Hi there,

We're building a frog pond on our rural property. It'll be in semi shade
and about 2.5M x 1.5M. Just using a poly liner with rocks around the edge
etc.

Any hints on attracting the little critters once its finished ?



--
Pat Robinson
Macleay River Valley
Australia

Remove UNDIES to reply...

"I got a hundred & fifty acres in the valley...."
"Got a hundred & fifty acres that I love..."

Pat,

From all I've heard, they just turn up. It may take a while, but on a
"rural" property that should be a short while.

Make sure the pond is not too sterile - the taddies need some
decomposing scrunge to eat. I've found they prefer quiet water, so not
too big a pump if you decide to have one at all.

The BIG rule is that you should never import frogs from somewhere else -
even somewhere quite close. This helps spread the frog-destructo virus.

Mozzies can be a problem. A couple of small native fish will help here,
but in my experience, they will also eat the frog spawn and the tiny
taddies. Check out the web for appropriate species which won't stuff up
the local creeks if they happen to get loose.

Ensure there's a "ramp" or an easy slope for the frogs to leave the
water if they want.

Kookas love frogs, so make sure there's plenty of hiding places, surface
weed cover, etc.

There's so much I could say about cats and/or some cat owners, too, but
I won't.

Finally, when they frogs have gathered, don't whinge about all the
noise! It can be very therapeutic.

M

g'day pat,

yep they'll pretty much find it by themselves may take a bit, but then
you'll have frogs a-plenty. the cane toads will also find it if you
live in the areas they like to habitat in.

native guppies and silver clouds will look after the mossie larva for
you there is also a shrimp available, and be sure that they have ways
of climbing out of the water when they mature.

you can use cooked up lettuce leaves to feed the tad's if extra food
is needed.

have fun

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://home.dnet.aunz.com/gardnlen/

Easiest way I know to attract a green tree frog or two;

Take your loo pedestal out of your house, and move it near the pond still
hooked up. I garantuee at least a couple of the green barstards (within a
week or so) will be clogging up the flush like nobody's business. It has to
be a loo that people use regularly, as they like scaring people as well....

Toiletto Frogoli, our Italian bum-patting resident(Litoria Caerulea) will
not budge out of our loo. He has a long list of bums he has patted(pretty
sure I have seen a tally on the side of the loo), and subsequent screams of
surprise\shock\horror. Every day, he seems to be able wedge himself that
little bit further up the pipe from the reservoir, and block the flush (his
ultimate goal, we think). Enticements of much cleaner and more convenient
(for everyone) water just dont interest him. Threats with the Toilet brush
make him chitter like he's possessed, and he usually takes a flying leap out
of the bowl, and hides behind the rubbish bin. However, and hour later, he
will be back in residence, awaiting the next confrontation.
Every so often Toiletto goes on holidays, and gets his mama in to keep the
loo occupied. She's larger. fatter, and more intimidating than Toiletto, but
doesnt pat backsides. However, she is large enough to wedge her legs against
both sides of the bowl, and glare at you as you vainly try to flush her
away...

A good indicator that wet weather is imminent is when the toilet starts
croaking....Very good acoustics!

We lost a pressure pump motor at our shearing shed dam last year; a loud
bang, and molten sparks flying out the back end when the switch was turned
on. Dissassembly found 28 Desert Tree Frogs (Litoria Rubella) had crawled
through the air vent and into the winding for somewhere quiet to sleep away
the day. We have also lost a computer power supply the same way, due to one
of these enterprising little cherubs crawling through the air vent. We have
also lost 3 main circuit boards on our large split system aircon to green
tree frogs before I finally found all the holes. Mitsubishi wouldnt believe
us about short circuits on the third board ($430!).

I thought I lived in a bloody desert.....

They certainly make life interesting. That said; I wouldnt get rid of them
for the world.

Cheers,

Rod..... Out Back.



"Pat Robinson" wrote in message
...
Hi there,

We're building a frog pond on our rural property. It'll be in semi shade
and about 2.5M x 1.5M. Just using a poly liner with rocks around the edge
etc.

Any hints on attracting the little critters once its finished ?



--
Pat Robinson
Macleay River Valley
Australia

Remove UNDIES to reply...

"I got a hundred & fifty acres in the valley...."
"Got a hundred & fifty acres that I love..."

Rod Out back wrote:

Easiest way I know to attract a green tree frog or two;

Take your loo pedestal out of your house, and move it near the pond still
hooked up. I garantuee at least a couple of the green barstards (within a
week or so) will be clogging up the flush like nobody's business. It has to
be a loo that people use regularly, as they like scaring people as well....

