Information on Baby Frogs

Frogs are amphibians, meaning they are cold-blooded vertebrates who spend part of their life on land and part in the water, according to the San Diego Zoo. Frogs begin their lives as tadpoles before metamorphosing into an intermediate stage called a froglet. After that, froglets become adult frogs. To understand the needs of a baby frog, it's important to understand these stages of development.

  1. Reproduction

    • Frogs tend to lay eggs in a large mass clumped together by mucus. The number of eggs a frog lays at a time varies by species, but more than 2,000 at a time is not uncommon, according to Backyard Nature. Reproduction involves the male frog latching onto the back of the female in a process called amplexus. As the female lays her eggs into the water, the male discharges semen over the eggs.

    Hatching

    • If the conditions are sufficiently moist and warm, the fertilized eggs will hatch in between six and 21 days, according to Frogland. The frog fetus can be seen swimming around inside the translucent egg as it grows. Once it is large enough, it will break through the barrier of the egg, hatching into a tadpole.

    Tadpoles

    • Tadpoles, or pollywogs, are in the infant stage of the frog before metamorphosis, and they live entirely underwater. They appear to have little more than a head and a tail, and in the first days of their lives, they feed on the yolk that is actually still in their stomachs. The tadpole will attach itself to a stationary object like a weed until about a week later, when it begins swimming and eating vegetation like algae. At about six to nine weeks, the tadpole begins to sprout small legs.

    Froglet

    • The froglet is probably what most people think of as the baby frog. A froglet usually emerges from the tadpole stage at about 12 weeks. It has the tiniest remainder of a tail, but also has all four legs and fully developed lungs, allowing it to hop on land and breathe oxygen. While tadpoles eat a vegetarian diet, the froglet begins eating small insects, like mosquitoes. Within a couple of weeks, the rest of the froglet's tail will grow into its body.

    Adult frog

    • At about 16 weeks, most frogs reach sexual maturity, making them "adult frogs." At this point, the frogs will only need to return to the water to lay eggs (besides aquatic frogs, which never leave the water).Their lifespan varies between species and according to living conditions. There is little data of the average lifespan of a frog in the wild, but, according to Frogland, frogs in captivity tend to live anywhere between four and 15 years.