What do toads do in winter
What do toads do in winter
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Where do toads go in the winter?
Asked by: Reta Leffler
Toads in cold regions hibernate in the winter. They dig deep down into loose soil, which insulates them from freezing temperatures. You can offer toads a safe and comfortable winter retreat by constructing a hibernaculum (place to hibernate).
How deep do toads dig to hibernate?
They will burrow anywhere from 6 inches to over 3 feet deep. American toads cannot freeze and survive, so they need to stay below the frost line all winter. They tend to stay within a couple of inches of the frost line and will move up and down throughout the winter as the frost line changes.
Where do toads hide during the day?
During the day American toads hide under rocks or logs or dig into dead leaves and soil. In regions with a cold winter, American toads dig deeper to hibernate. When digging they back in, pushing out dirt with their back legs.
Where do frogs and toads hibernate in the winter?
Frogs and toads that spend most of their time out of the water and on land can usually burrow down below the frost line in burrows or cavities that are their hibernating space for the winter. Frogs go as deep as they can or squeeze into cavities, crevices, and logs.
Where do frogs go over winter?
How toads hibernate
43 related questions found
How do frogs stay alive in the winter?
What month do frogs come out?
One of the surest signs of spring is frogs singing. Cold-blooded amphibians can’t risk coming out too early in spring. They emerge when rain and melting snow make puddles that will keep their body temperatures above freezing.
Where do green frogs go in winter?
The answer is that they have been waiting since last autumn. Some bury themselves deep into the ground or underneath leaf litter at the end of summer, especially along the edges of creeks. Others climb up trees and find shelter in deep hollows with moisture.
Where do bull frogs go in the winter?
When it comes to hibernation, bullfrogs usually set up camp in the mud. They carve out tiny underground lairs where they can rest until the temperatures come back up.
How do I keep frogs away from my front door?
What is the easiest way to find toads?
Look for toads in the forest and woodlands, grasslands, yards and gardens during the summer. Check below the frost line during the winter and early spring. You may also find toads at the bottom of lakes, concealed in logs, or tucked into leaf piles.
How do you lure a toad out of hiding?
Putting out wet towels can attract the frog to a specific location. Put the towels or dish of water in a dark place like an open closet since frogs are nocturnal and will search for dark, wet places to hide. Check them periodically to see if the frog was attracted to the spot.
How can you tell if a toad is dying?
The dying and dead frogs may or may not have obvious external symptoms (e.g. discoloured skin, ulcers, bleeding) but may appear lethargic and disorientated, particularly in and around the edges of ponds.
Is it OK to relocate a toad?
Don’t try to relocate an adult toad into your yard—it has already chosen where it wants to live. Just put your toad abode out early in the growing season. Over the summer, young toads will be looking for a place to establish themselves, and one day, your prince will come.
How cold is too cold for toads?
Temperatures have to dip slightly below 32 degrees Fahrenheit to freeze a frog, and ice begins to grow when an ice crystal touches the frog’s skin.
Do toads return to the same spot?
Since gardens tend to be watered or irrigated, they naturally attract toads, who usually find a plentiful supply of slugs and other toad-appropriate prey. If a toad settles into a spot and is undisturbed, it will not only remain but return, year after year, to the same location.
Do frogs come back to the same pond every year?
Answer. Amphibians tend to return to the same pond each year – it’s likely there used to be a pond present which the animals are looking for. Amphibians migrate to ponds in spring, often returning to areas where they spawned in previous years.
Do bull frogs dig holes in the ground?
Frogs like to burrow in loose soil, and they don’t burrow prior to hibernation. They enter the burrow as soon as they dig it. They use their hind legs to dig, so they back themselves into the burrow as they dig.
Can bull frogs freeze?
The American bullfrog does hibernate in the winter and is generally not tolerant of freezing conditions (Degenhardt et al.
What do green frogs do in the winter?
Some terrestrial frogs will burrow into the earth for the winter, while those less adept at digging will seek shelter in the depths of leaf litter or in the deep nooks and crannies of downed logs or peeling tree bark. Aquatic frogs spend their winter on the bottom of lakes, ponds, or other bodies of water.
Can you touch a green tree frog?
How long do green frogs live for?
