Are Frogs Cold-Blooded? Explore Fascinating Truth About Amphibiansn

Oluniyi Akande
Oct 19, 2023 By Oluniyi Akande
Originally Published on Oct 29, 2021
Red-eyed treefrog, Agalychnis saltator
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 4.4 Min

The croaking of a frog from your backyard may not be music to your ears.

Sometimes we find these amphibians a bit weird compared with other animals. Have you ever wondered where they disappear to when it's ice-cold outside?

Frogs are part of the amphibian world. Amphibians, like poison dart frogs, are known to be cold-blooded animals, unlike humans who are warm-blooded. What does it mean? It simply means that they do not have a constant body temperature like humans.

They don’t sweat, shiver or produce heat. For such animals, they have the same body temperature as the environment they live in. So, during hard times, how do they survive?

Do they have a hard time finding food or keeping their skin warm? How is their skin during spring? Do they eat during times like winter? Let's find out more about frog life.

After reading all about these amphibians, do check out Pacman frog facts and are hamsters good pets.

Do frogs like the cold?

You might have noticed the constant presence of frogs during the monsoon season. You can hear them making noises just before the rain. Do frogs prefer the cold weather?

Frogs can survive in harsh, cold climates through using certain strategies, even though they are cold-blooded animals. In cold temperatures, when the environment around is freezing, frogs go through hibernation.

During the wintertime, frogs end up sleeping to save their energy for the warm weather. Aquatic frogs go underwater during their hibernation period.

The oxygen-rich water helps them to survive the freezing temperature outside. At the same time, terrestrial frogs hibernate on land.

To prevent a frog from freezing to death during the cold time on land, their body actually has a high concentration of glucose that prevents their body from freezing. Sometimes the frogs freeze themselves to escape the cold outside.

It is almost as if they are dead during the winter and come back to life during warm temperatures. Temperatures below 32 F (0 C) are regarded as extremely cold for frogs as these amphibians start to freeze at cold temperatures.

White lipped tree frog on branch

Do frogs have warm blood?

Animals can either be warm-blooded or cold-blooded. In the case of amphibians like frogs and toads, how do they maintain their body temperature? Like other amphibians, frogs are cold-blooded. Their body temperature can be changed to match the temperature of the environment. If they had warm blood, it would be very difficult to survive during extreme cold or heat.

Although frogs do prefer warm temperatures, their body can survive in the cold as well. There are perks to being a cold-blooded species.

The internal body of amphibians matches the temperature outside. Part of the reason why frogs and toads find no issue with cold climates is due to this property of their body. You can also notice such cold-blooded species moving to different places in order to have sun or shade, whatever their body needs at the time.

Reptiles like snakes try to maintain their body temperature by moving from warm to cool areas or vice versa. All animals among amphibians, like frogs, salamanders, toads, maintain their internal temperature this way.

Do frogs come back to the same pond every year?

When talking about frogs, their behavior tends to be a topic of various questions. One such curious fact about frog behavior is their habitat behavior. Do they return to the same land they were in? Do they come back to live in the pond they used to live in?

Most often, when a frog matures from tadpoles into its adult form, they tend to leave the pond they were in. However, they don’t abandon the place forever.

Sometimes, if the environment is pleasant, they return to the same location. They can also return to the pond they were born in and live there again.

The main factor that determines whether they prefer the same location is the safety of the place. If there were many predators in the location, frogs tend to keep a safe distance from that area as a means to protect themselves.

What do frogs do in cold weather?

Reptiles and other amphibian animals that have cold blood have certain strategies to survive the cold winter. In Australia, frogs hibernate for a period of four months in their burrow under leaves and mud. Green tree frogs take the same approach and hibernate in winter under leaf litter or bark.

Aquatic frogs go into hibernation underwater since the water has plenty of oxygen. Frogs breathe through their skin, so the oxygen from the water is absorbed without any difficulty. Some unique species of frogs freeze their bodies during cold temperatures.

They freeze a part of their body which prevents them from having a heartbeat or blood flow. They literally play dead during this time.

Once spring approaches, frogs heat their body and return to life. This method is pretty interesting and is seen among species of frogs like wood frogs and tree frogs. The tricks that these animals have up their sleeve are indeed fascinating.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for are frogs cold-blooded?

explore fascinating truth about amphibians then why not take a look at what color is garnet? Types of this beautiful stone you must know, or what kind of cat is Garfield? Cool facts on Jim Davis's tabby cat.

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Written by Oluniyi Akande

Doctorate specializing in Veterinary Medicine

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Oluniyi AkandeDoctorate specializing in Veterinary Medicine

With an accomplished background as a Veterinarian, SEO content writer, and public speaker, Oluniyi brings a wealth of skills and experience to his work. Holding a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Ibadan, he provides exceptional consulting services to pet owners, animal farms, and agricultural establishments. Oluniyi's impressive writing career spans over five years, during which he has produced over 5000 high-quality short- and long-form pieces of content. His versatility shines through as he tackles a diverse array of topics, including pets, real estate, sports, games, technology, landscaping, healthcare, cosmetics, personal loans, debt management, construction, and agriculture.

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