carnivores. Aside from algae, tadpoles also eat pond plants. When tadpoles grow legs, they become carnivores. Little frogs eat small creatures like insects and microbes. Some also eat smaller tadpoles but this is only in the wild. Feeding your baby frog with insects and plants will be more convenient and less disheartening for you.  

Frog Diet in the Wild

A young frog would hunt for and eat insects, snails, spiders, worms, and small fish. As it grows bigger, it begins to hunt for larger creatures like rats, lizards and other small reptiles. Some frog species have long sticky tongue that can be used for grabbing flying insects. Frogs are known for catching flies with their tongue in a blink of an eye. Before you can say the word frog diet, a frog has already unrolled his tongue and caught and gobbled up a fly.  

Diet of Pet Frogs

In the United States, the most popular species of frog adopted as pet is the green tree frog. It is commonly found in the south eastern part of the country and also in some areas in the west and north. It’s common for owners of this kind of frog to ask about its diet. The answer to this question varies. Tree frogs in the wild would eat flies, worms, crickets, moths and many different insects. 

In your home, it will be glad enough to hunt down fruit flies, house flies, moths and whatever insects are available. Don’t be too worried though if your house is insect-less as the green tree frog can survive two and a half days without food. You can also feed your pet with lettuce leaves and bread crumbs. 

Frog Diet in the Winter

An interesting fact: frogs eat more during the summer than during winter. This is because frogs are cold-blooded animals so their breathing slows down when the temperature drops. At 10 degrees Celsius, frogs would undergo a deep sleep that’s also called hibernation. They would bury themselves under the soil or stay deep in a pond. There are also some frog species that freeze during winter like the Rana sylvatica. So basically, frogs don’t eat anything during the winter. They spend all their time sleeping. 

How Frogs Eat their Food

Frogs don’t have any teeth. This can make you wonder how they grind the large food that they take in like rats for example. The answer is they don’t. They just swallow the whole thing. They use their long sticky tongue to help them accomplish this task. They also hold their food in their upper jaw before swallowing. You’ll also notice that the frogs’ eyeballs sink deep into the pocket and pop right back as they swallow their food.