Green Tree Frogs are sometimes called the “The smiling croaker.” Their life spans are longer than most of their frog cousins and can reach between 16 to 20 years in captivity. In the wild, their lives are shorter due to predators.
What do frogs do at night?
Frogs Breathe & Drink Through Their Skin at Night
It’s easier for frogs to stay cool and damp at night because the sun has gone down. Frogs also spend the day time remaining hydrated, but they can finally come out and be active thanks to the humidity in the environment at night.
How long do frogs play dead?
The frogs stayed in their exaggerated death pose for about two minutes, according to a team lead by biologist Vinicius Batista of the State University of Maringá in Brazil and reported in the fall issue of the Herpetological Bulletin.
Where do toads go during the winter?
Asked by: Hiram O’Conner V
Toads in cold regions hibernate in the winter. They dig deep down into loose soil, which insulates them from freezing temperatures. You can offer toads a safe and comfortable winter retreat by constructing a hibernaculum (place to hibernate).
How deep do toads dig to hibernate?
They will burrow anywhere from 6 inches to over 3 feet deep. American toads cannot freeze and survive, so they need to stay below the frost line all winter. They tend to stay within a couple of inches of the frost line and will move up and down throughout the winter as the frost line changes.
Where do toads spend the winter or dry season?
During the winter, they go into a state of hibernation, and some frogs can be exposed to temperatures below freezing. Frogs and toads that spend most of their time out of the water and on land can usually burrow down below the frost line in burrows or cavities that are their hibernating space for the winter.
Where do frogs disappear in winter?
Frogs can be found hanging out on the bottom, sometimes even slowly swimming or moving around. Frogs and toads that spend most of their time on land can usually burrow down below the frost line in burrows or cavities called hibernacula, or hibernating space.
Do toads come back to the same place every year?
How toads hibernate
22 related questions found
Do toads stay in the same place?
Common toads live in a wide range of habitats, however, they are usually found in damp places. Being creatures of habit, you can often find them in the same place, time after time, however, because they are able to blend in with their background and remain motionless for hours at a time, they can be difficult to spot.
Can toads find their way home?
Frogs can find their way home if they were moved to another location. It is in their instinct to return to the pond where they were born in order to live and reproduce. Moving frogs to another area is dangerous for the frog since they may have to cross roads and will probably die.
Do frogs stay in pond all year?
Answer. Amphibians tend to return to the same pond each year – it’s likely there used to be a pond present which the animals are looking for. Amphibians migrate to ponds in spring, often returning to areas where they spawned in previous years.
Do frogs leave their ponds?
Newts, toads and frogs will usually leave their ponds to hibernate in the winter. Their favourite places for hibernation include rockeries, woodpiles, compost heaps, old plants pots, greenhouses, as well as piles of unused paving slabs that may just be propped up against a wall.
Where do frogs sleep?
Tree frogs generally sleep in trees, aquatic frogs in water and terrestrial frogs underground. Frogs located in high-latitude and cold regions also hibernate in Winter, and frogs in low-latitude or desert regions generally estivate during Dry seasons.
Do toads hibernate underground?
The American toad, Anaxyrus americanus (formerly Bufo americanus) typically hibernates underground, below the frost line. In the Northeast, toads are driven into their burrows sometime between September and October and re-emerge from April to May.
Where do cane toads go in winter?
Where do toads live?
Toads are found on every continent, excluding Antarctica. Adult toads generally prefer moist, open habitats like fields and grasslands. The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is a common garden species that eats harmful insects and can be seen in backyards in the Northeast.
Why do toads bury themselves in dirt?
They dig deep down into loose soil, which insulates them from freezing temperatures. You can offer toads a safe and comfortable winter retreat by constructing a hibernaculum (place to hibernate).
Why do toads bury themselves in summer?
On a scorching summer day, toads can be seen burrowing into sandy soil to avoid the heat. Toads use their long legs to bury themselves, which they can do very fast. They conserve moisture by sheltering from the sun before coming once the sun has gone down.
Where do toads sleep at night?
Wake Up. The first thing nocturnal toads do when night falls is wake up. They sleep during the heat of the day, buried underground or tucked under damp, rotting wood or large stones. Sunlight can dehydrate toads quickly, so venturing out during the night is safer.
Why have the frogs disappeared from my pond?
Where do frogs go during the day?
