Their skin is kept moist by mucous glands. 'Their skin is permeable, allowing them to both breathe and drink through it,' Edmonds wrote. Some hardy types of frog, like the marine toad and White's tree frog, can tolerate short periods of handling, but it's always good to wet your hands, use a moist fish net or small container, or wear moistened vinyl gloves without powder, Edmonds advises.įrogs and toads are amphibians that start life as tadpoles. Many of the most common species are surprisingly colorful and will rival the average tropical fish in an aquarium, he said.

Keeping them in captivity provides a glimpse into the life and behavior of an animal you may otherwise never get to know,' he said. There are frogs big enough to eat snakes and birds and small enough to hide behind a grain of rice. 'All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads,' his book explains. 'The most a frog will interact with its keeper is possibly eating a cricket from your hand,' Edmonds said by email from Madagascar, where he is working on an amphibian conservation project. They don't provide the same type of enjoyment and interaction that you get from a dog, cat or even a parakeet, Edmonds said, but if you like aquariums, you will probably like frogs and toads. Edmonds is the author of 'Frogs and Toads,' a handbook for pet-owners released in March by TFH Publications, Inc.īut frogs can be good pets for the right type of person. Human hands have natural salts and oils that can irritate a frog's skin, so handling the animals with dry hands can cause severe problems for them, even death, said Devin Edmonds of Madison, Wis. Both can cause serious complications if not treated immediately, he said.

They can give humans tapeworm cysts and salmonella poisoning, said Jeremy Goodman, director of the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J. In real life, touching them can kill the creatures and cause serious problems for humans too.Īpril is National Frog Month, and while most people probably know that touching frogs and toads won't give you warts, frogs can transmit diseases.

LOS ANGELES - In the world of make-believe, kissing a frog could turn him into a prince.

Kiss the frogs