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Spring peeper Facts

Spring peeper Facts
Spring peeper is small frog that belongs to the group of chorus frogs. There are 2 subspecies of spring peeper that can be found in the southeastern parts of Canada and eastern parts of the USA. Spring peeper inhabits woodlands, grasslands, marshes and areas near the ponds. Draining of wetlands represents the greatest threat for the survival of spring peepers in the wild. All populations of spring peepers are stable except those in Iowa and Kansas, which are classified as threatened.
Interesting Spring peeper Facts:
Spring peeper can reach 1 to 1.5 inches in length and 0.11 to 0.18 ounces of weight. Females are slightly larger than males.
Spring peeper has beige or brown colored body with dark, X-shaped mark on the back. Females are slightly lighter in color.
Spring peeper has tiny body and partially webbed feet with large toe pads which facilitate climbing on the trees.
Spring peeper spends majority of life on the forest floor (terrestrial animal).
Spring peeper is nocturnal creature (active during the night).
Spring peeper is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet is based on beetles, ants, flies, mosquitoes and spiders.
Natural enemies of spring peepers are large frogs, fish, birds, skunks and snakes.
Spring peeper hides in the mud or in deep water during the summer to avoid extremely high temperatures.
Spring peeper hibernates during the winter, hidden under the logs, piles of leaves or loose bark of trees. It can survive almost complete freezing of the body thanks to glycerol (substance produced in the body), which acts like an anti-freeze that prevents mechanical damage of cells.
Name "spring peeper" refers to loud, sleigh bell-like calls which males produce at the beginning of the spring.
Males have large vocal sacs that look like balloons when they are inflated. They produce short, high-pitched, peeping calls (around 90 calls over a period of 4 hours) during the night to attract females. Females choose the right partner for mating by the speed of calls (older, stronger males produce fast calls, young males produce slow calls).
Mating season of spring peepers takes place from March to June in the northern parts and from October to March in the southern parts of their range.
After successful fertilization, female wraps 800 to 1.000 eggs around aquatic plants in the shallow pools. Spring peepers do not show parental care (eggs are left on their own). Tadpoles emerge from eggs 6 to 12 days after fertilization.
Tadpoles feed on algae, detritus and zooplankton until they transform into young frogs. Process of metamorphosis lasts 90 to 100 days. Spring peepers reach sexual maturity at the age of one year but they rarely breed before they reach the age of 3 years.
An average lifespan of spring peeper in the wild is 3 years.


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