Who let the frogs out?

A turtle nursery! Cool!

SW, I'm pretty sure, based on the "toes" that your photo is a frog. Don't know what kind, tho.

Ima, I can't tell either.
SoCal, you might want to put those babies in a fish tank for a while. They have to eat while in the water. Their food is forced through their throats by the motion of their swimming. I used to feed mine in a separate fish bowl from the water tank they lived in. They are really messy eaters (and poopers). This will reduce the time you spend cleaning up a larger tank. They do need something they can climb out on to be on dry land, (ha ha). Would also reduce your fears that the babes would get hurt while you are gardening near them. They can be reintroduced to the pond when they get bigger. Dechlorinate the water before using for the turtles. I have on occasion had to add small amounts of clorinated water, but usually let it stand at least overnight before using for the turtles. Want to know how about your hatchery!
Hope that this info helps with your Red eared sliders. That is what my buddy Skippy is too, a Red Eared Slider. I love his company, he is a great listener, and never complains when I sing.
Ooops, we are way off topic, but I just thought my experiences might be helpful to you.
WIB,
SW

SW, I want to ask you some more questions about the baby turtles, so I will dmail you privately. Want to keep this thread on target. lol

Donna

Hey, it's my thread and we can talk about turtles, too!

Thanks Kathleen....just emailed her with lots of questions to help my babies live this time.

Well, let us know what you're doing, so we can follow their progress.

Maybe SoCal should start a thread? It'd be pretty neat.
No photo today, but I did rescue another ungrateful toad from the pool. I am going to start depositing them out in the fish/turtle pond.
Need to go buy some more feeder fish. Lost all my big ones while we were gone to the beach. SIGH! I did good photos of them first, though. Only can see one gold fish left, and it is about 3 inches long.
Frogs were heard croaking again last night.
It's already starting to dry up again.
WIB,
SW

My frogs are singing again tonight, they were strangely quiet most of the day. Maybe they were tired from last night. LOL

Mine only sing during the day, if you can call it that when they are in distress.
WIB,
SW

I don't think mine are in distress, I think there's hanky panky going on out there. LOL

Naw, they do make a chirping sound, when distressed. Which is how I discovered the boys collecting them in those five gallon buckets. I investigated, turned the buckets on their sides and they hopped to freedom! One makes the distressed sound whenever my pup lies down too close to his home. I only hear it during the day when the pup lies in a particular spot. See photo
Will try to find more if I can.
WIB,
SW

Pretty puppy. The frogs are still at it, all day and haven't stopped yet. If I walk out by the pond they will stop until I leave. This is where they live.

That is indeed one beautiful pup!

No pics of frogs, toads or turtles.....but the baby snakes are out. Found this guy today:

How cute is THAT!??

Oh, that is a pretty one.

DH says that pretty little snake is a young King Snake. You lucky girl! They eat rattlers! The rattlers out your way are mean. Fatter/wider than the ones up here.
Frogs are still at it. Was cleaning out the "water lily pool" in my raised planter when I found these. Felt bad because I thought it was algae at first and couldn't figure out how it developed over night. Duh!
WIB,
SW

Sally, that is such a beautiful pond. Sigh.
A close up, sorry it's a bit blurry.
WIB,
SW

This gelantanet mass was attached to the stem on a leaf. I replaced it in the water.
WIB,
SW

The only reason this photo is interesting is because that green algae stuff in the middle of the photo is really full of amphibian eggs. Not sure what kind. Am used to the strings not these kind.
I'll have to keep ya all posted.
Pizza is here!
WIB,
SW

It's not really a pond, we just call it that. It's a drainage ditch for the run off from our street and rain gutters. It fills up each winter and stays through the spring depending on the rain. Our area is clay based so it's like a big bowl and a little part of it stays wet all year. We like it because it attracts the critters. We have a pair of Geese that have taken up residence right now and ducks are flying in regular. A Great Heron comes by now and again too. In the spring it will be full of birds.

Sis won't mind if I put geese on her frog thread. And the frogs are at again tonight, not quite as loud.

