Wildlife pond problem - please help (1 Viewer)

My garden wildlife pond has up to 20 frogs (no fish) and in February laid an enormous amount of spawn. All well and good. Sadly the spawn gradually disappeared and came to nothing. No tadpoles.

Now, in mid-June, I've noticed that many of the frogs are looking a bit poorly. I have found a couple of them floating upside-down on the surface of the water, still alive, but looking very weak. I have isolated them both from the others by putting one into a smaller pond by itself and the other into nearby damp, shady shrubbery.

I have heard that there is a disease going around that affects frogs. Does anybody have any further info on this?

Should I be getting all the frogs out of the pond, (in their weakened state they would have difficulty in getting out by themselves)? Should I try and drain the pond and refill with fresh water?

Please help.

:eek!:

Are they finding enough to eat? You may actually need to put out some bait to attract flies, and a small light just over the water to attract night flying insects. Ponds that are not near wild areas don't always maintain a balance. Wish I could send You some Frogs, I am up to My eyeballs in them. tsiya
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/REFLECTION_10aps.jpg

BB,

Sorry to hear of your problems. I remember a disease that was affecting Frogs a while ago, but haven't got any new information you probably haven't already seen. You need to study frogs for ulcers and missing digits as well as other general poor condition.

I do have to wonder why the spawn suffered as well. If the spawn wasn't fertilised properly (which can happen) then it will obviously disappear. Did you notice any fungus on the spawn or did it literally vanish quickly? How deep is the pond?

Is there anything around the pond that could be poisoning it? Frogs are extremely sensitive to pollutants and are used as indicators of how healthy a habitat is. If you have a test kit you could test for ammonia and such-like, although with the limited amount of equipment available to the non-professional it may prove pointless to just test for one or two pollutants - just worth a try if you know anyone who keeps fish since some fish hobbyists have test kits etc.

I wouldn't refill the entire pond with fresh water since you'll probably upset the balance, and tap water contains chemicals, which the frogs would find harmful until the harmful chemicals have dissipated. Moving the frogs to a different pond in your garden may be helpful. Definitely do not move them elsewhere away from your garden - If they are diseased you run a great risk of spreading it.

I hope that helps a little and good luck!

Rich.

You might try testing the water quality. If any fertilizers have been used in the water shed area, frogs are highly affected. Is this the first year you have had difficulties?
If previous years have been fine, this might just be an ecological overload.

Surely not the dreaded red-leg disease?

Thanks for your replies.

There would appear to be plenty of food available, slugs, worms, flies, moths etc. The pond attracts plenty of flying insects as my resident bats will testify!

RichUK. There are no chemicals used in the garden and the vegetation is the same as it has been for years. It is strange that the spawn came to nothing. My first thought was that it had not been fertilised, although why is another matter. I didn't notice any fungus or abnormality. It just sank and came to nothing. The pond is about 18"-2ft deep. Normally, spawn would be laid when the water had warmed up a bit and the pond weed had risen. This year, however, spawn was laid early before the plants had a chance to rise, and just sank to the bottom. Can spawn still be successful this way or does it have to be near the surface?

But this doesn't explain the current condition of the frogs. Just checked again this morning and another one was floating upside-down. It's still alive and I have put it in a more comfortable position resting on some pond weed. I feel I should take them out of the pond to avoid further contamination but fear it's probably too late for that. There appears to be some discolouration or loss of pigment on the back of this frog.

You are right about re-filling the pond with tap water. That's the last thing I want to do. It'll take forever to get the chemical balance right again, but do I have a choice?

I'm trying not to panic but............ :eek!:

Steve

Have you tried contacting your local country wildlife trust? They may well have access to an amphibian expert. There was something a while ago about a disease affecting frogs... I think it made them turn yellow?

You also said there were no fish so could there be an ecological imbalance.
Since you mention that the spawn sank to the bottom was it left there or taken out, or eaten.

Are there any newts in the pond, If there are frogs there would probably be newts (who love tadpoles). has the pond water been murkier this year? Although a froggie disease is most probable I think you may need to clean the pond and renew the water.

Easily done, as you empty the pond, remove frogs (and other animals) you find
placing 100% aquatic animals into a nearby tank or container with tap water which has been allowed to stand for over 48hours (most of the chemicals will have gone - don't ask me how) or rainwater - if we get any. As soon as pond empty of water, plants etc etc refill with tap water and let it stand for 48 hours or more, stirring ocassionally (this is not a recipe) and replace the fully aquatic species.

The frogs that were remved during the emptying process should be moved to a sheltered part of the garden. They will find their way back to the pond and jump in if it is ok for them. Nature should take it's course. I'd add a few goldfish to complete the picture and the balance.
Insect larvae / pond plants / amphibians / snails / fish / shade all play their part in maintaining a healthy balance.

We have quite a large pond in our garden and we have to go through this process about every 5 years to prevent eutrophication so we know it works. This year is one of those years. Abou 3 years ago we had what seemed to be a disease affecting frogs but the spawn was not affected. However, the way the frogs were found around the garden made me think that a cat or fox had someithng to do with it.

Hope you get healthy frogs and froglets soon

Stevie babe

Surreybirder said:

Have you tried contacting your local country wildlife trust? They may well have access to an amphibian expert. There was something a while ago about a disease affecting frogs... I think it made them turn yellow?

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Good idea. I think it may well prove helpful to both yourself and others if you had someone take a look. It does sound to me that you have a disease problem. If the pond has been established for a few years and suddenly this happens then a disease is likely. Contacting some kind of authority can be very important as they can advise or take steps to stop the disease spreading further. The spawn is a bit of a mystery...unless the disease makes adult frogs infertile.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Rich.

County wildlife trust? Good shout. I'll see what I can find out.

All the main ingredients are there for a succesful pond except the fish. I haven't had fish in there for many years and have had frogs and sometimes toads breeding successfully every year. The fish always used to eat the tadpoles so I wouldn't really want to re-introduce them. I have spotted the odd newt but not for quite a while.

The pond and it's surroundings haven't changed for years so I can only assume that the frogs have caught a disease or the water has become contaminated somehow. Maybe something has fallen in and died and is slowly decomposing at the bottom. (Apologies if you are in the middle of eating something.) Looking more and more like I am going to have to drain the thing and start again doesn't it?
:C

bristolbirder said:

(Apologies if you are in the middle of eating something.)
:C

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LOL.

I'd certainly contact your local wildlife trust or other 'expert' first before draining anything. If it is a disease, draining a pond may not necessarily eradicate the disease.

Rich.

I have now emailed my local wildlife trust about the problem and will let you know what response I get.

Thanks to all.

Steve