Determining sex of California toad & pacific tree frog

[busytiredmom4]

I have a 5 month old Pacific Tree Frog that I've raised since a tadpole. I've determined her to be female since her throat is white and she measures slightly larger than a male. I've been having doubts in the last few weeks and was hoping for some help...

1. Her throat is very white 90% of the time, but I notice if she hasn't eaten that day, it will darken. I've read that it's normal and due to some sort of deficiency. It also goes back to being white immediately after eating. When the throat does darken, it's not very dark, just noticeable enough...Has anyone else experienced this or heard of it and if so, do I need to do anything different? My frogs eat daily (flies, crickets, and other bugs except for beetles) so she's not going hungry...

2. If her throat darkening isn't from a deficiency, could she be male? (I attached a close up pic but the picture makes it look darker than it really is. It's slightly darker right by her bottom lip but I've seen pics of male tree frogs and it's brown almost to their belly.

3. My supposed female tree frog croaks day and night. Her throat barely even puffs out, unlike the males. It just started a week ago and I confirmed it's her and not my toad. It's a dainty "crek-crek" but it doesn't sound like a warning croak towards my toad (in same cage), even though every time I've seen/heard her croak, my toad is near her, but not bothering her at all. I was thinking she's just very vocal and there's always a lot of noise and commotion. Her cage sits right stop our TV in the busiest room in our home, which may contribute to the croaking since I know females don't really do it.

Now on to my California toad, who's approx. 5-6 months old and was found by a lake...

We're having a hard time determining sex of Spotty. He's got dainty thin fingers and legs, his belly is pure white with the black speckles and he's got yellow pads on all fingers. His skin is tight and the throat is as well. I've seen pics of male California toads and they look very different from him. They've got looser skin and the throat is more puffed out. And it's never croaked for any reason. (I've attached pics)

If anyone can give me a clue, not because it matters either way, but because I hate not knowing and it's driving me crazy LOL. Any help would be appreciated. Also if you need a better pic, I can take a better one with my kids' help. Thanks!

[Greg M]

If your Pacific Treefrog (chorus frog, actually) calls, then it is a male. Females don't call. Five months post-metamorphosis is quite young - the throat will darken over time and the call will mature. My males usually took about a year post-metamorphosis to really develop the call and dark throat...

The toad is probably too young to sex...

[Poly]

I replied to this exact same thread in the "Tree Frogs" section, I was kinda confused when I seen it again without my reply! Haha

[busytiredmom4]

If your Pacific Treefrog (chorus frog, actually) calls, then it is a male. Females don't call. Five months post-metamorphosis is quite young - the throat will darken over time and the call will mature. My males usually took about a year post-metamorphosis to really develop the call and dark throat...

The toad is probably too young to sex...

Greg,

Thank you so much for your reply...I was thinking tree frog is male after more thought. Females do croak, but it's uncommon and they would only do it more at night, etc. Hoppy (tree frog) is calling more and more frequently, day and night and the ONLY times it does it is when toad is in view. Toad is minding his own business and not bothering Hoppy, but I'm thinking if Hoppy is male, she's calling to him, instead of her calling being a "leave me alone" call. They've been in same tank for 2 months and they're same age. They get along fine so is it possible for tree frogs to start calling for mate around 5-6 months old? Also, yes, you're right...Hoppy's throat is darkening over time, although not so pronounced that I know for sure the sex. Wish there was an easier way like lifting up the tail on a cat to determine sex LOL. Also, what kind of toad is on your profile? Do you also have California toad? If so, is that how big they can get? spotty (toad) is 5-6 months old and doubled in size in a month. He's about 1 3/4 inches snout to vent and tree frog is about 1 1/4 inches. When we found toad at lake in late August, he was only about 1 inch. Thanks so much!

[Poly]

Greg, If so, is that how big they can get? spotty (toad) is 5-6 months old and doubled in size in a month. He's about 1 3/4 inches snout to vent and tree frog is about 1 1/4 inches. When we found toad at lake in late August, he was only about 1 inch. Thanks so much!

You have a sub-species of the Anaxyrus boreas (Western toad). They range in size from .5"-1" as juveniles to 3"-4" as adults.