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Do Frogs Eat Snails & Slugs? (Quick Answers)

Frogs are pretty popular among animal-related channels for their unique bug-catching abilities using their super speed tongue.

However, most of us don’t know what else frogs eat. Do they eat slugs and snails? How do they eat snails with hard shells? This article will discuss slugs and snails as frog food and related topics.

Do frogs eat snails & slugs?

Frogs eat both slugs and snails in their natural environment regularly. Frogs can gulp manageable-sized slugs and snails without any issue as they are slow and primarily defenseless. Their robust digestive system breaks down the snail shell, and the broken shells come out with droppings.

Frogs and snails both live in similar conditions. They both need moist or swampy areas. So the question is, do frogs eat snails?

Yes. Frogs can and do eat snails without any issues. There are 1200 types of frogs in the world. There are also thousands of types of slugs and snails.

Most frog species will eat snails if they get a chance. If the frog is not hungry, he may avoid eating slugs or snails. But usually don’t mind eating any mollusk if it is not poisonous.

So, as you read this article about both slugs and snails, I guess you may wonder, can frogs help reduce slugs and snails from a garden?

The answer is yes. If you have a small to medium garden. Even a single adult frog and toad will help reduce the number of slugs and snails in a garden.

Frogs don’t care about the taste of food. They only care about meat. Frogs have been eating snails for hundred of thousands of years. So, even many frogs species evolved to eat snails and digest their shells of slugs.

Do you have a pet frog and think if you can feed slugs or snails to your pet? They will love to eat snails, but make sure that the slugs and snails are fresh and not poisoned with snail bait.

Don’t collect the snails from a dirty environment. It can cause some parasitic diseases in humans and pets.

Many people do not know the difference between a toad and a frog. The toad looks a bit bulky and has dry, warty skin, and they need less water to live and breed.

Toads do like slugs and snails more than frogs. They can live without a pond, so you can get free pest control service if you keep toads in your garden.

Check out if frogs eat those slugs and snails.

Snails:

Snail eggs:

Frogs will eat any live animal that fits in their mouth. They eat snail eggs if they can find them.

As snails can’t do anything when they get hunted by predators like frogs, their primary strategy is to lay hundreds to thousands of eggs frequently and become so many that frogs can’t eat them all.

Like snails, snail eggs are also easily available and are great food for young frogs.

Snail pellets:

Frogs will not eat snail pallets, and it’s not suitable to feed them snail pallets.

Pond snails:

Water frogs commonly eat pond snails.

Water snails:

Frogs eat any water snails if the snail is not too big to swallow.

Slugs:

Slug eggs:

Frogs will eat slug eggs if they can find them. Slug eggs are great food for young and tiny frogs.

Slug pellets:

Frogs will not eat slug pallets, and it’s not suitable to feed them.

Large slugs:

A giant frog can eat large snails. Any meat that fits into their mouth is good meat for them.

Is slugs and snails good for frogs?

Slugs and snails are good sources of food for them. They are readily available to most frogs as they live in similar environments and slugs and snails reproduce very quickly and frequently.

No one has researched the exact nutritional contents of slugs and snails. But we can guess they are full of minerals and vitamins.

Slugs and snails contain 18% of protein content which is pretty decent as frogs’ diets. Slugs and snails also have low-fat content.

However, a pet frog may have difficulties eating more giant snails. But wild frogs digest snail shells without any issue as they have a robust digestive system. Sometimes slugs and snails can contain parasites that can be fatal for the frogs.

Do frogs eat trapdoor snails? Do frogs eat snail shells?

Frogs can eat any type of snail, including trapdoor snails. Trapdoor snails are freshwater snails and are often kept as pets.

Frogs can eat trapdoor snails if the snail is manageable-sized to eat. Frogs eat snail shells, but the shell is not digestible and comes out with faces.

Many people on the internet are asking if they can keep snails and frogs together. The idea is good in a way. They both need a moist environment. But one should not keep frogs and snails together. The frog will eat snail if he gets the chance.

If the snail is too big to eat for a frog, you should still not keep them together. The frog will become too stressed as the frog lives with potential food but can’t eat as the snail is giant.

4 reasons why frogs will eat snails and slugs

Did you ever catch a frog with your hand? I did. They are the coolest animals I have ever touched.

Those cold-blooded slug eaters don’t even ask for permission from the snails before eating them. However, snails don’t show any signs of disagreement (or it’s too slow for that, maybe).

Now let’s talk about three reasons why frogs eat slugs and snails.

Easy food:

Frogs can easily catch and eat slugs and snails. Slugs and snails’ only defense is hiding under stones so frogs cannot reach them.

Availability:

Slugs and snails are commonly found in most places where frogs live.

Mostly harmless:

Eating slugs and snails is not harmful to the frogs in most cases. However, some poisonous species of snails, like cone snails, can terminate frogs and even humans.

It is meat:

Meat is the most nutritious food on the earth, and snail and slugs meat is no exception. It has a good amount of protein and other food content.

Do all frogs eat snails and slugs?

Frogs are not as smart as you think. Any animal or insect that moves and is not too big is a good reason for them to eat. Therefore almost all the frog species will eat slugs and snails more or less.

Some frog species are specially evolved to eat and digest slugs and snails more comfortably as they live where they can find abundant slugs and snails. However, some frog species may not like eating snails if they can find other easily digestible food.

Check out if those frog species eat slugs and snails.

Tree frog:

Tree frogs are the frogs that live in the tree. They have fantastic climbing abilities. They eat tree slugs and snails if they find any. There are many species of tree frogs in the world.

Dart frog:

Dart frogs are also a kind of tree frog. They are poisonous species of frogs used to make toxic darts. Dart frogs commonly feast on slugs and snails.

Baby frog:

Frogs cannot eat adult slugs and snails until they get bigger. However, baby frogs can eat baby slugs, snails, and eggs as those are small in size.

Dawrf frogs:

Dwarf frogs originated from Central Africa, and they don’t mind eating slugs and snails if they find any. They spend all of their lives underwater and eat aquatic slugs and snails.

Aquatic frogs:

Some species of frogs live in the water for their entire life. African dwarf frogs are one of the most popular aquatic pet frogs. They commonly eat slugs and snails.

African frogs:

There are many species of frogs in Africa, and most of them eat slugs and snails.

Leopard frogs:

Leopard frogs eat slugs and snails if they find them.

Green tree frogs:

Green tree frogs eat tree snails and slugs.

How do frogs eat snails?

Snails are like free food for the frogs. They just have to swallow if they find any slugs or snails. They don’t have any teeth to chew their food. They catch their food and directly engulf it.

Slugs have calcium shells to protect them from various predators, but it’s useless against frogs. The frogs swallow snails whole and a strong digestive system brake down the shells of the snail. The parts of the shell come cut with frog feces.

Final thoughts

Slugs and snails are the typical food for the frogs. Almost all species of frogs eat slugs and snails. Keeping a few frogs in your garden can help reduce pests like slugs and snails, but then you will have to stay away from chemical pesticides as those are harmful to the frogs.