 |
|
|
Posts by lalchitri: |
| Author | Message |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132  View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 11 Mar 2009
Topic: first signs of breeding
I ended up with 42 clumps. Huge jump from last years 6. Since the pond is now 3 years old, I think all the original batch from 2006 came back this year. Hoping for even more next year, since 2007 was a very good year. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 10 Feb 2007
Topic: collecting spawn
[QUOTE=james4]reptiles dont appear in my garden as none are in my area,but frogs are abundant,we seen 2 in 1 month last year and wasnt looking. [/QUOTE] then the best idea would be to make the pond and let the frogs in your garden inhabit it themselves. you would gain more satisfaction from the spawn being laid there naturally rather than put there from somewhere else. i also dug a pond last year and thought nothing would ever live in it, since i had only ever seen one frog in the garden prior to that. however, at times i have seen upto 7-8 frogs in there at a time. i currently have a pair that are mating and hope to see spawn soon. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 10 Feb 2007
Topic: are these frogs?
i have had a pair of frogs in a similar mating embrace for the past 6 days. you can see a pic of them in the 'spawn' thread of common frog section. i guess the cold snap over the past couple of days has delayed the egg laying. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 10 Feb 2007
Topic: Red Frog
forgot to mention at the time, but the fat frog died a few days after these pics were taken and posted. it was found at the bottom of my pond. it had grown so huge that it had real difficulty moving on land and in the water. i guessed it fell to the bottom of the water, had difficulty swimming to the surface and drowned slowly. i still can't guess what made it grow from a normal size to such a mammoth in a matter of weeks. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 17 Mar 2007
Topic: Lopsided Tadpoles
yesterday i noticed something odd with my 10 day old (since hatching) tadpoles. a number of them (though certainly not all) were floating at the top of the pond and in all cases this was with the right side of their body up. all of them had a clear bubble type thing attached to their skin behind their eye. i guess it was this bubble on the right side that made them lopsided. even when they swam it was in circles. they appeared dead but when prodded were full of life. is this a normal development thing to do with their gills resorbing?  Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 06 Jun 2006
Topic: Tadpoles Dropping Dead
I recently moved to a new house. In my previous home I had kept common frogs successfully in a garden pond I had made for many years. I decided to do likewise in my new garden, so this winter I dug a hole and put a 250 litre artificial pond in. Into this I put 3 clumps of frog spawn I took from a friend's garden pond which is too small for all the spawn he gets. These hatched and grew successfully upto the point where the hind legs began to develop, having fed them mainly on ground fish food pellets. This seemed to be doing the trick as in the first 3 months none of the 300-400 tadpoles seemed to have died (I put a net over the pond to keep birds/foxes/cats away). However, 36 hours ago I noticed a few of the tadpoles dying. Within a day almost all of the 300-400 had died. This has left me shocked and confused. What could be the possible reasons for a batch of tadpoles to grow to a certain point without any hitch and then to suddenly drop dead within 24 hours? I have rescued about 40-50 odd survivors and put them in a fish tank where they seem to be doing fine. The only thing I can think of is that this occured just after we returned from a long weekend in the Lake District. In the meantime I instructed someone else to put the fish food in. I think he must have gone overboard, since I usually get through a packet in 10-14 days and he shoved the whole lot in within 3-4 days. I managed to take most of the excess out on my return. Could this have lead to the disaster? The pond has also been emitting a foul odour, but this has been present for many weeks without any untoward effect on the tadpoles previously? I have put about 10 oxygenating plants into the 250l pond. The only other noticeable point is that my tadpoles were much larger than those I had seen in other ponds (at least 3 times bigger than ones I saw in a natural pond in the Lake District).  Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 06 Jun 2006
Topic: Common Frog Identification & Sightings
Uxbridge Common has a pond with a huge number of common frogs and tadpoles. There is a notice saying it is illegal to remove frog, toad and newt spawn, so i presume the latter two are also present. Don't ask me for the number of clumps present, because when i passed by the number would have been uncountable. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 06 Jun 2006
Topic: Cumbrian natterjacks
theres a large pond in a stately home right next to the otter farm in the lake district. when i visited this had a large number of tadpoles. not sure if they were natterjacks though, since i spotted only tadpoles. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 06 Jun 2006
Topic: GCN Identification & Sightings
about 15-20 years back came across 2 GCN hiding in a burrow to the side of a tree stump in windlesham. i know it seems like a long time ago, but the actual pond area has increased in size since then. the only problem is the neighbouring housing estate has also increased in size, so that most of the pond is now full of beer cans. visited again a few months ago and could see little sign of life there. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 07 Jun 2006
Topic: Yellow Indian frog
i came across something similar in india also. the frog i saw was much bigger than 10cm though, roughly about 25-30cm. it was lying at the edge of a village pond in the sun. i remember visiting india whilst a young lad, and seeing frogs everywhere. i have rarely seen many on more recent trips though. this is probably due to the over use of insecticides on crops. a lot of other wildlife seems to be dwindling there also - bats, lizards, insects, vultures, etc however i visited my in-laws house there during late september. this is the time of year when rice is planted and grown in fields. the house i was staying in was full of little toadlets jumping around the bedrooms, living rooms and kitchen. no-one seemed to think anything of it though. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 20 Jun 2006
