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Green frog survival without water/food - Writing question

MeganM

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Hello,

I joined this forum because I'm a fiction writer and a frog character features heavily in the series I'm writing, so I'm hoping you won't mind if I pop in and ask a strange question from time to time. A couple of years ago, I asked here about frogs and alcohol, and the book in which the frog character absorbs some alcohol has now been published. That one is the first in a series, and I'm now writing the third in the series, which is a retelling of the fairy tale The Frog Prince.

Here are my current questions:

How long can a green frog survive without access to water? I have found multiple conflicting answers on the Internet, and am wondering if anyone here knows for sure or can make a good educated guess.

What about survival time without access to food? I have read that it's much longer because the frog can hibernate to conserve energy, so how long might a frog go without food before its body determined that hibernation was the best bet?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.
 

Chinadog

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Welcome back!
I don't think there is a definitive answer to either question really, it depends on the frog and the circumstances. In a cold damp environment typical frogs will become very inactive and require little food. As temperatures rise the frog will become more active and need more food to fuel that activity. While ever the frog can stay damp, it will need very little actual water, but in a warm dry environment the frog will dessicate very quickly without a water body to soak in.
All a bit general I'm afraid, but maybe that means more possibility in a story?
Hope this helps. :)
 

MeganM

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It does help, thank you, Chinadog. It sounds like I can threaten the character more urgently in a hot and dry environment, but otherwise survival is flexible, which means the story can be too. Much appreciated.
 

Canecorsonewt

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Hi i have read in mn the frogs freeze solid. They stop breathing and there hart stops betting but they ar still alive.:angel: They do this for about six months :crazy:
 

michaelgrace

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I haven't heard that frog in winters can live with less water or food. Every animal whether it is related to land or water requires proper food for living. So I am not satisfied with the solution that in winters frogs require less food.
 

Sith the turtle

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If kept from hibernating in the winter, frogs will need the same amount of food and water they usually do. If trying to hibernate though, you aren't supposed to feed them for a tiny bit before hand, so they don't have any remains of food in their system before it starts to decay while their systems are "shut down" during hibernation
 
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