10/06/2026
💧 Wildlife Wednesday 🐸
Frogs & Toads
What is the difference?
🐸 Common frogs have smooth, moist skin, which isn't slimy. Have special glands to keep the skin moist and supple - this helps them to 'breathe' through their skin as well as their lungs, so they can stay underwater for a long time. They are mottled shades of green, yellow or brown in colour and have a distinct brown patch behind the eye. They move in springy leaps and lay spawn in clumps.
🐸🤎 Common toads have dry, warty skin, which means they can't 'breathe' through their skin as well as frogs, but they can survive on land in drier places. They are usually grey-brown in colour and crawl rather than hop. They lay strings of eggs in long, double rows.
🪲 Both frogs and toads eat a lot of beetles, bugs and woodlice. Frogs will eat a large number of slugs and snails, whereas toads favour ants. 🐌
☀ Don't be surprised if you find frogs or toads in your greenhouse. They're attracted there by the warm, moist conditions and will live in a greenhouse quite happily, eating the insects and other small creatures that live there.
🐸 If you find a sick or injured frog or toad, visit the Froglife website for guidance about how to help them. It can be difficult to treat amphibians, so sometimes it’s best to leave them in the garden to recover on their own. https://www.froglife.org/info-advice/frequently-asked-questions/frogs-toads-injury-illness-or-death/
🏥 If the animal is seriously sick or injured, then the quickest way to get them help will be to contact a vet.
Advice on how to handle frogs and toads can be found here: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/frogs
✋ Don’t touch them with bare hands as they are very sensitive to chemicals on our skin.
🌳 If you see sick, injured or dead amphibians in your garden, please report these to Garden Wildlife Health, which helps monitor diseases in garden wildlife. https://www.gardenwildlifehealth.org/