Topic: Tadpoles Dropping Dead
managed to get 56 froglets from 3 clumps of spawn. is this a good return? of the 56 i've only noticed about 10 in the pond for the past few days. the others seem to have left the pond apart from one drowned froglet who somehow couldn't exit the water. what can i assume happened to the rest? can they survive this long away from the pond? if they wander off too far, do they get lost and dry up in the sun? i can see no sign of them in the surrounding area, though we do have some deep undergrowth where it is difficult to search. i'm also reluctant to search too much as i'm scared of stepping on these difficult to spot thumbnail sized hoppers. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 11 Jul 2006
Topic: Red Frog
I've noticed this red coloured frog thats been residing in my pond for the past week. My guess is its a common frog, but apart from its colour, it seems different in other ways also. First a pic with a common froglet in the foreground (the pic doesn't do the adults 'redness' any justice as the flash seemed to make it look slightly brown in the pic).  the major differences i've noticed are - this frog seems to be entirely water based and hasn't left the water (apart from sticking its head out at the edge) in the week that i've noticed it in the pond. other obvious common frogs i've seen in the area seem to want to get out into the garden asap. - it seems to be a lot more lethargic. when it wants to come to the surface from the bottom of the pond it will take a few strokes and then sink back down again. it will keep doing this a couple of times before reaching the top. all this despite the pond only being a foot and a half deep. - the hind legs seem to be a lot longer and the feet more webbed, but that might just be my imagination. - the eyeballs seem to be bulging out of the side of the head more. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 11 Jul 2006
Topic: Red Frog
it also has a lump on either side running down its back, between the hind and front legs. this appeared to be heaving up and down today. the snout is also a lot more rounded if you compare it to the common froglet in the above pic. heres a close up pic  Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 18 Jul 2006
Topic: Red Frog
from the pics i have posted, does it appear to be a redleg sufferer? as far as i know, redness in redleg is from bleeding under the skin. in my frog the redness appears to be the skins actual colouration. would you agree? whats the normal lifespan once a frog gets redleg? as an update the frog is still alive and well, is more active than before, but has still not left the ponds main body in two weeks (is this due to the hot weather?). it does leave the water though and sits on the ponds edge under a log jutting out from the water. in fact thats were most of the frogs in the pond tend to congregate (damp and lots of insects). when i checked today there were two adults and three froglets there. the other adult was also reddish-brown (though not as much as the thread subject and it was an overall colour unlike the mottling of the above) but didn't have the bulging eyes and rounded snout. the froglets are all of a normal green-brown colour. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 18 Jul 2006
Topic: Red Frog
an updated pic old subject in background. new entry in the foreground. also 3 young 'uns.  Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 18 Jul 2006
Topic: Red Frog
thanks for your help gemma. thats a relief i suppose.  Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 13 Aug 2006
Topic: Marsh Frog Identification & Sightings
[QUOTE=rhysrkid] Mick Marsh frog are still calling at the moment at Heathrow but are starting to calm down now, although the recent rain has brought on a new bout of activity today. There are various sites which we own and manage which support marsh frog but the majority are closed access. However there is one site in particular where they are common and which is open to the public. The site is called Two Bridges Farm Conservation Site and is located off Hatton Rd where the road crosses the twin rivers. On site there is a well established old farm pond which has good numbers of MF. Also this is an excellent site for common toad in the spring. Happy hunting! [/QUOTE]visited that pond today, as its local to me. sad to say it was completely dried up with no signs of life at all. previously visited it in may, when MF's and newts were present in good numbers. same goes for a large pond in uxbribge which has a good population of CF's, toads and GCN's - when i was there last week it was also as dry as a bone. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 01 Sep 2006
Topic: Calling all London Herpers!
what would exactly be involved? i'm a bit of a novice and nowhere near as knowledgeable as the rest on this board, so not sure if i'd be of any use. as long as it wouldn't take up vast chunks of my time i could be interested in the amphibian side of things. i'm in middlesex btw. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 02 Sep 2006
Topic: Calling all London Herpers!
i suppose so. here's some info on a project taken out on a pond within walking distance of my house. its directly next to a major road, and has a parade of shops on the other side. i was quite surprised to learn that it was so full of life. http://www.ickenhamchurchnews.co.uk/0703/page%204.htm scroll down about 3/4 of the page. Reformed Teetotaller |
|
lalchitri Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 No. of posts: 132 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 05 Sep 2006
Topic: Uninvited frog
[QUOTE=Dan Kane]Most of the tadpoles in our pond last year went into the field behind our house, although some suffered the wrath of my dad's lawnmower, as hundreds were hiding in the grass.[/QUOTE] do lawnmowers really kill froglets? my dad also seems to value his lawn more than my froglets, though i thought most of them jumped out of the way (but the number of froglets has gone down since last weeks mowing). newts seem to be less agile so wouldn't they be affected more? i have bought a pond light for my pond. i thought the light it emits at night would attract insects for food. does anyone else have any experiences with these? Reformed Teetotaller |
- Posts by lalchitri |