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bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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Posted by fishandflowers (My Page) on Mon, Sep 8, 08 at 13:25
Hi all! I'm in SE Wisconsin. We dug a small (200gal) pond this spring, and with all the flooding we had a young bull frog made his way to our pond. He left during the breeding season, then has come back, and defends "his pond" from our squirrels and chipmunks by croaking at them loudly when they come too close. He also seems to "talk back" to use when we're speaking in lower toned voices in the house!
Anyhow, since he left before, I'm assuming he's smart enough to leave to hibernate where there's enough mud for him to do so? If not and he's sticking around too late in the season, is there anything I can do for him? I really don't want to bring him inside as I don't have a good way of brumating him myself (hubby will NOT let me use the fridge for that purpose!) and I don't want him to become un-relaeasable.
We are going to employ a pond heater for the fish, but that will only keep a small hole in the ice open for gas exchange, it will not keep the pond warm.
Could I possibly sink a large pan of mud in the pond for him to burry himself in? The pond is 16" deep only, so I worry about him being too icy. Or, should I take him to the creek I'm sure he came from originally?
Again, I did not capture this frog, he came on his own, left once, then came back. I just want to make sure he doesn't die overwinter.
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| I'd take him back to the creek and let him hibernate naturally. He'll appreciate it and invite all his friends to your pond next spring. |
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| Thanks for the help! You don't think he'll just come right back like a dummy? :) |
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| I wouldn't disturb him - the animal knows what it is doing, and if it doesn't, then it will be selected against and its genes will be eliminated from the population - which is a good thing (welcome to natural selection). Once it cools down enough it will likely leave on its own to hibernate in a more suitable location. Don't worry about it - they do not require our assistance to survive a natural cycle such as winter. ~Mike |
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| Agree with Mike but just don't know how many of ya'll can just let things be. We as humans think we should control everything. So my answer would make you feel better but not necessarily better for the frog. Mike's answer, better for the frog, but accepting that we shouldn't interfere with the fate of a "doomed" frog can be hard for the sensitive types. |
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| The frog isn't necessarily doomed - you'd be amazed at the freeze tolerance of most temperate-ranging anurans and caudates - there are many papers coming out showing how hardy these animals are. Bullfrogs are one of the most successful anurans out there and its for a reason - they are ridiculously adapatable and robust animals. Another thing to consider - bullfrogs have had their numbers be unnaturally increased by human encroachment - they are one of the few subsidized amphibian species out there (subsized species are those whose numbers are denser in areas of human inhabitation or as a result of human influence than they would be in a more natural environment - good examples of this are raccoons, skunks, and opossums) - if one dies, there will be plenty more to take its place. ~Mike |
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| My 3 adult large frogs come back each year; this year we had a baby which I spied in early Spring (about the size of a half-dollar). We named her Olga and she never had any fear of us, as do the adult frogs. She would just sit on the stones and watch us. |
RE: bullfrog in pond, need advice for winter
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| I saw several frogs swimming in a marsh in NW Missouri this past weekend while it was snowing outside and the temperature was 32 degrees. I've seen reptiles and amphibians in cold weather before but this was the first time I had seen some when snow was actually falling. The water was obviously warmer than 32 degrees, fwiw, but still seeing several frogs was a surprise. |
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