Frog is an Amphibians. They love moisture, live near water sources. These are well-known facts I know. Being a Gardener all of us are familiar with these little creatures. Sometimes you like them sometimes don’t. But it is a fact that your garden loves them. Frogs feed on harmful insects and bugs. These bugs harm your loving plants.
Frogs are really beneficial for our garden. They are the best of all insect control systems and yes they are 100% free.
Now you can ask How are frogs beneficial? The answer is- Frogs are beneficial and important due to their massive appetite. They can eat anything that fits in their mouth. This thought gives rise to another question.
Check out my previous post: 15 weird things a garden lizard can eat- Everything to Know
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What does a Garden Frog Eat?
A common frog can eat anything that can be swallowed. Depending on its size a frog can eat bugs, mites, insects to earthworms, grasshopper, Mantis, snails, mice, rats, birds, eggs, fish, and even small snakes.
The list can go on forever. In general terms, All frogs are carnivores. It means they feed on living things. Frogs have a strong suggestion to support a huge appetite.
Many frogs are known to eat other frogs, toads, and lizards. They are cannibals. It means they belong to the group of animals who can feed on their own species. Bigger frogs occasionally eat smaller ones to fulfill their needs.
All these things make frogs a crazy eater. Frogs can full their tummy with insects. This food is what they need for survival. But what about drinks. Do frog need something to drink after such a heavy meal? All these lead to another question.
Also read: Is Rice, Wheat Grains are Vegetable? Kitchen Garden facts
What does Garden Frog Drink?
Frog drinks Water and other body fluids of their prey.
A Frog indeed needs something to drink. Water is the obvious requirement for their thirst. Frogs living near the water source have no problem finding it. Whereas those living far away from any water source depend entirely on the body fluids of their prey.
In common terms when we say frog eats an insect it simply stands that it also drinks the blood of that insect. Simple and straight, isn’t it? What do you think what does a garden frog drink?
What is a Garden Frog?
Frogs living in your garden or backyard is known as garden frogs. Technically there is no classification as a garden frog. Instead, you can find some tree frogs, water frogs, and so on.
The term garden is used only to create relations regarding your garden. If you are an American then definitely you are familiar with an American tree frog. These are the most common type of gree tree frog found all over America.
There are a bunch of different frogs common to American garden backyards. Some of these are-
- American tree frog
- Water frog
- Leopard frog
- Wood Frog
- American Bull Frog
- Pig frog
And almost 85 more frog species are found in America. In total there are more than 90 different species of frogs found in the United States. Among all these the Wood frog covers the largest area. It fond from mainland US to Canada up to the Alaska region.
Us is a big country with varied climatic conditions. The concentration or density of frogs mostly depends on these climatic factors. Among all these the temperature and moisture are the most important natural factors.
It is a strange and contradicting fact that frogs are even found in dry desert-like regions of Nevada. No one actually believes that but it is true.
20 Weird things a Garden Frog can Eat
- Insects
- Bugs
- Mites
- Butterfly
- Bees and Wasp
- Earthworms
- Grasshoppers
- Loctus
- Mantis
- Bettle grubs
- Caterpillars and larvae
- salamanders
- Toads
- Small frogs
- Birds
- Eggs
- Shrimps
- Fish
- Garden lizards
- Small snakes
There are so many weird things that a frog can eat. Listing all here in a single post is really difficult but I have tried my best to fulfill your needs. Suggest me some if I missed or anything you think should be listed here.
Let’s Discuss the facts about Frogs in your garden
Yes, frogs can eat everything that fits in its mouth. Here size is the only thing that matters. The bigger it gets the bigger it eats. A frog can eat or swallow anything small enough to fit in its mouth.
What a frog thinks?
- Eat that can be seen.
- Eat that can be swallowed.
A very common question that I have been asked several times.
what do small frogs eat?- Small frogs can eat flies, bees, caterpillar, maggots, ants, beetles, spiders, grubs, and any larvae that fit in the mouth.
One important thing to consider for pet frogs is their natural appetite. They can indeed eat anything live. Bees, flies, or cockroaches feed them whatever you want. But the size should be small enough to be swallowed.
Can a Frog eat Frozen mice? Yes, A big Frog can eat frozen mice. Mice are one of the common frog food in captivity, Only the size matters.
Frogs are cold-blooded animals. Generally, frogs don’t like frozen foods. So at first, they may not like it. If you don’t have any other option then first let the mice defrost. Let the frozen food be warm enough to be swallowed. Always be careful with temperature as a rapid drop in temperature can harm your pet frogs.
Does Frog need Water?-Yes, Frogs need water just as we do for our survival. Other than drinking the water keeps the skin moist and regulates the body temperature. Water also prevents drying of skin that can lead to death for amphibians like frogs.
Some Interesting Facts About Frogs in your Garden
- Baby frogs or Tadpole are just like tiny fish. They even have gills to breathe underwater.
- A full functioning lung develops in an adult frog and it lost its gills.
- Frogs can secrete mucus through their skin to keep it moist.
- Some frog-like poison dart frog secrets poison that can even kill a human.
- Even the mating of frogs is weird. They are unisexual still the don’t engage in coitus. Fertilization takes place outside the body of the female frog. The female frog lays eggs and at the same time male frog releases sperms to fertilize the eggs.
- Male frogs of some species swallow the fertilized eggs or tadpoles and spit out the baby frogs in a favorable climate. They do this to protect their babies from predators and sometimes from their own species.
- Sometimes frogs can carry their tadpole in their back. This helps protect the baby. Also, it is convenient to carry the family together from one pond to another.
- Do you know- Some species of frogs can eat Grass, leaves, flower, or even fruits from your garden. It is rare but true.
- You may have seen snakes catching frogs for meals. But a Gaint bullfrog can even prey fro rat snakes or green tree snakes. Sometimes they can eat birds, squirrels and also rabbits.
- In the year 2011, a Giant bullfrog was hunted. When it was cut the hunters got surprised. They found a 28cm rattle snake inside it. How can a frog caught and eat such a deadly poisonous snake?
- In another case maybe 2006 or 2007. A friend caught a Giant frog in a swamp and found an 18cm fish inside it. The fish was fresh and complete. Maybe it was swallowed 15,20 or 30 minutes before the frog being caught.
- It was assumed if you increase the size of a frog to half your size. Then you can’t see it. Coz you will be inside its tummy.
- Some evidence shows Frog bite is among one of the strongest bite force of any amphibian ever recorded. You can think of this as crushing an SUV with a handheld hammer. It’s huge.
Conclusion
Frogs are one of the most interesting creatures in our backyard. Sometimes we see them sometimes don’t. But truth is that they are always there searching for their next prey.
Frogs can eat small insects including butterflies, bees, wasp, earthworms, cockroaches, and many more. Some bigger frogs can even eat eggs, chickens, birds, parrots, rats, mice, slugs, other frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes. Grass eating frogs are really rare to find. The size of frogs can vary from 1 cm to 30 or 40 cm. So their need for appetite also varies with their size. Frogs are mostly carnivores. Small frogs eat small insects whereas big frogs can eat anything they can swallow.
You should read this before leaving: What do garden snakes look like- Are they poisonous
What do you think about Weird things a Garden Frog can Eat. Write your views and suggestions below in the comment box.
Keep reading keep gardening! Live green!
reference: nationalgeographic.com.
