Animals may eat a wide variety of foods, from plants to live and dead animals, and some animals eat both plants and animals.
In this post, we will look at frogs that eat a variety of foods, making them strictly one out of these three modes of nutritions such as herbivores, omnivores, or carnivores.
What Do Frogs Eat? Adult Frogs only eat animals such as insects and small vertebrates such as the mice, making them carnivorous in diet. Adult Frogs cant eat Grass or plants, because they are carnivorous in their diets. However, The tadpoles that are newly hatched baby frogs are herbivores that only feed on algae and other aquatic leaves.
Table of Contents
Common Foods Of Frogs:
- Invertebrates including Insects such as crickets, worms, caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, etc.
- Vertebrates such as mice, newborn mice, small rats and other rodents.
- Plant matters such as Algae, Aquatic vegetables and decaying plant matter, In case of Tadpoles and Adolescent Frogs.
The foods of frogs depend on many things such as the stages of development the frog is undergoing, The type of frog, that is aquatic or terrestrial, and so on. Let’s look at those in detail.
What Do Frogs Eat?
The Foods of Frogs Depending on the Stages of Development, The Frog Is undergoing whether the Frog is newborn or the Adult one.
1.The Tadpole: (Herbivores In Diet)
A newly hatched baby frog that doesn’t look like a frog instead it looks like a fish is called a tadpole. It will undergo many physical changes until it looks like the frog.
The Food of Tadpole: Tadpoles are herbivores in diet that feed on the dead algae, and aquatic leaves and vegetables.
2.The Adolescent Frog:(Omnivores In Diet)
It is the Tadpole that is developing arms, limbs and lungs, to become and look like a Frogs.
The Food of Adolescent Frog: Adolescent Frogs are Omnivorous in diet, that feed on both plants as well as animal matter. Since these are in transformation from tadpole (that is herbivores) into the Adult frog(that is carnivores) it will keep eating plant matter and also animals(small insects) until it can become truly carnivorous in diet.
3.Adult Frogs:(Carnivores In Diet)
It is the Adult Frog that has passed both Tadpole and Adolescent stages of life. Where in tadpole it has herbivores diet and in Adolescent it has Omnivores diet.
The Food of Adolescent Frog: Adult Frogs are Carnivorous in diet, where they feed on only animals, both dead and live. It’s carnivorous diet includes the animals as follows.
Invertebrates animals such as insects including crickets, worms, caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, etc. Vertebrates animals such as mice, newborn mice, small rats, other rodents, etc
The Table Shows The Foods Of Frogs Depending On The Stages Of Development The Frog Is Undergoing
| Types of Stages | Tadpole Stage | Adolescent Stage | Adult Stage |
| Type of Diet | Herbivores | Omnivores | Carnivores |
| Food Examples | Only Plant foods AlgaeAquatic vegetables Aquatic leaves decaying plant matter | Both plant and animals foods Algae and Plants Aquatic Insects Invertebrates | Only AnimalsInvertebratesCrickets, MothsVertebrates, MiceSmall fishes etc |
The Foods Of Frogs Depending On The Habitat Of The Frog depending On Where Do They Live :
Depending on where the frogs live for instance the Aquatic habitat, Terrestrial habitat, and so on.Their food, diet and animals available on these corresponding locations vary.
Aquatic Frog Foods: Aquatic frogs eat a variety of aquatic invertebrates.
The frogs that are known to spend most of their time in aquatic habitats such as ponds, rivers, are usually called aquatic frogs even though they come out of the water and spend some time on lands for their survival like the other frogs that live on land.
These aquatic frogs eat a variety of aquatic invertebrates, and other animals.
1.Pond Frogs
What Do Pond Frogs Eat? Pond frogs that are either Adolescent or Adult frogs are carnivores in diet, Therefore prey on animals that are probably available at and around the ponds such as aquatic animals, aquatic insects, and other invertebrates.
Aquatic animals including fishes, worms, snails, small water snakes, and small turtles. Aquatic insects such as mosquito larvae, and water bugs. Other animals include Insects such as dragonflies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, mice, snakes, birds, other frogs.
Examples of Pond Frogs are green frogs, pickerel frogs, peepers, bull frogs, and leopard frogs.
