Can you hold your breath underwater for a long time just to fulfill your curiosity? I bet you can’t do it for long; even I can’t either. We can stay for around 30 seconds maximum without air.
A well-fitted swimmer can survive slightly longer; it may rise almost 2 minutes. But, do you know how long can a frog stay underwater?
Surprisingly, the frog can live underwater for longer than humans; it is almost 4-7 hours (Depends on the frog’s species, water temperature, age, psychological needs, etc.)
The frog absorbs the oxygen from water and mud through their skin. If there’s insufficient oxygen underwater, the frog can’t survive and drown.
Besides, there’s lots of unrevealed information regarding the frog; dive into the article to disclose them!
Can Frogs Breathe Underwater?
Whether the frog can breathe underwater or not is complicated to answer. Because at the juvenile stage, most frog species don’t come out of water.
As the frog gets gill at the beginning of their life, they can spend their entire time underwater, like fish.
But, when the frogs grow up and become mature frogs, they get lungs and breath like other land animals.
Hardly there are frogs that can’t live long underwater, all credit goes to their breathing skin. Surprisingly, some species of frogs, like the green frogs, American Bullfrogs, common frogs, etc., lives both on the land and underwater.
But a vast majority of frog species spend most of their time frames on land. Because of their body structure, those species survive meager time underwater.
How Long Can A Frog Stay Underwater?
The physical structure of frogs makes them so strong to survive without air for a long time. Still, it’s mysterious how long can a frog stay underwater because there’s no exact answer for this.
According to some sources, the frog can live four to seven hours underwater. You also must have heard that some frogs like R. pipiens, R. temporaria, and R. catesbeiana live 5 to 7 days underwater.
Some sources also claim depending on the species; the frogs can survive 23 hours up to 4 months.
However, according to most reliable sources, most frog species can hold their breath for 4 to 7 hours. But, the timeframe is maintained if the oxygen level is normal underwater and the frogs are healthy.
The water temperature is equally important for getting a longer lifespan underwater. What else affects the frog’s sustainability underwater?
Indeed, there are several things, so stick to using them to learn!
What Affects the Frog’s Breathing Underwater?
The amphibians have an efficient respiratory system affecting their breathing underwater. Some concerning external factors also help the frogs to efficiently get improved breathing underwater.
Let’s dig into the deep to understand those critical factors.
Oxygen Level
The oxygen level is the first thing that affects the breathing of frogs underwater. The amphibians submerge underwater when there’s a sufficient amount of oxygen.
Some species can also sustain at a lower oxygen level because of their thinner membranes of the skin. Nevertheless, when there’s an acute scarcity of oxygen underwater, the frog won’t survive.
Species of Frog
Some species of amphibians spend their vast period of life underwater, unlike the majority of frogs. The American bullfrogs, common frogs, green frogs, etc., live underwater even at their adult age.
Underwater Temperature
Underwater temperature also impacts the breathing rate of amphibians. When the amphibians increase their metabolism rate in the summer, they need more oxygen.
Indeed, you know that the underwater oxygen level becomes lower on a warm day. So, the amphibians can’t breathe underwater.
Contrarily, during the cold season, the amphibians decrease their metabolism rate, making them less needy for oxygen. Underwater oxygen becomes higher, so the amphibians don’t face difficulties in breathing.
Age
The amphibians stay underwater at a young age when they don’t have lungs but gills. Unlike adults, the gills make them eligible to breathe underwater for a long time.
But, after the juvenile stage, when the amphibian becomes a frog, they shift to the land from water. Because the adult amphibians no longer get the gills, instead, they develop the lungs.
The lungs make the amphibians suitable to live on the land and stay underwater for a small time.
Physical Needs
Physical needs are another influencing factor that doesn’t let the frog live underwater even though it’s amphibian. The underwater living frog has to come out to find its food.
Besides, the amphibian also comes out of the water during the mating season.
Other Complications
During natural calamities, like drought and other external influences, the amphibians need to leave their watery home. That’s when the frog comes out of the water and looks for new accommodation.
How Long Can A Bull Frog Stay Underwater?
