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my frog
I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone
might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. |
my frog
bob wrote:
I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. Are there any frog ponds nearby? I found one in my compost heap last year (a frog, not a pond) and after some investigation I found he had gone a-wandering from the pond of my neighbour four gardens down, which I hadn't known existed (the pond, not the neighbour). Ian |
my frog
On Sat, 28 May 2011 13:27:52 +0100, Janet wrote:
In article , bob says... I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. Are you sure it's a frog not a toad? iirc toads are more often solitary (and longlived) not certain but...la voici http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10508583/IMG_0158%20ps.jpg Janet |
my frog
On Sat, 28 May 2011 12:40:47 +0100, "Ian B"
wrote: Are there any frog ponds nearby? I found one in my compost heap last year (a frog, not a pond) and after some investigation I found he had gone a-wandering from the pond of my neighbour four gardens down, which I hadn't known existed (the pond, not the neighbour). Ian ....no ponds that I know of. Also, I'm surrounded by old walls at least 2m high. I suppose it might have climbed up a shrub... |
my frog
On 28/05/2011 13:02, bob wrote:
I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. A few years ago I wanted to attract frogs and toads to my vegetable garden because they eat slugs. So I bought a large plastic tub (approx 40 litres) dug a hole and set it in the hole with just the rim above ground level. I planted some trailing ground cover plants around it and filled it with rain water from the water butts. There are often frogs/toads in there now. The tub is positioned next to a bush so it is shaded from most of the sun. The herbaceous ground cover plants trail around and in the water making it easy for creatures to climb out. The other day while moving some plant pots on the patio a frog jumped out so I scooped it up between my hands and dropped it into the little pond. It jumped out again immediately but another frog suddenly appeared at the surface as much as to say "Eh! What's going on?" So despite the drought here, the little shaded tub-pond is a little haven. They've got plenty of slugs to eat too! -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
my frog
"bob" wrote in message ... I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. AFAIK frogs generally live away from water most of the year - each needs its own space to find enough food - and return to water for mating. So I wouldn't worry too much as long as you have some shade in the garden plus stones/dead wood to provide moist shelter. As sugested elsewhere, a very small pool of water should be enough to encourage frogs and provide a swimming pool for exercise :-) -- No plan survives contact with the enemy. [Not even bunny] Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(") |
my frog
On Sat, 28 May 2011 15:19:12 +0200, David in Normandy
wrote: On 28/05/2011 13:02, bob wrote: I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. A few years ago I wanted to attract frogs and toads to my vegetable garden because they eat slugs. So I bought a large plastic tub (approx 40 litres) dug a hole and set it in the hole with just the rim above ground level. I planted some trailing ground cover plants around it and filled it with rain water from the water butts. There are often frogs/toads in there now. The tub is positioned next to a bush so it is shaded from most of the sun. The herbaceous ground cover plants trail around and in the water making it easy for creatures to climb out. The other day while moving some plant pots on the patio a frog jumped out so I scooped it up between my hands and dropped it into the little pond. It jumped out again immediately but another frog suddenly appeared at the surface as much as to say "Eh! What's going on?" So despite the drought here, the little shaded tub-pond is a little haven. They've got plenty of slugs to eat too! Sounds nice. I was thinking along the lines of a miniature version of your 40 litre tub, probably just a broad hole with a thick plastic liner. I'm not sure about evaporation rates so perhaps it should be deep? |
my frog
On Sat, 28 May 2011 14:33:12 +0100, Janet wrote:
In article , bob says... On Sat, 28 May 2011 13:27:52 +0100, Janet wrote: In article , bob says... I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. Are you sure it's a frog not a toad? iirc toads are more often solitary (and longlived) not certain but...la voici http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10508583/IMG_0158%20ps.jpg He looks very warty for a frog. Frogs hop, toads sort of clamber along. Janet. I've never actually seen it move, and I don't like to move it along. You're right, it is fairly warty. |
my frog
On Sat, 28 May 2011 14:32:58 +0100, "David WE Roberts"
wrote: "bob" wrote in message ... I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. AFAIK frogs generally live away from water most of the year - each needs its own space to find enough food - and return to water for mating. So I wouldn't worry too much as long as you have some shade in the garden plus stones/dead wood to provide moist shelter. As sugested elsewhere, a very small pool of water should be enough to encourage frogs and provide a swimming pool for exercise :-) Ok, thanks. I think the miniature pool on a thick plastic rubble bag will do the trick for now. |
my frog
On Sat, 28 May 2011 15:42:39 +0200, bob wrote:
Are you sure it's a frog not a toad? iirc toads are more often solitary (and longlived) not certain but...la voici http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10508583/IMG_0158%20ps.jpg He looks very warty for a frog. Frogs hop, toads sort of clamber along. Janet. I've never actually seen it move, and I don't like to move it along. You're right, it is fairly warty. Given the colour and the black spots it looks very much like the Edible frog, Rana esulenta. If you are interested in garden amphibians you may want to have a look at this NE pdf: http://naturalengland.etraderstores....glandShop/NE18 rbel |
my frog
On May 28, 1:52*pm, bob wrote:
On Sat, 28 May 2011 13:27:52 +0100, Janet wrote: In article , bob says... I've had a frog in my garden for 3 years or so and I wonder if anyone might have some insights? It seems to be a bachelor, I've never seen 2 frogs. How does it cope with the boredom? Can they survive drought? I've been watering regularly round its favourite spot but I'm going to have to leave the garden for a couple of weeks and the forecast doesn't look wet. *I was thinking of sinking a plastic container with water into the soil underneath a heather thereby reducing loss through evaporation. *Or will he (she) just dig herself down till it gets damp enough. *Are you sure it's a frog not a toad? iirc toads are more often solitary (and longlived) not certain but...la voici http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10508583/IMG_0158%20ps.jpg *Janet- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Looks more like a toad (warts) but the common ones are brown not green. |
my frog
- many thanks for all the posts, the advice and the definitive ID
from rbel - google images confirms it's a ringer for Rana esulenta. What wasn't evident from my pic were its enormous back legs, easily 3 times the width of his body and I took the libery of giving it a tiny prod whereupon it jumped a froggy mile. Anyway, I'm hoping it's forgiven me now that I've built it a glorious swimming pool. Let's hope it doesn't dry out before my return, the forecast for next week suggests a bone-dry scorcher. |
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my frog
rbel wrote in message ... On Sat, 28 May 2011 15:42:39 +0200, bob wrote: Are you sure it's a frog not a toad? iirc toads are more often solitary (and longlived) not certain but...la voici http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10508583/IMG_0158%20ps.jpg He looks very warty for a frog. Frogs hop, toads sort of clamber along. Janet. I've never actually seen it move, and I don't like to move it along. You're right, it is fairly warty. Given the colour and the black spots it looks very much like the Edible frog, Rana esulenta. If you are interested in garden amphibians you may want to have a look at this NE pdf: I agree, it's a Rana esculenta. We don't have them in U.K. I don't think, I've only ever seen them in France. It's the bright green colour and the yellow stripe along the back that gives them away. Here in S. Wilts in my small garden I have Belfast sinks everywhere and they are inhabited by frogs, as are my two garden ponds. I was really upset to find last year that my oldest and well-known frog had somehow managed to clamber out of the pond and into my greenhouse and died of dehydration. So I shall have to put a Belfast sink into the greenhouse now, as well :-(. someone |
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