Terrestrial Frog Foods:
The frogs that are known to spend most of their time on terrestrial habitat such as land, trees are usually called terrestrial frogs even though they need moisture for their survival like the other frogs that live in or around the water. However,Terrestrial frogs such as tree frogs, wood frogs etc,. eat a variety of terrestrial invertebrates, vertebrates and other animals.
1.Tree Frogs
As Adult tree frogs are carnivorous in their diet they feed on the animals that are abundant in their habitats. Those foods can be flies, ants, crickets, beetles, moths.
Examples for Tree frogs are American green tree frog, Cuban tree frog, Gray tree frog and European tree frog.
2.Wood Frogs
An Adult Wood Frogs can feed on insects, arachnids, worms, slugs, and snails because they are carnivores.
3.Glass Frogs
These are the frogs that have transparent bodies, especially the underside of the bodies are so transparent that their internal organs can be seen. This is due to their adaptation and diets that includes crickets, locusts, moths, flies, spiders, smaller frogs etc.
Examples for glass frogs are Hyalinobatrachium dianae and Sachatamia.
There are many kinds of frogs depending upon their habitat which are all known to feed on the food that are abundant in their habitat. However, The adolescent and adult do not eat plants since they are turned into carnivores.
Do Frogs Eat Plants?
No, Adult frogs don’t eat plants because Adult frogs are carnivorous in diet which means they only eat animals and insects only. However, Frog Tadpoles (A scientific way of telling newborn frogs) eat plant derivatives such as dead algae and other aquatic plant vegetables and leaves.
The Plant Foods or Plant derived foods for Tadpole and Adolescent Frogs are as follow:
- Aquatic Algae
- Aquatic Vegetable
- Aquatic Leaves
- Boiled Leaf(For pet frogs)
- Boiled Green vegetables(For pet frogs)
Can Frogs Eat Fish Food?
Yes, Frogs, Only the adult and adolescent Frogs eat fish foods, sea foods as well. They like to eat live fish. Therefore, they catch the fish through their sticky tongues and swallow them.
The Fish foods and Sea foods are as follow:
- Small Fishes.
- Gold fishes.
- Small Crustaceans.
- Small Molluscs.
- Brine shrimp.
- Krill.
Are Frogs Bad For Your Garden? No, Frogs are not bad for your garden because they keep your garden clean and healthy by eating insects and pests that are involved in eating the lawn grasses and plantations of the garden. Thus frogs naturally control the many kinds of pesticides that frequently visit your gardens.
Do Frogs Drink Water? No, Frogs can’t drink water like we do, but they do require water that can be absorbed into their bodies through a special form of skin called a “drinking patch” that is situated under their belly and can effectively absorb water.
Are Frogs Cannibals? Yes, They are Cannibals because they are found to eat their own kind of animals that are other frogs and tadpoles. When they are hungry and if the other frogs or tadpoles can fit in their mouth they catch and swallow them making them Cannibal Animals.
How long can Frogs go without food? Frogs can survive without food from weeks to 16 months; not all frogs, but a select few that are hibernating, can survive this long.
Are Frogs Herbivores, Omnivores, Or Carnivores? The Tadpoles (newborn developing frogs) are Herbivorous in diet, Adolescent Frogs are Omnivorous in diet, and The Adult Frogs are strictly carnivorous in their diet.
Read More : Difference Between Reptiles and Amphibians
What is Toad?
Toads are amphibians that resemble a frog but differ from frogs by having bumpy skin, dry skin, short legs, and no teeth in their jaws. The frogs, on the other hand, have smooth skin, long legs, and upper-jaw teeth.
Difference Between Frogs vs Toads
There are considerable differences present between frogs and toads as they are responsible for setting them apart from each other that can be the presence or absence of teeth, wet or dry skin, pointed or broad nose and so on. Let’s look at them in the following table to understand them easily.
| Frogs | Toad | |
| Belongs to which family | Dendrobatidae | Bufonidae |
| Skin type | Smooth,Slimy, Wet Skin | Hard, Dry Skin |
| Nose type | Pointed Nose | Broad Nose |
| Legs relative size | Long | Short |
| Presence of Tooth | Tooth present in Upper jaws | No Tooth at all. |
| Color | Bright vivid colors | Dull colors |
| Type of Movement | Hop Movement | Crawling Movements |
| Habitat | Near Water | Land(requires water for breeding) |