During the day, frogs tend to hide under dead leaves, in water, or underground. Being able to see in color at night helps frogs be more able to understand their surroundings and effectively seek out prey and protection.
Do frogs live in ponds in winter?
What do pond frogs do in the winter?
Frogs survive wintry weather by hibernating, typically in the aquatic vegetation of ponds and lakes. Some frogs spend the winter swimming slowly under the ice and in the water of ponds, lakes and streams. Other frogs will burrow deep below the frost line in burrows or cavities called hibernacula, or hibernating spaces.
Do frogs hibernate in ponds?
Frogs, and occasionally newts, quite often hibernate at the bottom of ponds among the leaf litter and plants. They can tolerate very low oxygen levels but will survive only a few days if the pond becomes completely de-oxygenated.
What happens to frogs in the summer?
Most frogs dig a small but deep burrow in mud or sand for estivation. The burrow protects the frog from drying out in the hot sun until the next rain. As additional protection against dehydration, many types of frogs create cocoons that lock in moisture.
How far do toads travel?
She is counting road kills of seven species, including northwestern salamander and red-legged frogs, and what she has learned surprised her. The red-legged frogs are traveling routinely as far as one-half to one mile as they disperse from their breeding pond and head for their upland forest.
What to do if you find a toad in your garden?
If the animal is trapped or in danger, release it into another part of the garden that provides cover from predators and extreme weather, such as in a compost heap, underneath a garden shed or near / underneath dense foliage; it does not need to be moved to in a pond.
Do toads travel in groups?
Although toads are usually solitary animals, in the breeding season, large numbers of toads converge on certain breeding ponds, where the males compete to mate with the females.
Frog Hibernation: How Frogs Survive Winter
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I learned about how frogs survive winter hands-on from my outdoor pet toad. Frogs and toads can survive the harsh winter months and emerge in the Spring, nutritionally deprived but otherwise unscathed. But the question most people wonder is how these cute, squishy, fragile creatures endure the extreme cold and lack of resources that come with the trials of Winter? The answer is: hibernation.
Frogs and toads survive Winter by hibernating. Generally, both species bulk up during the year and in the Fall, toads burrow underground, and aquatic frogs head below freezing water. During Winter, their metabolism and heart rate slow down while they live off stored body reserves until the Spring.
While it might sound easy enough in theory, hibernation is far from a simple winter-long nap. It takes significant preparation and unique metabolic adaptations that make this process biologically possible for frogs to survive harsh winters.
This article will discuss everything there is to know about frog and toad hibernation, how you can help your local frogs and toads hibernate as well as amazing facts about how these creatures survive Winter.
Note: The use of the term “hibernation” to qualify prolonged, ectothermic amphibian rest is a debated topic in the biology community, as many scientists prefer the term “brumation” for frogs. Brumaiton is used to qualify prolonged periods of rest for ectothermic animals. However, due to what readers are searching online, we will use the term “hibernation” this article.
Quick Frog And Toad Hibernation Facts
Before we dive into how frogs and toads hibernate, here is a quick overview of how they survive winter depending on the type of frog:
| Type of Frog | Environment | Freeze Tolerant | Method | Locations |
| Aquatic Frogs | Water | No | Lay | Below Freezing Water |
| Toads | Land | No | Burrow | In Soil Below Frost Line |
| Tree Frogs | Land | Yes | Hide | Under Leaf Litter |
Here are some frog and toad hibernation facts:
Frogs Prepare to Hibernate All Year
Hibernation is an extensive process that many animals go through in order to have the best chance of survival during the winter months. This is why frogs have the physiological and behavioral adaptation of hibernation. A frog that does not properly prepare before the onset of winter will not survive until the Spring. This is a cruel but true fact of the animal kingdom.
Much of a hibernation’s success relies on the frog obtaining enough life-sustaining nutrients and choosing the proper location to hibernate. Without taking these key steps, they are doomed to face the harshness of Winter.
The first step of preparing for hibernation is knowing when the preparation process must start. Frogs instinctively know what to do depending on the time of year. In the Spring, directly following their hibernation, frogs generally focus on mating, which typically occurs in the Spring in North America. After that, most of their time is spent avoiding being eaten and eating to build reserves to hibernate.
