My New Pets

"Swimmy" the  Green Frog (Rana clamitans)

  "Jumpy" the Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)

When I was at my friend's house for a sleepover, he has a pool that is big enough for a diving board.  It is barely filled up and he has frogs in there.  He has a turtle.  We were outside playing and we saw the frogs in the pool and we caught some.  When Mama came to pick me up, I showed her a couple frogs.  Then we went home and made them a home.  Their home is big and it has a log, dirt, rocks, water, a fake plant, and a branch.  They eat crickets.  They sleep with their eyes open.  They are jumpy sometimes.  Swimmy likes to stay in the water.  On land, Swimmy is a grayish greenish color but in the water he is green.  Jumpy mostly sits in one place all day.  ~Will

Frogs and Toads

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One of the most common questions is, "What is the difference between Frogs and Toads?"
Most are surprised to hear that all Toads actually are Frogs!

Frogs Generally speaking, though, when we think of frogs, we generally picture what are called "True Frogs".... members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species. These frogs have the characteristics of: two bulging eyes strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming smooth or slimy skin (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments) Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters. Frogs from this family can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are referred to as the "true frogs" because of their generalized body form and life history: the so-called generic frog. Members of this family include the bullfrog, common frog, green frog, leopard frog, marsh frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog.

Toads The term toads tends to refer to "True Toads".... members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species. These types of frogs have are characterized by: stubby bodies with short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping) warty and dry skin (usually preferring dryer climates) paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes The chest cartilage of toads is different also. Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. (There are some toads (genera Nectophrynoides), however, that are the only types of anurans to bear live young!) True Toads can be found worldwide except in Australasia, polar regions, Madagascar, and Polynesia, though Bufo marinus has been artificially introduced into Australia and some South Pacific islands. Besides Bufo, the family includes 25 genera, all of which, like the frogs, are anura!

Frog Facts

• One way to tell a male frog from a female frog is by looking at its ears. The ears can be found right behind the frog’s eyes. If the ears are as big as the eyes, then the frog is a boy. If the ears are smaller than the frog’s eyes, then the frog is a girl.
• The male frog is the only one who can croak, and every frog species makes its own unique sound and some are not even croaks. Some frogs whistle and some chirp like a bird.
• Frogs are amphibians because they start their frog life cycle as eggs in the water and then turn into tadpoles, which have gills and also live in the water. It isn’t until a tadpole turns into a frog that it can live outside of the water, but it will still need to get in the water to drink and to cool off.
• Frogs don’t actually drink water with their mouths; they drink it through their skin. A frog’s skin absorbs water when it is in the water so its body gets all of the hydration that it needs that way and the frog doesn’t need to drink with its mouth.
• Frogs are cold blooded. That means that the body temperature of a frog is the same on the inside as it is on the outside. That is why frogs need to be near water so that they can jump in and cool off on hot days.
• Frogs hibernate in the wintertime.