How long can the bullfrogs hold their breath underwater depends on their underwater oxygen regulation capacity.
Typically, the bullfrog stays underwater for a long time, unlike most other frog species. They have better oxygen regulation capacity than others through the skin.
Possibly that’s why we find the bullfrog everywhere in ponds, lakes, meadows, and small woodlands. But, when it comes to breeding or mating season, the amphibian moves on the ground from water.
Can Frogs Live Completely Underwater?
No, the majority of frogs can’t live completely underwater except for some species. But at the beginning stage of life, most amphibian species live underwater.
At this point, we need to remind you that the frogs can hold their breath underwater for a specific period (varies on species). When there’s insufficient oxygen on land, the amphibian goes under the water in search of oxygen.
How Long Can Frogs Go Without Water?
Frogs are amphibian animals, so the majority of their species live near ponds, swaps, and damp places. The juvenile frog needs only a watery place to grow up, and at the maturity period, they need water at a specific time.
So, the frog can’t live without water, even though they can live for several weeks without food.
Maximally, this amphibian animal can endure the situation without water for several hours. However, the toads and arboreal frogs can survive in the situation without water for 24 to 48 hours.
So, when the watery pools dry up and there’s a scarcity of water everywhere, the amphibian uses a unique method to survive.
The first step the amphibians take to survive water scarcity is burying deep holes and hiding in them. Besides, they create several layers of skin, so the dehydration can’t grab them.
The multiple skin layers help the amphibians to store the water and prevent dehydration.
Furthermore, the underground holes keep them away from dry weather and stay moist as much as possible. That’s the natural technique that the amphibians apply until the rain comes.
How Long Can Frogs Go Without Food?
Depending on the frog’s health, environmental suitability, and time of year, the frogs can survive 1 to 4 weeks.
A healthy adult frog can starve for 3–4 weeks, whereas a weak adult frog can starve for 1–2 weeks.
Nevertheless, juvenile frogs cannot live more than 3 days without food. The smallest and weakest juvenile frogs may die within a day without having food.
The evaluation clarifies that the juvenile stage frogs stay in the weakest situation. And well-nourished frogs are the strongest to handle food scarcity by starving.
The factors that affect the surviving conditions of frogs are:
- Health conditions before starving
- The energy frog needs for survival
- Current development phase (Juvenile or adult)
- Frog’s species and size
- What’s the time of year? (Hibernation, estivation, reproduction)
Why Can Frog Live Long Underwater?
The frog practices a special breathing technique for absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide underwater. Unlike a human, their God-gifted skin allows the frog to practice this unique breathing technique.
Although the adult frog also has the lungs to breathe, they use their lungs only when staying on land.
When frogs need oxygen, but the land has a scarcity of that, they go underwater to absorb it. And because of the skin breathing technique, the amphibians last longer underwater.
FAQs
Can a Frog Drown in Water?
Indeed, the frogs can drown underwater.
The frogs have lung-like humans for breathing, although they use their skin for breathing underwater. But, if there’s a shortage of oxygen underwater, they can’t survive breathing with their skin.
Consequently, their lungs will get filled with water and drown away.
Can Frog Survive in Just Water?
Some frogs can survive in just water, like the amphibian. Those frogs know unique breathing types, so they can go underwater whenever they want.
The aquatic amphibians are another species of frog that spend almost their entire life underwater. That’s why you can keep these frogs as your pet and keep them in the aquarium.
Can Frogs Breathe Underwater and On Land?
The majority of the frogs spend their juvenile period underwater, and when they reach the maturity stage, they start to live on land. Because, at their maturity level, they start to develop the lungs like humans.
However, the frogs, like amphibians, can live both underwater and on land. Usually, the frogs go underwater when their skin dries out and needs to soak moisture. Possibly that’s why these frogs live around ponds, swamps, drains, and damp places like that.
The Sum Up!
So, you’re curious to know, how long can a frog stay underwater when you heard their longtime survival underwater?
Indeed, you’ve heard right! The frogs can survive underwater for long, although they mainly live on land. It’s actually their unique type of skin, making the frogs amphibians.
