Frog in my backyard pond!

[Otterwoman]

Here is a pic of my backyard pond with a little froggie who came to live there!
So it's true, "if you build it, they will come."
I'm not a frogophile, so I have no idea what kind of frog this is. But it's cute!

I was going to put it in "field herping" but since my backyard is a garden and not a field, I put it here.
(joke)


The picture of the pond is from last month, to get an idea of the size (antique bathtub). The froggie I snapped today.

[Ryan]

Neat, maybe you'll have some tadpoles sometime! I'd say its a green frog, Rana clamitans but I'm no "Frogophile" either but that is what it looks like.

I have yet to see any amphibians in my backyard pond except for the 1 dozen tadpoles we bought . Hopefully something will come. There are predacious divining beetles and backswimmers which are cool.

[Kaysie]

That's definitely NOT R. clamitans.

My guess is a young southern leopard frog.

[Otterwoman]

He's still there, and now there are two. They're so much fun, I see them every day, and I hear them croaking all the time. I can hear them croaking from inside my house because my windows are always open.
They decided to take some air today so I got pictures of their whole bodies. "Big Guy" (as I've named him) is on the edge of the tub, more noticeable, and "Little Guy" is on a floating pond ornament. They are both visible in the second picture if you look hard. Big Guy on the right edge, and Little Guy in the front right corner of the tub.

[Jay]

Very cool, very nice pond as well. I have been finding some common eastern toads lately, it seems every once in a while Ill be looking for some cool creatures and cant ever find nothing, than later in the week Il be minding my own buisness and these guys come out of the wood work when I least expect it. For instance last night I was takeing the trash to my dumpster and one faily large one jumped right out in front of me with a loud chirp kinda like, HAHA I SCARED YOU. Then he looked at me and hopped away.

I say green, leopards usually have a more narrow snout not? It may be a northern but it also lacks from what I can see the line along each side of his back. And in the one shot he seems kinda "robust"

The robust shot almost reminds me of a Bull Frog but I doubt that, well almost.

Hope you dont mind.

[Jay]

It actually looks as if you have a bull frog and a green.

[Kaysie]

Bullfrogs lack the fold of skin that runs between the eye and the 'hip'. This second set of pictures are both of green frogs (which is not the same as the first set).

Green frogs usually breed later in the summer than leopard frogs, so it's possible that you've had more frogs visit than you think.

Also: that should be Big Guy and Little Girl. In R. clamitans, the male tympanum (the 'ear drum' behind the eye) is larger than the eye, while the female has a tympanum smaller than the eye. You've got a probable mating pair, so chances are, you'll be a 'grandma' soon.

[Carl & Jennifer]

I envy you sooo much!

I wish my garden was nice enough and close enough to the country side to attract beautiful wildlife.

Great pictures!

[Jay]

Bullfrogs lack the fold of skin that runs between the eye and the 'hip'. This second set of pictures are both of green frogs (which is not the same as the first set).

Ahh I was not thinking about that but as I look even more I see "some" nice green behind his ear. But he must be a big boy wow, I didnt think they ever got that robust. I dont see any that big around here in E. PA. Get ready for some noise...lol

[Otterwoman]

Comparing the photos, I think you're right Kaysie, they are different frogs. But there wouldn't be any egglaying until the spring, right? And I was thinking of dumping out the pond for the winter and putting the plants indoors in buckets. I was told a cast-iron bathtub could crack during the winter unless it were emptied or almost emptied. Now what do I do?

More larvae? What, is my property some kind of fertility zone? All the salamander larvae I've dealt with this season and now this!
No more Pagan dancing in my yard!

[Julia]

What lovely pictures of the frog and garden..kinda want to come and explore!
My pond had a number of frogs this year but the stinky cats got the mature adults ( they screech like rabbits do when they are being attacked...makes my blood run cold!!), but there are a few yearlings running amock which means I end up cutting the grass with shears..especially when its gotten so long lately. My mums garden has a crazy ammount of frogs..any tiny speck of water lures in hundreds of mating frogs, she blames me as I raised a batch when i was about 8( she also balmes me for the snails a 'raised as well). I do like frogs... :]

[Kaysie]

Green frogs aren't necessarily green. They come in green, brown, and occasionally blue. They also get nearly as large as bullfrogs, large enough to eat small mice and birds. They also have the ugliest call. It sounds like a bad out of tune banjo *GLUNK!*

Dawn, green frogs and bullfrogs lay eggs in late summer. Sometimes their tadpoles overwinter as larvae (and get BIG!). I can't suggest anything. Maybe transplant them to the closest water (where the other frogs would be going). But do NOT put them where there aren't any green frogs. The adults are voracious!

[Jay]

It sounds like a bad out of tune banjo *GLUNK!*

Sure is, I hear it all the time when Im fishing, sounds like your pulling the string on a home made rubber band box guitar. But rarely do I ever see them around here big enough to eat birds WOW, maybe I do at a glance and just figgure they are bullfrogs as they splash in the water. That was interesting to know and so is the fact they come in blue. Thanks for shareing that info, Im going out with my rod and uhh going...fishing.

Dawn is your pond filterd?

[Otterwoman]

Nope, no filter. Nothing in there but water, plants, and frogs. But there are a LOT of plants, they must be filtering. Oh, and snails!!! Lots and lots of snails that I take from my fishtank and instead of killing them or just throwing them into the garden, I put them in there. Then I don't have to feel guilty about sending them to their doom.

I think when it comes time to dumping it, I'll put the water in buckets and take them to the nearest pond, I know one about 1 1/2 miles from here where I would go with a brine shrimp net to get food for my larvae.

[Ryan]

Dawn, There is now a lot of frogs in my pond. Some days there's 5 other days there is 7. My pond is the same way, no filter. Maybe in the spring I'll get some spotted sals to breed in there. There is one fish but it is small and I don't think it will make it through the winter.

[Otterwoman]

Hey Ryan, can you post a pic of your pond?

did you get my pm about spotted salamanders a few weeks ago?

[Otterwoman]

Today I dumped the pond out (I was told that it could crack in the winter if it froze). I put the plants in a container to overwinter them. I found three frogs in a state of torpor, and a goldfish! I had put two goldfish in there in June, when I had enough with the mosquitoes. I thought they had died. It's in a Kritter Keeper for now. I might keep it and put it in next year, or give it to a friend with a koi pond. I didn't find any tadpoles.

The frogs I brought to a pond within a mile of my house (as the crow flies) and let them go. I know that there are many frogs living in that pond; that's where I collected daphnia and other teensy foods when my newt larvae were really small. One of the frogs stopped and sat in the water and looked at me for a minute. Remembering the fairy tale of the man who caught a fish, who offered him three wishes if he'd let him go, I took a chance and made a wish. Then he swam away. I'll let you all know if I win the MegaMillions lottery.

[ragon]

we have a HUGE pondin our backyard we made ourselves.this is an adorable idea.so are the frogs.I have seen on tv some one made a pond out of a pool!

[Otterwoman]

The pond is all set up again; I cleaned up my yard; I found a frog that overwintered in a kiddie-pool of wood for my firepit, that got full of water! I brought him to the pond and he's made himself at home. Here's been there for four days now.
So here's my first frog of the season. He's so pretty! Kind of iridescent, and all the different colors on his throat.

You can see him sitting on the base of the flowerpot in the middle.

[Kaysie]

Yeah... I dunno what that one is. Based on shape, I'd again go with green frog, but I've never seen one so bronze. Very pretty.