Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations frogs and toads

I have been working on. My pond and reading threads on Pond Boss. I don't think my pond is healthy enough for fish yet, but I would like to encourage frogs, toads, amphibians etc.

How do I bring more in and what are the differences and issues and things to consider.

Can you buy frog eggs or do u need to go find them?

JWF,

How close is the nearest other BOW....stream, river, pond, etc. to your pond? My pond is probably 3 to 4 hundred yards from a creek. Toads and Leopard frogs showed up the first spring. My toads showed up first. Their tadpoles are easy to identify. They are black and only about 1/2 inch long with tail and body about the same length. The frog tadpoles are bigger and lighter in color with tails longer than the bodies. I had way more toadpoles than frogpoles.

Bill D.

4-500 meters with a lot of elevation change. Why?

If your pond provides a habitat to their liking, they should come on there own, especially toads. Give it a month or two and you will probably see tadpoles in the shallows.

Marginal plants will help with frogs and toads as protective cover. Do you plan to have any "natural" edge on your pond. Amphibians do best in fish-free bodies of water, but they will show up and make a home either way. Having a shallow fish-free body of water (wetland) near your pond is great for wildlife, especially amphibians, even if it only holds water part of the year. Post pictures if you can.

Trust me, you will be amazed when conditions are right how many frogs and toads show up! The first spring our pond was full after filling in the winter, I was working on our dock in the evening. Suddenly there were toads coming out of the woodwork! Hundreds of them making their way to the pond like they could smell it.
After the toads, came the trill of tree frogs, and after that the green frogs and leopard frogs. Then the bulls...

No worries, they will be there in abundance soon enough!

I live in the country now where we have a boreal swamp on our property. We love listening for the first peps of frogs in the spring and they come out very early, sometimes even when there is still some frost in the ground. They have been out this year for at least 2 weeks and are in full chorus.

We are moving onto town to a property with a 0.12 acre pond. I have been over there working on the pond and the property getting ready for a move when we sell the country place. However, I have not seen or heard any substantial evidence of frogs as yet.

I wonder if I should go get a few gallons of swamp water and transport it to the city pond... to prime the pump so to speak.

Comments?

Hey JWF,

We love the sound as well. IMHO Make sure there are frog eggs or tadpoles in that water you haul to the new pond if you want to take the sound with you!

Bill D.

Today at the pond there are more toads than I have ever seen! They are everywhere and the sound is incredible. There are so many swimming back and forth across the pond I may have to hire a harbor master to direct traffic! Great news for me. From my experience, their little toadpoles have a voracious appetite for FA!