Talkback: Frogs, frogspawn, slugs and cats - Talkback

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05/03/2008 at 09:23

We also have lots of frogs in our garden & spring traffic is very busy in our pond. We had to make a smaller pond for the frog spawn as our fish were eating all the tadpoles. Sadly however, this year I have found two dead frogs in my garden, with no visable injuries from cats etc I am concerned it could be something worse, like a disease. I hope not, as I have been looking after the tadpoles over the past few years to build up an army of frogs to eat the army of slugs we have in our garden.

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05/03/2008 at 09:23

We also have lots of frogs in our garden & spring traffic is very busy in our pond. We had to make a smaller pond for the frog spawn as our fish were eating all the tadpoles. Sadly however, this year I have found two dead frogs in my garden, with no visible injuries from cats etc I am concerned it could be something worse, like a disease. I hope not, as I have been looking after the tadpoles over the past few years to build up an army of frogs to eat the army of slugs we have in our garden.

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05/03/2008 at 13:16

i also have a pond in my garden with lots of frogs and toads in it i also have a small waterfall in the pond so that help to circulate the water keeping it fresh i dont know if this is unusual but last year i noticed a white frog in my garden i also get surprised by the fact that so many people are afraid of these harmless creatures more so woman

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06/03/2008 at 12:42

Its a funny year here in East Cornwall. My garden helper had frog spawn in her pond before Christmas! My pond normally seethes with frogs and croaks in late January/early February but this year nothing. Admittedly it was difficult to see water for pond weed at that time! Now having cleared that we have suddenly had a small number of frogs in late February and two largish clumps of spawn. Since we learn that frogs return to their spawning ground and last year we exported a large number of froglets I wonder if the frogs took one look at our weeds and opted for somewhere else - any suggestions?

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06/03/2008 at 19:18

I've just got a cat. Can anyone tell me if they go for frogs as we have loads in our pond!

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07/03/2008 at 17:45

23 frogs were counted in my small pond this feb a large amount of frog spawn has been left i noticed though the local dewponds and ditches have a lot less than usual and some of it is opaque is this diseased or blasted by very icy conditions? will it hatch? its a slightly sad reflection that my fishfree but very small pond is apparently considered a prime location by frogs though i live in a rural area last year i saw tadpoles in a pond in a cement surrounded yard in front of llandrindod council offices despite having to negotiate several busy roads i presume this was the best site available

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13/03/2008 at 23:37

Sadly I have to say to Melanie that yes cats are the biggest predators of frogs. I've made a series of nice hiding places for frogs all around the walls of my garden - hidden log-piles, old pots etc behind thick shrubs that my cat can't get her paws into. And the frogs have survived in my garden - I was thrilled for the very first time this year to find frogspawn freshly laid in my tiny pond (an old washing up bowl) but worried that it was protruding out of the water as it was laid inside a pot of water reeds. I was wondering if I should try to take the spawn off the reeds and submerge it in water. If anyone has advice I would welcome it.

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17/03/2008 at 22:32

Frogs...I don't want to see what i have witnessed this year the frogs so frantic in their mating have been suffocating the fish...which were on average about 8" long and I have had them 3 years. I also have found dead and bloated frogs...so i have transported the spawn down to a brooke...that may be bigger for their needs...are there nasty type frogs or toads about.?

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18/03/2008 at 18:23

we have found loads of frogspawn, very proud. but worried about the arctic blast expected this week end, is there anything i can do to protect it??

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21/03/2008 at 23:30

I'm like a new grandmother, I'm so excited to find frogspawn in our garden pond this morning. We've been worried about the double-decker male on female for the last two weeks or so, with another two males in close attendance in case she suffocated. But she has rewarded us wonderfully. We have only a few 'planted' aquatic plants in there and need some oxygenating plants but they are expensive in the garden centre to get more than a couple of sprigs. Has anyone any suggestions for a quick way of providing any good oxygenating plant which is quick to spread but not expensive? Also how can we best protect the spawn and tadpoles from predators?

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13/04/2008 at 20:52

Could anyone tell me why, when I leant over our frogspawn in the pond the male on guard shot forward with a croak toward me and legs outstretched, appeared to be dying before my very eyes, as if it were his last breath! I watched for a good five minutes whilst I saw his heart beat pulsate slower & slower and then stop... making sure I reached for a twig and gently touched him and sure enough lifeless. Then I returned 10 minutes later and... it had miraculously restored to a normal healthy looking frog with its legs underneath as they always look!Please can anyone tell me why?

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21/04/2008 at 14:33

We have had lots of frogspawn laid in the pond this year, some with black eggs and some with white, which I thought hadn't been fertilised. But I was wrong the white ones are wriggling like the black ones. Has anyone any idea if they will grow into normal frogs or what has caused this?

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08/05/2008 at 21:24

I would really like some frogs or spawn for my pond I'm not sure ifI'm too late to get some spawn...does anyone know if i am ?

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16/05/2008 at 19:38

I have successfully reared some tadpoles, rescued from a friends pond - she has fish and they always seem to eat the frogspawn. Anyway, they have grown and now 2 have turned into baby frogs. I have given them a shelf, they have live dahpne in the water, and plants, but I would like to release them. Do they need a pond? I have a small brook in the garden, but it flows quite quickly. I dont want to release them if they cant look after themselves. Do I have to keep them captive now?

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21/05/2008 at 11:05

Hi Jenny, is the tub you're keeping them in outside? If not, I would just put it outside in a sheltered spot, and cover a section so the baby frogs can hide from birds, who might try to eat them. Make sure the frogs have a few stones in the tub so they can get in an out easily, then they'll come and go as they please, and may choose to head for the brook, or stay around in your garden for a while. You could also make a small pond in a container, which the frogs might prefer. Good luck!

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24/05/2008 at 13:42

We've got some tadpoles that have hatched in a bucket - I'm really excited! We don't have a pond in our garden - I think a frog must have jumped in the bucket to lay the frogspawn. Can anyone give me advice on how to look after them? What do I need to feed them? Is there anything else I need to add to the bucket? Also, how can I keep next door's cats away?

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26/06/2008 at 19:47

Is it too late this year to find frogspawn. I have a new pond that needs some life.

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26/06/2008 at 22:57

3 very good points for credible information and advice on frogs are: www.froglife.org and www.pondconversation.org.uk From them esp. froglife you will read advice on dead frogs and fungus. Also that frogspawn and tadpoles should not be moved from one pond to another, because of the possibility of passing on disease.

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18/08/2008 at 18:46

i have two ponds in my garden . full of frogs and toads. i also have a cat .the cat spends all day chasing the frogs all day .into the plants .and even siting by the pond whaching the fish and the frogs .ihave never nowen him to get one yet.

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11/09/2008 at 11:12

When I first made a wildlife pond my cat Jack was fascinated. He often caught them and made them squeal but they didn't seem harmed at all apart from fright. He brought one into the kitchen and put it on the floor where it feigned death - until I took it to the side of the pond. It promptly came back from the dead and jumped in. The facination wore of after a few months and he never bothers with them now. They hop past him without suffering so much as a flick of the paw. Maybe they don't taste so good.

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