small-wildlife-pond-for-lone-froggy
Lyndab
Posts: 32
Hi There, I am new to the forum, but have found GW.com great for useful advice in the past.
I have a lone frog living in the garden. He / She has been in residence for about 2 years and must be well fed, as I do not have slug problems. I this Froggy lives underneath a slightly raised bed, because everytime I water heavily - it pops out of the same place. Could Froggy actually live in this place: -
After reading some of the posts about small ponds for wildlife, I decided to put one in close to Froggy's home. I do not have much room, so the one I have put in is only 24" x 16" x 6" deep. I have put rocks and pebbles in and one plant so far. I intend planting up with a floating plant and plants around the edge so visitors have cover. Also, I have put in a small air stone, but am not sure if I should have.done.
I would appreciate any comments / advice.
Posts
Frogs live quite happily out in the garden. The only time that they really need a pond is when they are wanting to lay their eggs. In fact, one must be careful when using a fork or spade in the summer as sometimes there is a ghastly scream as they are accidentally disembowelled by the garden tools.
Oh lyndab that's just so sweet. I'm sure froggy will love his little pond. Just make sure anything going in can also get out safely- a little slope of stones and gravel up to one edge will be plenty. Don't know if you need the air stone or not but your main problem will be to stop it freezing in winter. If you can manage that you'll get lots of little creatures visiting - birds will drink and bathe in it. Not sure if I'd put any more plants in as they'll probably take over completely.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks Waterbutts & Fairygirl.
Ooops - did not think about it freezing, maybe it will end up as a 9 months attraction for critters. Birds are ok, they have 3 bird baths on & off the ground, which I keep ice and snow free.
I have placed the rocks close to the edge with top of one showing and the others sloping into the water - hopefully this will act as a ramp.
Get some pix of your frog if you can lyndab! You can always put some cover over part of it to keep it from freezing- a piece of wood on a couple of bricks - just in case! I did that with a tiny pond I had years ago and it did the trick.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Here is my Froggy - shame he didn't spot the fly behind him
Love your pond Lynda, well done. I made one about the same size when I noticed a couple of frogs on my garden. I also bought a cheap solar pump from a well-known website and it keeps the pond oxygenated. When the sun's out, that is!
They still pop in now and again - I spotted one in there the other day. Like someone said, they only use it to lay eggs but here's hoping that we both get more little ones visiting soon!
Thanks Sean,
I wish my Froggy had a friend.
For 2 years, I have only seen the one. If he / she has not got a mate hidden away -it must be lonely..
How long do frogs live ?
Hi Lynda
I'm not sure how long frogs live - apparently it's hard to track their lifespan. Somewhere between 4 and 15 years seems to be received wisdom, but who knows?
One appeared in the garden first, I think he'd been hibernating and emerged when I was doing some garden maintenance in spring. I then made the pond and spotted two there. I'm pretty sure there's frog spawn in there now so I'll keep an eye out...
Lyndab, you have done what I want to do! What is an sir stone? And what is the tub you have used, please? I have a frog that looks exactly like yours, in fact I have some smaller ones hopping about and have done for years Would really love some expert advice from someone. I have been reading up (googled) and came across a 'Save the Frogs' site. This site recommended that a small pond be about 2ft deep - does it really have to be that deep? And I've been looking for a suitable container for ages I went to Dobbies garden centre today and they had a small, moulded pond for half price - £18 - nearly bought it but they had sold out at the branch near me. I'm wondering if I could use a small tub - like am old cat litter tray, a big sized one, but will that be deep enough - doubt it?
Hi Sean - I hope I see more froggies hopping about like you did.
Haisie - Errrrr.. a sir stone is a mispelled Air Stone - typing skills not good and must get new glasses.
Thanks for mention of the Save the Frogs site, I will have a look at that.
The tub is a plastic storage tub from the Range. It cost about £3. It is an experiment - ie will it last the winter. Plastic trays on the lawn for bird food and water don't crack in the winter, so maybe my little pool will survive. If not, I will have to get something more frost proof next year.