Toiletto Frogoli, our Italian bum-patting resident(Litoria Caerulea) will
not budge out of our loo. He has a long list of bums he has patted(pretty
sure I have seen a tally on the side of the loo), and subsequent screams of
surprise\shock\horror. Every day, he seems to be able wedge himself that
little bit further up the pipe from the reservoir, and block the flush (his
ultimate goal, we think). Enticements of much cleaner and more convenient
(for everyone) water just dont interest him. Threats with the Toilet brush
make him chitter like he's possessed, and he usually takes a flying leap out
of the bowl, and hides behind the rubbish bin. However, and hour later, he
will be back in residence, awaiting the next confrontation.
Every so often Toiletto goes on holidays, and gets his mama in to keep the
loo occupied. She's larger. fatter, and more intimidating than Toiletto, but
doesnt pat backsides. However, she is large enough to wedge her legs against
both sides of the bowl, and glare at you as you vainly try to flush her
away...

A good indicator that wet weather is imminent is when the toilet starts
croaking....Very good acoustics!

We lost a pressure pump motor at our shearing shed dam last year; a loud
bang, and molten sparks flying out the back end when the switch was turned
on. Dissassembly found 28 Desert Tree Frogs (Litoria Rubella) had crawled
through the air vent and into the winding for somewhere quiet to sleep away
the day. We have also lost a computer power supply the same way, due to one
of these enterprising little cherubs crawling through the air vent. We have
also lost 3 main circuit boards on our large split system aircon to green
tree frogs before I finally found all the holes. Mitsubishi wouldnt believe
us about short circuits on the third board ($430!).

I thought I lived in a bloody desert.....

They certainly make life interesting. That said; I wouldnt get rid of them
for the world.

Cheers,

Rod..... Out Back.


Oh! ROTFLMAO!!!! Excellent frog tale, Rod! I nearly fell off me chair, picturing
your visitors getting their confiding little pats on the bum! Please, next time
you see Sr Toiletto Frogoli, give 'im a kiss from me! Who knows? He could be
Prince Charming! ;-

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Pat Robinson wrote:

Hi there,

We're building a frog pond on our rural property. It'll be in semi shade
and about 2.5M x 1.5M. Just using a poly liner with rocks around the edge
etc.

Any hints on attracting the little critters once its finished ?

Have you checked out designs?
Size?
Sloping area/depth transistions.
Shelter plants in water (tadpoles) and around edge(adults)

--
Terry Collins {:-)}}} email: terryc at woa.com.au www:
http://www.woa.com.au
Wombat Outdoor Adventures Bicycles, Computers, GIS, Printing,
Publishing

"People without trees are like fish without clean water"

lol & lol rod,

good one mate lol, that's the bit we miss having a composting toilet
nothing to attract them in that pedistal huh chuckle.

love 'em

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://home.dnet.aunz.com/gardnlen/

M wrote in message .. .
Pat,

From all I've heard, they just turn up. It may take a while, but on a
"rural" property that should be a short while.

Make sure the pond is not too sterile - the taddies need some
decomposing scrunge to eat. I've found they prefer quiet water, so not
too big a pump if you decide to have one at all.

The BIG rule is that you should never import frogs from somewhere else -
even somewhere quite close. This helps spread the frog-destructo virus.

Mozzies can be a problem. A couple of small native fish will help here,
but in my experience, they will also eat the frog spawn and the tiny
taddies. Check out the web for appropriate species which won't stuff up
the local creeks if they happen to get loose.

Ensure there's a "ramp" or an easy slope for the frogs to leave the
water if they want.

Kookas love frogs, so make sure there's plenty of hiding places, surface
weed cover, etc.

There's so much I could say about cats and/or some cat owners, too, but
I won't.

Finally, when they frogs have gathered, don't whinge about all the
noise! It can be very therapeutic.

M


I've been providing a home for frogs for several years now. In my last
suburban house I built two ponds and frogs arrived one year. They went
forth and multiplied. A couple of years later, I dug in another pond
and filled it with goldfish (not intended for frogs). As soon as the
fish were in, however, so were a couple of the frogs - spawning. I
thought, o no, the fish'll surely gobble up the spawn, but, lo, the
little guys hatched out and the pond was full of infant taddies. Most
grew to froghood; some remained and others moved next door.

Pond life is amazing. There is flux and flow in the life-decay
process. Goldfish are not the best companions for frogs, perch are
much better. Gilgies seem to be companionable enough. Ponds, in my
experience, are places of experiment as much as just letting things
happen combined with regular algae removal (snails are quite good for
this) and aeration (maybe a pump, maybe just sprinkling the surface of
the pond regularly [as I do]).
E