Let’s discover the complete hibernation process from bulking up all year to finding the ideal place to hibernate, to emerging from hibernation in the Spring.
Frogs Bulk Up to Create Reserves For Hibernation
When the mating season is over, frogs generally use most of their energy on stocking up nutrients necessary for survival as a food reserve during hibernation. As carnivores, most frogs feed on insects and invertebrates, such as insect larvae, spiders, slugs, and worms.
Frogs and toads generally eat anything that is moving and can fit into their mouths. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a single adult toad can eat 10,000 insect pests over the course of an average summer in order to have the nutrient storage necessary for Winter.
I used to watch my skinny toad emerge from hibernation in the Spring, and the same very large, round, fat toad burrow to hibernate in the Fall. My toad spent all year eating more calories than his body needed to bulk up for the Winter.
As the cooler months of September and October approach, frogs generally switch to focus on finding the perfect hibernation location.
Where Frogs Hibernate During The Winter
Where frogs hibernate during the winter generally depends on the type of frog. Aquatic frogs hibernate underwater, toads hibernate underground and tree frogs hibernate on land under leaf litter. Frogs in temperate climates do not hibernate, but instead, they estivate during the dry season.
Aquatic Frogs Hibernate Underwater
Leopard Frogs, Green Frog, Mink Frog, Pickerel Frogs, Bullfrogs, and their tadpoles hibernate below freezing water. Aquatic frogs generally sit, float, or slowly swim at the bottom of ponds. Oxygen levels are high below 4°C or 39°F and provide a great environment for them to hibernate during Winter.
As their name indicates, aquatic frogs need to be in the water in order to thrive and survive. So there is not a better place for them to spend winter than underwater. Aquatic frogs can breathe through their skin and enjoy the high oxygen levels of cold water.
Once the frozen water warms up, the frogs become active again and continue their growth if they were tadpoles or pollywogs. Frogs do not burrow in the mud like toads because they require direct contact with water to live.
Toads Hibernate on Land
Toads hibernate on land, generally 1 meter or 3 feet below the frost line. Toads hibernate in rodent tunnels, natural crevices, under rocks, and prefer soft sand to create their own burrows. Toads have been found to burrow in groups in communal hibernation sites if locations are scarce.
One common misconception about toads is that they hibernate near water sources. Toads are less aquatic than frogs and aren’t typically found in water past their tadpole stages. Instead, toads dig a deep hole or burrow underground to spend the Winter. I used to watch my toad do this every Winter and it was a cool sight to see.
One study found that 38% of toads hibernate in rodent burrows, 27% under large rocks, 19% under logs or root wads, and 15% under banks adjacent to streams or a lake (Bull, 2006). Another study (Constance 2010) found that toads like to burrow in the following places:
Toads search for a location with loose soil they can easily dig at least 1 meter or 3 feet deep. This ensures they hibernate below the frost line to avoid most of winter’s cold temperatures and keep warm. Toad’s feet are made to dig and this task is fairly easy for them.
While most toads are solitary hibernators, there are some instances where toads will actually hibernate in groups if sufficient hibernation locations are scarce. Many will also skip the process of digging entirely and use old mammal shelters or crevices beneath trees and rocks as hibernacula instead.
If they are unwise with their selection, toads could inadvertently expose themselves to the winter’s chill or risk being prematurely disturbed from the dormant state by outside forces. Toads are not freeze-tolerant and have been reported to die at temperatures between –1.5 to –5.2 °C or 29°F to 23°F (Swanson et al. 1996). Toads generally do not choose their hibernation location until they are ready to enter hibernation, and studies have shown that many actually return to the same hibernation locations annually.
Tree Frogs Hibernate in Leaf Litter And Freeze Solid
Tree frogs like Gray Treefrogs, Cope’s Gray Treefrog, Boreal Chorus Frog, Spring Peeper, and Wood Frogs hibernate in cracks and under leaf litter at the foot of trees to survive Winter. Tree Frogs generally freeze between 40% to 65% of their body’s water content during Winter.
