Anyone a frog pond expert???

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bobbyderegis

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
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Location
Boston
Hey everyone!
I got bored one day in June and dug a little frog pond at the side of the office. I bought a black plastic form at Lowe's and put some rocks around, then put some water hyacinths and a water lily. Lo and behold, last month I saw the first little green frog sitting on one of the lily pads. So far, I have counted eight. If I approach quietly at dusk, they don't jump in the water. What I need to know is what to do before the winter freeze. I don't want the frogs to freeze to death. Also, there is no larger pond around for them to escape to. I think there were some eggs on the water lily and they must have hatched. I know they did not hop in on their own. Any ideas? Is there some type of heater I could use in the water, or should I just net them and bring them to a pond?
Bobby in Boston

8-27-2008-11-49-40--bobbyderegis.jpg
 
Heater

Hi Bobby. My brother has a fish pond in his back yard. He uses a heater in the winter. You can probably get a heater in a garden center where ponds are sold. If you need any further information on make, or where to buy, let me know.

Ray
 
Hmm. Well, the frogs must have come from somewhere - so there is a reservoir of frogs in the area that will replenish this pond each spring.

I'd have to ask some of my herpetologist friends, but as I recall frogs either burrow in the muck at the bottom of a large pond to hibernate over the winter, or in the soft dirt beside the pond. You might consider providing some deep soft sandy soil around the pond for that purpose. I wouldn't bother heating the pond, though.

It's possible that in nature the adult frogs all die and just the eggs survive the winter, at the bottom of the pond, but I'd have to check on that.

By the way, nice looking pond there.
 
Bobby not sure how many gallons of water you have, but there are heaters sold at farm supply stores that prevent the water from freezing. They are used to keep the drinking basins for livestock from freezing, I have a favorite aunt in Mo. that uses one in her little pond similar to yours. arthur
 
~p.s.- tastes like chicken (LMAO!!!)

...but smells like fish.

Means it's time for a cleaning.
So change the cooking oil in your fryer.
 
Thanks guys. I think I'll check into a little heater. Sudz, any further info would be great. To all the smart asses, these frogs are too little to eat. Two of them could fit in the palm of your hand. Tastes like chicken- yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)
Bobby in Boston
 
Depends on the frog...

Here's a good article on the subject:

Aquatic frogs such as the leopard frog(Rana pipiens) and American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) typically hibernate underwater. A common misconception is that they spend the winter the way aquatic turtles do, dug into the mud at the bottom of a pond or stream. In fact, hibernating frogs would suffocate if they dug into the mud for an extended period of time. A hibernating turtle's metabolism slows down so drastically that it can get by on the mud's meager oxygen supply. Hibernating aquatic frogs, however, must be near oxygen-rich water and spend a good portion of the winter just lying on top of the mud or only partially buried. They may even slowly swim around from time to time.

Terrestrial frogs normally hibernate on land. American toads (Bufo americanus) and other frogs that are good diggers burrow deep into the soil, safely below the frost line. Some frogs, such as the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and the spring peeper (Hyla crucifer), are not adept at digging and instead seek out deep cracks and crevices in logs or rocks, or just dig down as far as they can in the leaf litter. These hibernacula are not as well protected from frigid weather and may freeze, along with their inhabitants.

And yet the frogs do not die. Why? Antifreeze! True enough, ice crystals form in such places as the body cavity and bladder and under the skin, but a high concentration of glucose in the frog's vital organs prevents freezing. A partially frozen frog will stop breathing, and its heart will stop beating. It will appear quite dead. But when the hibernaculum warms up above freezing, the frog's frozen portions will thaw, and its heart and lungs resume activity--there really is such a thing as the living dead!

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-do-frogs-survive-wint
 
more on freezing

Sudmaster's post is correct about some frogs freezing and being able to thaw out. I could be wrong - but I don't think that Lepoard and Bullfrogs fall into this group. I have had a pond for a long time. If the water is a couple feet or more deep so that it does not freeze solid - the frogs will find a spot at the bottom and be fine. Many of my guys are 4-5 years old.
I think that the heater might disrupt their hibernation if it warms too much but some pond shops sell heaters that are just meant to prevent actual ice and not heat the water - so shop for the right kind of heater. If the frog's system is active enough to make it keep from hibernating - it may starve as there will be no food.
I sink my plants below the surface and leave a piece of wood or something sticking out to put a break in the ice formation.
I know that's tough if you pond is shallow - so you might just have to leave it and hope for the best.
 
...Ok.. so frogs don't heed a heater, don't freeze (so you can stock them in the freezer and they will always be fresh )
And you need at least 6 frogs to make a frog sandwich...

Well.... they still taste like chicken and smell like fish.

(yuck)

But I loved the cute pond. This gave me an idea to do in my balcony. a plate like that a few rocks, a submersible pump...
Of course, much bigger or the water would evaporate too quickly in our weather.
 
Any idea where a heater can be found in Boston? We don't have any farm stores that I know of. Should I leave the plants be for the winter? It will be tough to get a pic, but I'll try!
Bobby in Boston
 
Bobby-

You're rather near the state capitol.

I know that Ohio's Department of Natural Resources has experts who take phone calls, I bet Taxachusetts's might as well.

If all else fails, call the library's reference desk.

Good luck.

If you see any pink satin, tell Miss Piggy that these are too young for her!

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
I finally got a pic- I think this one was too slow, so he got scared and didn't move. Any ideas what kind of frogs these are and how I should winter them? This one is grey on top, and very bright green under the chin. There were about four on the rocks when I took the pic, but only this one froze.
Bobby in Boston (with his frogs)

9-9-2008-08-02-41--bobbyderegis.jpg
 
Heater

Bobby, I will check with my brother, (the landscape architecht). He probably know of websites that carry these.

He says they should be fine throughout the winter with a heater. I will get back to you

Ray
 
Heartwarming Aquatic Life Form Story

I got a pond turtle about eight years ago. Her name is Demi (because the way she'll just hangs at an angle in the water, paddling in the water, kind of round, lookin' atcha).

Last May she disappeared. This happens periodically, and since the pond is on a raised area of the garden that she can't climb, I usually find her in a few days wandering around, or in a smaller below ground pond.

Well, I looked all over for months and couldn't find her. It's hot and dry here in the summer, so I knew she couldn't eat or drink unless she wound up back in one of the ponds. So I assumed she was dead.

Labor Day morning I went out to feed the fish in the small below ground pond, and there was the turtle! Looking at me!

I lifted her up, did a rough gauge of her weight (she'd lost quite a bit) and put her back in the big pond. Been feeding her bits of raw chicken breast to nurse her back to health, along with a more balanced dry koi food. She's gradually reviving, coming to the side of the pond to be fed, as before.

My zoologist friend says she may have been "estivating", which is a way reptiles and amphibians have of enduring hot dry weather. They burrow under soft soil or leaves and slow down their metabolism until it rains or gets cooler. I hadn't heard of turtles doing this but it's a logical explanation for why she didn't die in four months without access to water. (pond turtles need water to eat).

I didn't think I'd formed much of an attachment but I was really saddened when I thought that she'd wandered off and died from thirst or starvation or worse, been eaten by a raccoon. So it's very nice to have her back in the big pond, safe and sound.

Yeah, gotta work on the little "turtle fence" around the big pond, so she can't get out again.
 
Bobby,

Can't tell for sure,but it looks like it's a bronze subspecies of the green frog, Rana clamitans. Might also be a "mink frog".

If it sounds like a loose banjo string being plucked, it's probably the green frog.
 

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