How do you determine sex of frogs?

Im a big snake guy, and I just got a new Southern Hognose, and it eats frogs, It just finished shedding so i am trying to feed it frogs I just caught 4 new frogs, but they are to big for my snake to eat so i am trying to breed them, BUT im not sure if i even have opposite sexes. 2 of them are lighter colors than the others. Im not sure what kind they are since i have no clue about frogs, but they look like common yard frogs or toads. They are about the size of a Dollar coin. THANK YOU VERY MUCH


Mike

I keep several species of tropical frogs, and I'll assume the same goes for our native Virginian froggies. Females are bigger, and do not call. Likely there is no color difference.

In the dark, mist them with a spray bottle filled with good drinking water. Then listen...this always gets my males a-singing.

Thank You.

I would be very cautious of feeding wild caught frogs (or their offspring) to your snake. they can carry a vast array of worms and parisites that you dont want your snakes ingesting. also you might want to post up some pictures of the type of frog you are using as a feeder, because the snakes might eat a certain species of frog in the wild, but this one is most likley not the same and could be toxic (most frogs do carry some varing degree of toxin)

Actually... there are a lot of potential ways to determine the gender of frogs and toads. Not every way will easily apply to every species and some directly contradict the "common rules" but...

Females are usually bigger, as was noted... There are examples where this is blatantly false (pyxies are an easy one but there's deviation within individuals in any population and other species where the reverse is true).

Males tend to be more vocal than females, as was also noted. This doesn't mean that anything failing to call is automatically a female or that females are incapable of vocalizations. In fact, many females will vocalize when stressed, hurt or frightened and most males will only call when seasonally conditioned to breed, so this is of limited use. If you have a potential breeder calling frequently it's probably a male, but non-calling isn't a guarantee for females. Associated with this... males for some species have a discolored patch under the chin, where it expands for calling.

Witnessing amplexus in animals which are likely a pair is a pretty good sign as well, although some species or conditions will make this utterly useless.

Nuptual pads are a great indicator in animals which have been conditioned to breed. The males develop a rougher patch, almost like a callous, on the front feet to assist them in gripping the female in most species. This is again one of the conditions which is only useful when it develops, but is the most reliable method when more obvious dimorphism is not present.

Egg production... Females produce eggs, occassionally in captivity with minimal cycling, there doesn't have to be a male present. There's an associated bulking up and weight gain which is a good indicator and sometimes the eggs can even be forced out with gentle and appropriate pressure (don't try it unless you know what you're doing)- again this is a highly conditional indicator.