Tadpoles transforming to frogs is remarkable. But nothing is as impressive as a frozen frog whose heart and lungs stop coming back to life as if nothing happens. The steps below highlight the process tree frogs undergo to survive freezing in winter:
When a frog freezes solid, it will stop breathing, its heart will stop, and the frog will appear dead, but it’s not. You see, when the frog freezes during a period of hibernation, its liver produces large amounts of glucose, thereby increasing blood sugar levels. The elevated blood sugar acts as “antifreeze,” which prevents the formation of ice crystals in the body.
Frogs also have a cool trick to eliminate water from their organs. When they begin freezing, the water in their organs and forms ice outside their body. Up to 65% of the frog’s total body water will freeze during winter. This factor, combined with the “antifreeze,” mechanism protects the frogs’ organs from freezing.
Tree frogs may die if they emerge from hibernation too soon. This often happens when a frog is tempted out of hibernation by a short warm stretch that quickly goes back to temperatures below freezing – a term referred to as “winter kill.” However, if the temperatures remain steady and the seasons start changing, the frog slowly thaws out, the hearts and lungs start working again, and the frog resumes normal activities unaffected.
Frogs in Hot Climates Estivate Instead of Hibernate
Although hibernation is common for frogs during cold Winters in North America and parts of Europe, not all frogs hibernate if they live in consistently warm environments like those in Asia, South America, Africa or Australia. Instead, such frogs may estivate in response to hot or arid conditions.
Estivation is a period of dormancy similar to hibernation but in response to different conditions. Instead of getting out of the cold, frogs that estivate escape the heat. Hot or arid conditions are not ideal for frogs that are cold-blooded and require water and humidity to survive, so estivation is key to survival for frogs in hotter climates depending on the Season.
For example, frogs in temperate climates like Horned Frogs in South America, or African Bullfrogs in parts of Africa burrow to stay hydrated during the Dry season and come back out during Monsoon or Rainy season. Some frogs burrow and form a cocoon of their dead skin around their body to retain humidity.
The Frog Hibernation Process Starts in The Fall
Once a frog is happy with its location to spend the winter, it will tuck in its limbs, bow its head, and enter a state of hibernation. In order to do this, frogs undergo multiple physiological changes:
Once all of these changes are complete, the frog will slowly live off of the nutrients it stored in prior months until environmental temperatures increase.
Frogs Emerge From Hibernation in The Spring
Frogs instinctively know when it is time to emerge from hibernation when the soil or environment around them increases to safe temperatures. This usually occurs from March to May in Canada and in the Northern States of the USA.
Because toads do not technically freeze like most frogs equipped with high concentrations of glucose acting as antifreeze, the process of emerging from hibernation is generally quicker for them. They get to skip the “thawing” process and simply increase their heart rate, metabolic functions and emerge.
Help Your Local Toads Hibernate in The Winter
A hibernaculum, hibernacula, or hibernating is a place where animals, such as toads, can safely spend the winter. You can easily create a hibernaculum to help local toads survive winter in your yard and garden by creating the ideal habitat for them to spend the cold season.
Here is how to create a toad hibernaculum in your yard:
You could also create a toad hibernaculum in a window well if it has the correct environment. In that article, I explain what I did for my toad in a window well. I got to watch it emerge, prepare and head into hibernation every year.
What to do if You Find a Hibernating Frog
If you’re wandering around a winter wonderland and come across what looks to be a frog popsicle, you might wonder what you can do for this animal to help ensure its survival. If you find a frog or a toad hibernating, leave it alone. Do not touch it, pick it up, or relocate it as this generally leads to health issues, premature emergence from hibernation, or the frog’s death.
Relocating a hibernating frog could potentially kill it. If you do find an exposed hibernating tree frog or toad, simply cover it with additional natural sources of heat. Forest debris, such as leaves, bark, and twigs, are great for heat retention and might be enough to keep the toad warm until winter ends. If you find a hibernating frog do not intervene unless absolutely necessary. These creatures have existed for over 200 million years; they can survive without your intervention.
More About Frog Hibernation
If you were wondering how frogs survive the winter, now you know. These creatures burrow into the sand, hide under leaves, or spend time underwater. Hibernation is essential for frogs to survive the winter months, and luckily for this species, it is a process they do naturally every year. By consuming a sufficient storage level of nutrients and finding a safe hibernaculum, frogs can enter a state of hibernation until the warmer spring months arrive. Although frogs seem like fragile creatures, they’re extremely resilient.
