I 'adopted' three frogs that have made my two small ponds their home (about 4'x4'). I assumed they left as I haven't seen them for awhile. Well my son walked by the shallow pond tonight and he saw one jump in the water. He caught it and put it in warm tap water because he 'felt sorry for it being so cold'. I told him frogs hibernate and he shouldn't have done that (although it was a nice gesture). Considering the ponds briefly froze once this year, it appears they intend to overwinter here. But I'm not sure my small landscaping ponds are the right environment for an overwintering frog and there's nothing nearby they can go to. I read frogs overwinter in deep water burrowing under leaf litter or other debris. My ponds have a thin layer of stone at the bottom and are only 18" - 24" deep. Could they overwinter on land too? The margins of the pond are flagstone with plenty of crevices (where they like to hang out in warm water). The surrounding ground cover is small river rock which transforms to mulch and soil nearby. Will these frogs manage to find a place to overwinter without dying? My son is very concerned and I promised I'd ask. These are garden variety green/brown Indiana frogs. Thanks.
Overwinter Pond Frogs
- Thread starter JetService
- Start date
If your ponds do not freeze solid and there is acceptable gas exchange then there's a possiblity that they might survive, a slight one.
I have a friend who places a kitty litter pan half full of muck into the bottom of her pond (30" deep) in the fall for frogs, she says that seems to work if the winter isn't too long or cold. Mind you the few that decide to use the potted plants never make make it.
Never had any frogs that tried to over winter in our ponds live 'til spring... water garden is 24" deep and freezes almost to the bottom.
I have a friend who places a kitty litter pan half full of muck into the bottom of her pond (30" deep) in the fall for frogs, she says that seems to work if the winter isn't too long or cold. Mind you the few that decide to use the potted plants never make make it.
Never had any frogs that tried to over winter in our ponds live 'til spring... water garden is 24" deep and freezes almost to the bottom.
Do you know the species of frog? Most will be able to burrow into soil around the pond, and be just fine-some can dig down more than 8 feet to escape freezing conditions. Very few adult frog species will need to be in the soil under a body of water to survive.
I believe it is a classic American Bullfrog. It is green with some browns in color, however when I last saw it, it was very very dark. Size-wise, when sitting, it was around 3-4" long from snout to rump.
Our winters generally run around 20° getting below zero once in a while. Right now is in the 20s and the pond froze over last night. It'll be interesting to see if he does OK.
It will be just fine. As the temps drop it will dig it's self a nice hole and take a long winters nap. No more hot water though 