Please keep us posted, I'd like to see what hatches out of there.

Really! Please do Sally. On your walk abouts look for ground nests. Don't forget the camera and extra batteries!
Clay makes the best subsurface for ponds.
Glad the critters have some where to go for a drink. Much different here. We fill the farm pond to keep the coyotes, and other critters away from our house. The cats are very appreciative, as are the red wing blackbirds. I haven't been able to get down in there to look for eggs or frogs or toads, footing too treacherous and I have the pup who would dive right in.
The froggy chorus is loud tonight!
WIB,
SW

Yes, I highly value the King snakes, they can have the run of the place. We had a baby gopher snake a couple of weeks ago, so apparently it's time for the snakes to appear. I'm assuming that means baby rattlers also, so I will be watching my step. We get few rattlers,but I'd much rather be mentally prepared for them than to have them catch me off guard.

A Park Maintainance Man I used to work with, told me that the best way to get any snake to leave you alone, while walking or working in the yard, is to go armed with a squirt gun or bottle (filled with water of course). Squirt them and they will leave faster than you would think. Doesn't harm anything but the snakes dignity. I really like snakes. They eat rodents. Heh Heh Heh. I especially like finding gophers snakes and putting them down gopher holes! ^_^
Won't kill them either. Might remove them, but won't kill them unless they pose an imminent threat to someone.
Those King snakes are so pretty too!
Must be warmer there. I haven't seen a single snake yet this year. It usually takes a week of above 80 degree temps for them to come out. I'll be watching for them now.
WIB,
SW

I'm not afraid of snakes, but my cat brought one into the enclosed patio as a gift for me one day (lightly dented only---the cat didn't like any kind of blood or "funny-tasting stuff") and I screamed only because I was startled to turn around and see unexpected snake. Cat was highly offended, so I had to apologize to her profusely. Then I carefully picked up the snake (gopher variety) and took it outside to a gopher hole (yesssss!!). Two days later, same cat brought same snake back into the patio, apparently for "do-overs". Since I reacted properly this time with much praise and no loud noises, evidently mission was accomplished, or snake got tired of being hauled around in cat's mouth. Snake did not reappear in the house.

Gee, I only got a dead lizard and a piece of old wood, from my cats today. That feral female really wants back inside. LOL!
Great snake story. LOL, DH is looking at me strange.
Another snake story, we used to have a wolf-malamute mix named Natasha. She had pups/cubs under the back deck. One day, I walked out back, she came dashing out from under the deck, and saw a SNAKE. She picked up that snake, flung it back and forth and threw it. Unfortunately, she flung it at me! It latched onto my t-shirt right above my belly button. I went EEEEKKK!. The snake was totally freaked out and dropped to the deck. I immediately covered it with a five gallon bucket, and later removed it from the area where the pups/cubs were. I saved it to show some kids that were visiting later on in the day, then I released it, far away from the house. I wouldn't have eeekked, except I didn't expect it. LOL! Never touched my skin by the way. I did have a holey t-shirt though. LOL! NOW!
Heard my froggy's singing again last night. I guess they like it here.
WIB,
SW

Woah, now THAT would be an interesting "body-piercing"!!

oh am i so afraid of snakes, I know they are great to have around, but I am going to freak out if I see one in my yard. We were camping a couple of years ago and a little snake crossed the path in front of me and I screamed and peed my pants a little - very embarrassing! My kids and husband laughed their heads off at scaredy pants mom.

The cute little frogs and lizards are welcome.

You'd have freaked out when our DS was in Jr. Hi---I was the mom in the science room on open house nights who had the school's 12-foot boa constrictor draped around her neck. It gave me lots of extra time to ask the instructor how DS was doing, because all the other moms were huddled in the far side of the room....LOL!

ima is my hero!