Learn even more about toads and their hibernation process in these dedicated articles on our blog:
Questions Related to Frog Hibernation
Do Frogs Die In the Cold? Frogs generally do not die in the cold because they hibernate. Tree frogs and aquatic frogs can freeze between 40% to 65% of their bodies’ water content and survive. However, toads are not freeze-tolerant and have been reported to die at temperatures between –1.5°C to –5.2°C (29°F to 23°F).
Do Toads Die In the Cold? Toads are not freeze-tolerant and have been reported to die at temperatures between –1.5 to –5.2 °C (29°F to 23°F). Therefore, toads may die if they are not hibernating far enough below the frost line, or if they are caught off guard below freezing temperatures.
How Long Can a Frog Survive Being Frozen? Some tree frogs like Wood Frogs can survive being frozen for up to 8 months. However, toads are not freeze-tolerant and generally die if exposed to temperatures below –1.5°C to –5.2°C (29°F to 23°F).
How do Wood Frogs Survive Freezing? Wood Frogs can survive being frozen for up to 8 months.
What Do Frogs Look Like When They Hibernate? A hibernating frog may look dead when it has not yet emerged from hibernation. It may have its limbs wrapped to the sides of its body and have closed or glazed over eyes. However, the frog will naturally defrost and emerge from hibernation when ready.
Sources
Browne, Constance L., Paszkowski, Cynthia A., Herpetological Conservation And Biology 5(1):49-63. Hibernation Sites Of Western Toads (Anaxyrus Boreas): Characterization And Management Implications. Department Of Biological Sciences, University Of Alberta. February 2010
Schmid, WD. Survival of frogs in low temperature, Science 05 Feb 1982: Vol. 215, Issue 4533, pp. 697-698 DOI: 10.1126/science.7058335
Berman, D.I., Bulakhova, N.A. & Meshcheryakova, E.N. The Siberian wood frog survives for months underwater without oxygen. Sci Rep 9, 13594 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31974-6
Swanson, D.L., B.D. Graves, and K.L. Koster. 1996. Freezing tolerance/intolerance and cryoprotection synthesis in terrestrially overwintering anurans in the Great Plains, USA. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 166:110–119
Open EDU, Animals at the Extremes, Hibernation and Torpor
Do Toads Hibernate? (And Do They Hibernate In Captivity?)
Toads are cute, energetic, and little. That is why I love them. But when someone asked me if toads hibernate, when they do and if they hibernate in captivity, I couldn’t tell him. That is why I dived into the matter determined to find out the truths about hibernating toads. Below you’ll find my attempt to answer all the questions you might have on the matter.
Do toads hibernate? Toads hibernate and do so in the mud, at the bottom of lakes, concealed in logs or even tucked away under leaf litter. Several toads bury themselves in the ground to hibernate.
Why do toads hibernate?
First, let me tell you a bit more about hibernating toads. Hibernation is nothing more than an adaption that helps toads (but also other animals) to save energy by remaining inactive. In this hibernation time, they slow down their metabolism, they reduce their body temperature and do so for days, weeks and/or even months at a time.
But why do they do this? Toads hibernate to survive a long period where food is difficult to come by (when food is scarce). This is also why, and maybe you have ever seen this, toads eat a lot of food just before they go into hibernation mode. They then survive the days, weeks, months following off the energy that is stored in their fat.
Now, some people this hibernation mode is just like sleeping. But that is not entirely the case. The physical changes that occur when toads are in hibernation are more extreme than just sleeping. This means that for some animals, hibernation isn’t even something restful! Some toads can “wake up” from hibernation and be absolutely exhausted and then need some sleep to recover!
Do toads hibernate in the ground?
The paragraph above this one explained it briefly, but I’ll go a little bit deeper into the matter of toads and hibernation. Where toads hibernate and if they do this in the ground is dependent on the species.
Toads, like the American toad (and several others), hibernate on land. The forest, fields and even the soil freezes, so the toads need to find a place to escape from the frost.
How deep do toads dig to hibernate?
Sometimes toads dig as deep as 50cm (20 inches) in order to hibernate. They do this in order to get below the frost line and survive the cold weather.
Toads have special hardened knobs on their hind feet that help them dig into the soil.
However, toads don’t always have to dig to find a place to hibernate. They will use the burrows of other mammals if they can find them. Ant mounds are also a common place for a toad to hibernate.
