Passive mechanisms such as toe fringes contribute towards effective locomotion of lizards. The toe fringes of basilisk lizards have been hypothesized to assist their bipedal running on terrestrial and aquatic environments. This study explored how toe fringes affect the water running of basilisk lizards. Specifically, it looked into how the presence and absence of toe fringes contribute towards their kinematics and dynamics when running on water. A hydrodynamic force platform (HFP) setup was designed and developed to directly measure the exerted forces of the lizard’s strides (i.e. foot slap, stroke, and recovery) during water running. The insight gained can be channeled to the fabrication and incorporation of passive mechanism in bioinspired amphibious robots for more efficient dynamic walking and running.