You would have loved the python (or maybe a boa constrictor?) that I found in my yard a few months ago--I was walking up the steps from my lower level patio to the upper level, and he was right next to the stairs (of course I didn't see him until I was on the steps and so close that he would have already bit me if he's been a nasty snake like a rattler) Fortunately I think he was sleeping off a meal so he didn't even notice that I nearly stepped on him. I was going to call animal control to come get him, but they were closed and by the next day he was gone. Found him again a couple weeks later in the front yard trying to hide (not very effectively) in my baccharis, again animal control was closed and I haven't seen him since. Hopefully he found his way back home!

OOOhhh--pretty sure that's a boa----probably someone's very expensive escaped pet!

Very pretty, ecrane! I've noticed Animal control is more likely to actually show up, if the critter is already contained in something. In the snakes case, maybe a trash can with a lid? Boa's don't bite to kill their prey, they suffocate their prey. All snakes become inactive (torpid) with cold weather, and can be handled with care if you are brave enough. Do your homework first! I'd have used a broom or a shovel to slide the snake into a container. Then called Animal Control.
ima is right. That is someones', very expensive pet Boa. Hope he doesn't go after the neighborhood pets. I also hope he gets reunited with his family. On the good side he will eat rodents too!
Red, look up poisonous snakes in CA. There are only two. The Mojave Green Rattlesnake and any other Rattlesnake. Look at the narrowness of the Boas head. In proportional size, the Rattler's head is a much wider triangular shape. The reason I mentioned the Mojave Green is because it is the most dangerous. Young rattlers (small) are also more dangerous than the older ones, because they haven't learned to hold back enough venom for a second bite. The things you learn raising boys! LOL!
Red, any snake will bite when provoked. Remember they don't like you even more than you don't like them, and carry that squirt gun. Avoid when possible, and squirt when necessary. You'll be fine. Snakes are very interesting and sometimes quite beautiful. They serve a useful purpose in the ecosystem, they eat rodents! I hate it when the mice, rats, squirrels, gophers, and rabbits decimate my hard work. I'll take a non-venomous snake any day. LOL!
WIB,
SW

My MIL and I were out in her back yard one day when she picked up a shovel and started beating the living crap out of one of her sea lavender plants. I thought she'd finally lost it altogether, but it turned out there was a poor defenseless king snake in the sea lavender---because he was moving around a little, she thought the rustling from the dried blooms was a rattler. I was careful after that to give her plenty of space if she had a shovel nearby......

Did you all see the pictures of our 8 foot gopher snake? I posted it a while back in another thread. I had to scootch (scientific term) him out of the garage and then he draped himself across the front door step. Finally got tired of my broom and took off. Didn't want to scare him away, but did need to get into the house! He was lumpy from his breakfast and just lying in the sun digesting, I guess. :-)

The trouble was even though I knew he was a constrictor snake not a bitey kind of snake is that I'm not comfortable with snakes (at least not with touching them/picking them up), and because of where he was there was no way I could put him in anything without picking him up--he was wedged in there beside the steps. I was hoping he was digesting a nice juicy gopher! Even though I'm not really a snake person I definitely wouldn't mind if I found a gopher snake or two in the garden!

I'm not as used to them as I used to be. We had pet snakes and lizards as kids.

I live on a farm and I have boys who think that it is, great to give Mom strange presents, like stinkbugs, toads, frogs, and lizards and snakes. Even DH once brought me home a trap door spider nest (sans spider). I have to admit that I haven't been bored. LOL!
Doesn't mean I haven't been known to levitate upon an unexpected meeting with a Mojave Green, but snakes are fascinating. They are soft if you stroke them the right way. Kind of what I imagine dragon scales would feel like.
If we were closer, Red and ima, I'd show you how to safely grab any snake. Pillow cases work well for containing them too, if you don't have a five gallon bucket with lid handy. Try the squirt gun or hose to encourage them to move along if they are in your way or you have concerns about children. (Even the child in you!) Trust me they will not appreciate the dowsing and leave the area. Just keep your distance. If nothing else, they won't want to sun on the wet pavement. LOL!
Just be glad we don't live back east where they have all kinds of poisonous snakes!
Heard the frogs/toads tonight, at twilight. Forgot to check on the eggs. Will try to tomorrow.
WIB,
SW