To prevent this, melt the ice from time to time by standing a saucepan of hot water on it. In a severe winter, frogs may die if the pond remains frozen for a long time: toxic gases such as methane build up from decaying vegetation, and cannot escape because of the ice. This can cause the spread of invasive non-native plants and diseases that damage frogs and other wildlife.įrogs hibernate at the bottom of ponds, under old logs, in stone walls or in compost heaps. You should not collect spawn from the wild or move frogs or frog spawn from garden ponds into the countryside. It takes about 3 weeks for tadpoles to emerge from the spawn and a further 12 weeks before they become mature froglets. ![]() During the breeding season, common frogs do not feed at all.ĭuring mating, the smaller male clings onto the female ready to fertilise the spawn as soon as it is laid.įrog spawn is laid in large clumps in shallow water. Tadpoles live on algae in the pond, and only become carnivores as they mature. Frog colonies tend to be fairly small, so they can exist quite easily in garden ponds.įrogs feed on insects, snails, slugs and worms. Frogs usually return to the same pond every year. This can be good news for the gardener, as they eat a number of insect pests. It has been estimated that nearly 50% of frogs in Britain live in garden ponds. Garden ponds are becoming an increasingly important refuge for frogs forced out of their old habitats. Frogs are excellent swimmers, using their powerful hind-legs, which on land are frequently used for leaping up to six or seven times their own length. ![]() A frog’s back is raised, with two ridges down each side.įrogs can be found in or near almost any standing body of water, from ponds to ditches and lakes, though they are rarely seen in water outside the breeding season. It has webbed hind-feet and a smooth, moist, slimy skin. It can be brown, grey, pink or yellow, with darker blotches all over.
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