What is frog slime?

In Darcy Moon and the Deep-Fried Frogs, Jumpy’s family and friends are frognapped for their tasty breathing mucus.

This is obviously a fictitious story, but a small part of it is based on fact.

Do you know what part????

Babadaboom, that’s right!

Frogs produce MUCUS!

What is frog mucus?

It is a special type of slime that frogs secrete to keep their skin moist.

It is important for frogs’ skin to remain moist because frogs BREATHE through their SKIN.

The mucus that frogs secrete traps moisture next to the skin. This moisture then transfers oxygen (from either water or air) into the frog’s body.

This process is called cutaneous gas exchange.

If the frog dries out, it will suffocate.

Do frogs always breathe through their skin, or just when they are underwater?

Adult frogs ALWAYS breathe through their skin, even when they are on land.

Frogs are amphibians, which means that they spend part of their life in water, and part on land.

They begin life as tadpoles, taking in oxygen through their skin and gills.

When they turn into adult frogs they lose their gills and grow lungs, but still breathe continuously through their skin, even when on land.

When a frog is under water its lungs are useless and it breathes entirely through its skin.

Sometimes, when a frog is out of water hybernating or being inactive, it gets all the oxygen it needs from its skin alone.

But when a frog is leaping around eating bugs it needs more oxygen and uses its lungs to catch its breath.

In order to pump oxygen into the lungs, the frog draws air through the nostrils by a movement of the throat, which is why it puffs out.

Frog skin facts.