To be perfectly frank, this is a very broad question, so the direct answer of whether or not snakes eat frogs is, “It depends.” The fact is that snakes do indeed eat frogs, some snakes that is. And, some frogs actually eat snakes too.

Let’s take a deeper look at the various scenarios and see how this might affect you as a snake mama or papa.

Wild Snakes

Nature is a harsh place. It’s truly survival of the fittest for pretty much every animal you can imagine, regardless of if they are predator or prey. Even apex predators have to compete for resources with others of their species.

Bigger, strong and faster predators will catch more prey than weaker predators. Craftier prey will evade more predators than less crafty prey. Snakes are no different. In fact, snakes living in the wild tend to have much shorter lifespans that those raised in captivity.

Add the fact that since all snakes are carnivores, they cannot fall back on plants as a food source if they cannot find or capture prey. They don’t have the option to be very picky in their eating habits.

In the wild snakes will eat all kinds of animals including but not limited to rodents insects, fish, other snakes and yes, even frogs.

Captive Snakes

Captive snakes, like those kept in zoos and as pets, don’t have the same problem with always needing to try and find their next meal. Their food is often delivered on a schedule and provided right in front of them, no real hunting required.

Most people stick to using basic feeders, like mice and rats. So, captive snakes don’t often eat frogs.

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While your pet snake has the ability to consume and digest frogs, it just doesn’t make sense to do so. First, sourcing frogs instead of rodents is not going to be an easy task and it will most likely cost you more money that it’s worth. Next, you don’t want to rely on wild caught frogs as they are not safe due to potentially having parasites.

To answer the root question, yes your pet snake can eat frogs. That doesn’t mean it should though.

Wild Frogs

While we learned above that snakes can eat frogs, that doesn’t mean frogs are a defenseless prey. As we mentioned earlier, nature is an unforgiving place. It doesn’t matter what type of animal you are, you do what you need to in order to survive.

In the case of wild frogs, that means eating whatever they can get into the mouth and swallow. Since they are carnivores, all things that fall into the animal kingdom are at risk, so snakes are fair game.

There is even this photo of a baby snake trying to escape the mouth of a wild frog that went viral.

Captive Frogs

While pet frogs certainly have the biology to consume snakes as food, it doesn’t really make sense to do so. There are plenty of reasons on why you would not want to feed your frog snakes. 

First, snakes are not easy prey, babies or not. Any live snake can really hurt any frog, especially a captive one. Next, it’s not an economical choice. There are plenty of better options for frog feeders than small snakes. 

You will be much better off feeding your pet frog insects like crickets and worms like meal worms from reliable pet shops. 

Conclusion

Do snakes eat frogs? Yes, they can and do, especially in nature. They will also eat toads though this can be more risky due to the fact that many toads secrete toxins from their skin. That being said, you should not be using frogs or toads as feeders for your pet snake. And, frogs are not defenseless prey animals. They too are carnivorous and will eat small snakes in a natural setting.