silly Question...

Hey California Gardening Buddies! I have the "silly question of the day" here.

I am getting ready to set up my Koi pond and wondered if anyone in the Bay Area or Modesto or somewhere in between has a pond and has frog eggs, or frogs to trade? I will be setting up a nice shady planter surrounding the pond and my Koi are still young (only about 4" or so), so they won't be dangerous to full grown frogs. If someone has eggs, I can set up a seperate place for them to grow. I had a Leopard frog visit a few years ago, and would have loved it if he stayed, but my pond wasn't in the ground and I guess he figured it was too much trouble to hop up into it! LOL

I'm guessing the "powers that be" wouldn't want us to import frogs, etc from out of state, so I figured asking here would be a good start. I drive between Modesto and the Bay Area to check in on my Mom and Dad, so I could pick up and drop off trade things in person for anyone living in central CA.

Anybody have a better idea or know where I can get frogs? (If I find I can make it to the San Diego RU I will ask there too)

Karen :~D

This message was edited May 26, 2005 10:59 AM

hiya Kachinagirl,

If you can make it down here for the roundup I'll have a sack full for you...lol. We have a lot of California Tree Frogs (Hyla cadaverina) and if I'm lucky I can find you an Arroyo Toad or two (Bufo californicus).

I don't know if I can ship them in that they are native to Southern CA. (except the toad).

Best to you,
Don

Hi Karen & Don -

We have a number of tree frogs in the garden each year, but not more than a dozen or so. Armies of lizards and their babies and an equal number of native toads (Bufo californicus). In the six years our pond has been in we have never had any frogs in the pond.

The toads migrate into the pond each spring during their annual all night sing-a-long and non-stop love fest. What results are a bazillion (I kid you not!) toad egg strings, which turn into an equal number of tadpoles, which turn into an equal number of the sweetest tiniest little 1" toads that blanket the garden for a few weeks.

Most move on to other environs, but a number always stay around and make their burrows in the moist dark shadier portions of the garden. Their main goal in life seems to be to lie in wait for me to come poking around so that they can scare the wits out of me. A few times it has been baby rattlers, but it is almost always the toads that come popping out of their burrows.

Because their numbers can quickly overwhelm even the best filtration system, we now thin out the population at the egg stage. If the filters are consistantly clogged, the water quality deteriorates and most wouldn't survive anyway (let alone the koi and the plants!).

I did buy two large turtles (red sliders) each season for a couple of years......all disappeared. Apparently it is something about they have to be born in the pond to want to stay there. I love turtles and was sad to see them wander off into the wasteland of dry grass and waterless landscape that greeted them outside the confines of my garden.

If you give it a year or so, the toads will find your pond....let me know if you have any luck with attracting frogs!

Ah, you two are awesome! I will work on getting that pond into the ground and get back to you. If I can get it set up before the RU and then get my fanny down there I will take you up on that Don! I'll bring my big buckets so they will be comfy for the ride "home". I think they will be happy here. My pond will be under a Forest Pansy Redbud and a Green Japanese Maple, with ferns, hydranges etc... in a neighboring planter to hide under. I will be building a small rock waterfall they can burrow under as well. I'm excited! I think I will lay the hose in the "pond-to-be" area tonight and moisten up that soil so I can dig this weekend! That and paint the file cabinet and plan file for my office... and...the list goes on! Does it ever end?

Ok. Silly question #2 & 3. Do pet stores sell Leopard frogs? And how would I know I got one of each...? They wouldn't eat the tree frogs, would they? If so, forget it! Just curious!

Karen

If you end up with baby Leopard frogs, you could probably be pretty sure you got one of each. That is the way it works isn't it? LOL

Some of the discount pet stores here sell frogs, don't know how they would do out in the wild or if they would just hop away like the turtles did.

"What are you....a wise guy?" (use Curly's voice, of 3 Stooges fame!) LOL I suppose I could hold them in my hands and turn them over.....look for 2 that "look different"...LOLOLOL! The Leopard frog that came to visit hopped away, so I suppose others could too. Maybe I can find Lepoard frog eggs and let them start out life there....perhaps that will help. When do frogs lay eggs anyway? Spring or fall? Is the egg season over and done with?

K

All you need is a 5 gal paint bucket for treefrogs lol. Here are my babies that the tree froggies bequeathed to me. All because I was trying to root some brugs. I did not realize it took so long. They are about leg-getting size now. My Dad lives in Napa and there are usually bullfrog tadpoles to be had in the creeks in early summer. Start going on nature walks with a bucket in hand. Lol.

Had that send button pushed when I realized I forgot the pic. Here's almost-froggies!!

Yup, that's what I need! A bucket, my 9 year old, my fish net, water shoes and a nice creek! That would be SO fun! She and I are "bach'in" it this weekend, DH is going to help his Mom do some work......it's gonna be a toenail-painting, popcorn-eating, sprinkler-playing, giggly-fun "girl-time" weekend! Yay! What nice stress relief that will be! (between the file cabinet painting, etc.....of course! She said I can paint the cabinet while she cleans her room, THEN we'll play!)

Karen :~D