In urban areas, toads will often seek out foundations with cracks in and bury their way down in the holes. Some toads will look for tree stumps to survive the winter, and large groups of toads are usually found under rocks and logs in wet areas around fountains.
Toads only come back up when the soil temperature warms up in the spring. That is their cue.
Fun fact: Young toads dig less deep of a hole to hibernate in than adult toads.
Now, normally toads are what they call “solitary hibernators” which means that they prefer to hibernate alone instead of with a whole group. But when good hibernating habitats are scarce, they sometimes do hibernate in groups.
Fun fact: Wood Buggalo National Park Canada once found 600 American toads that burrowed themselves together to hibernate in one good place.
What do frogs and toads do in winter?
Let me expand a little bit here and also include frogs. What you need to know first is that frogs and toads are cold-blooded. This means that they take on the temperature of the environment around them. This, therefore, means that normally frogs and toads go in a state of hibernation in the winter and some can be exposed to temperatures beneath freezing.
But what do frogs and toads do in winter? Let’s take the aquatic frogs for example. The aquatic frogs (like the southern leopard frog) usually spend the whole winter at the bottom of a pond. But they don’t burrow down. These frogs can be found on the bottom and you can sometimes even see them swimming and moving around.
Now most frogs and toads that spend their time on land will burrow themselves down below the frost line or will find other places like cracks in foundations to find a hibernating space.
Some frog species, however, are not as good as others in the digging down thing and go as deep as they can. This sometimes isn’t enough and they can even freeze solid if the temperatures are going down.
This doesn’t mean that they are killed by ice crystals that puncture their cells and organs. This is because these frogs have high levels of sugar (or glucose) and this functions as some kind of natural anti-freeze.
Green frog and bullfrog tadpoles hatch in the summer. When it becomes winter they spend the whole time swimming. Even if that means that the swim below the ice and in nearly freezing water.
Do toads hibernate in captivity?
Toads don’t necessarily hibernate in captivity. They may eat a bit less than they do in the summer months, but they won’t go into full hibernation mode unless you lower their tank temperature.
Hibernating toads in captivity can be risky to their health and is only really necessary if you want to induce breeding.
How to care for a hibernating toad
But what if you do want to hibernate your toad? For example, to induce breeding. It’s important to be well prepared.
First, you have to provide your toad with the right environment. This means that you have to know what the ideal environment is for your toad and make it so that the toad feels comfortable.
Second, make sure that your toad has access to food and water. Before your toads go into hibernation mode, he probably will eat a bit more so that he has something stores for the next months (as I explained earlier in this post).
Third, give your toad a nice place to hibernate within its tank. This means that every toad has his or her preferences when it comes to a hibernation spot.
This can be in foundational cracks, tree logs, on the bottom of a pond, burrowed in the ground and other places. Find out what your toad prefers and set up your tank accordingly.
Fourth, keep the temperature stable. This, again, depends on the toad species, but you have to make sure that the temperature is stable so that your toad can stay in hibernation mode.
Fifth, Provide food during hibernation. Now, some toads will sleep for months on end, but some toads “wake up” and need something to eat. Since you’re controlling the environment of the toad, you may want to leave some food nearby.
Sixth, Do not touch your toad. I know your toad can appear to be dead or just cute and you want to touch him/her… But don’t do that. You don’t want to disrupt the natural hibernation cycle of the toad.
How to help hibernating amphibians?
How can I help hibernating amphibians? If you want to protect the sleepy toads, newts, salamanders, frogs and other amphibians in your garden, you have to keep a couple of things in mind. Frogs that hibernate at the bottom of ponds need to take in oxygen through their skin.
Make sure that the plants in your pond getting enough sunlight so photosynthesize can take place. If it has been snowing, you can sweep some snow off the ice so that the plants still get enough sunlight.
An easy one to do is just this one: Do not disturb the animals. This is not only about the toads I spoke about earlier. This is the right thing to do for all amphibians.
Provide shelter for the amphibians. This can be piles of leaf litter, log piles, and even compost heaps can be a perfect hibernation spot for amphibians.
Some amphibians like to bury themselves. Make sure that your pond isn’t to “clean”. Put some soil in the if necessary.