How to Tell a Frog From a Toad

The frog and toad are both amphibians and spend part of their time in water and part on land. Over 3,000 species of both animals exist with about 80 found in the US. Both amphibians make that well-known croaking noise and appear to be one in the same. You can easily tell them apart to impress your friends and kids.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Check out the skin. The frog's is smooth while the toad's has bumps all over that are similar to warts.
2. Grab the amphibian in question and feel it. A frog feels wet or moist while a toad is bumpy and dry. Frogs must keep their skin moist, so they may appear on rainy days to move around and not dry out. Toads tend to get on land more often, so you can tell it's a toad in your garden if no water is near.
3. Get close and look quick before it gets away. You can tell it's a frog if it has a raised back with two ridges and webbed feet.
4. See how it gets around. Toads walk and frogs hop using their back legs.
5. Look at the tongue if you can get close enough. Frog's tongues are long and sticky so they can grab those bugs from a distance. A toad must grab the prey with its mouth.

Tips & Warnings

• Toad eggs are found in a long chain while frog eggs are more in a group.
• Treat both kindly. They will help control the insect population for free.
• Both frogs and toads live about four to fifteen years.