RAUK - Archived Forum - Posts by kateatcrowlas:

Nor did I, nor did the Zims I was staying with.   They wanted to save it for me as a pet (I said no, so it probably has ended up in a stew as a previous person has suggested!). 

I have had real trouble getting peeps on this site to believe I have albino newts in my pond (not that I have seen any for ages), but it does seem to me that colourless amphibians are more common than everyone thinks!  

A bit like little egrets, according to most books I have, they don't come to UK, but I am in no doubt I watched one for about 15 mins a couple of weeks ago. (Really bad photos available if anyone interested)

I am very worried, it looks to me like the frogs are trying to kill off the toads by hanging on to the females.  Is this possible?  I have found two frogs (the most frogs I have seen so far this year has been three) clinging to toads tonight and we found a dead female toad at the bottom of the pond on Saturday morning.

I was so worried about this girl tonight that I fished her and her attached males out of the water.  I put them about 6 inches from the water's edge and when I went back, about 15 mins later, the male toad had detached himself and was heading back to the pond but the frog was still attached to the female toad and they were headed away from the pond.  I didn't try to detatch the males as I don't think I am experienced enough to try to do something like that without causing harm.

Hi J, tried to pm you but your message box was full or something!  Yes I would like to hear about CARG events and if you are doing any surveys or anything I would be happy to participate.

Kate

I have seen the toads mating in the last couple of weeks, then three frogs trying to muscle in on the action with the female toads, are this pair both frogs?

Thanks Alex.

Haha, and you thought that would be an end to it...no end of stupid questions to follow...

As with the toads, surely this is a bit early, even though I am in the South West and all we get is Cornish snow (or rain as it is otherwise known).

Also, does anyone have any info on mating behaviour, I went out a bit later and this pair appeared to be at the bottom of the pond, still quite happy.  Is the mating process significantly different to the toads or is it much the same?

There are at least another six frogs roaming the surface of my pond tonight (the most I have seen before tonight has been three) and there might be about three more wandering about at the bottom of the pond but its hard to tell with all the toads I've got around and me being useless!

Like the toads, this female looks larger than the male and paler in colour, is that what I should look out for in trying to tell the difference?

I have recently started seeing these animals in my garden.  I know I had palmate newts (not sure if that was all I had) in my pond in April-June.  Are these common lizards or young newts?

Thanks Dan, I'm trying to get any info I can and the spot thing is something I haven't found out yet!

I have another question for everyone! 

I've been hunting high and low for a website with a large number of pictures of frogs, newts, lizards etc on it as I find it difficult to I.D. from just one photo, but I am having no luck.  The best thing about this site was that I could send in a photo and people have been helpful but I would like somewhere I can look at a lot of pictures.  Does anyone know of any good websites with lots of photographs of UK wildlife?  Or any good books on UK, especially Cornish, wildlife?

Also, I have been taking a lot of photos (of variable quality, mostly not very good!), would they be of any use to anyone?

I have noticed that in the last few nights the newts I have been seeing are smaller and less 'full' in the belly than the ones I was seeing earlier in the month. Also, there seem to be quite a few which are dark green/grey, quite a different colour to the ones I was seeing a lot of earlier on in the month.  The dark green/grey ones are much more slender but just as long as the golden/brown ones, when you look at the two together the difference is quite striking.  Could these be the same animals at different ages, or different sexes of the same animal?
I have just got brave enough to touch them, and the brown/golden ones are very silky to the touch whereas the green/grey ones feel a bit scaly.  I haven't picked one up yet!  Could someone tell me if it is OK to pick them up, what is the best way to do it and how long I can look at them/hold them for without upsetting them too much.
I've attached one of my favourite pictures I have taken so far!

I have just noticed that toads (or frogs, correct me if I'm wrong) have started their mating in my pond.  Can anyone tell me about why the mating pairs seem to be pale with dark spots but they are being harrassed by dark green/grey uniform (ished) coloured animals.  Also, how long does it take for a toad to mate, there was one pair at it in my pond for at least half an hour, (my boyfriend was getting embarrassed!).  My palmate newts are back too and I am concerned that it is too early for either the toads or the newts to mate yet, is there anything I can do to make sure of a successful outcome, or should I just leave them all to it?

Thanks for the info Caleb, I am in the South West (about 10 miles from Lands End).

I have loads more questions, just to start: how many males can a female cope with?  We were watching the toads today and as far as we could make out there were at least five males clinging on to one female (she's a very big girl) and there were at least two more trying to get in on the action.  My mum wondered whether we should have intervened as the lady toad was so overwhelmed but my feeling was that she must be the 'alpha' female and therefore able to cope with whatever.  What do you think?

Also, in order to look at the toads, we have been shining torches in the water, does this disturb them?  It certainly seems to attract their attention.  I am new to this and I don't want to upset what seems to be a successful breeding site in my garden.

Thanks Caleb and Donny,

Some more questions!

How can youtell if a palmate newt is ready to breed?  And what is the difference between male and female?  Is it colour, shape, size, markings? 

I also have a very weird coloured newt (at least one) in my pond which I would describe as 'albino', it looks very creamy/white from above, not just on the belly.

How can you tell the difference between a male and female toad?  It is easy to see the difference when they are actually at it as the female is so clearly bigger, but I keep seeing toads of similar size trying to get it together and giving up.  Is this because a male has approached an unready/juvenile female or is it because they have just tried it on with another male toad and realised it won't work?

My mum has just had a pond built as she was so jealous of mine last year!  What can I safely give her from my pond to help to populate hers?  The most important thing for both of us is not to upset the balance in my established pond. 

Also, on a technical note, my photos seem to have made the screen really hard to see properly, does anyone know what I have done wrong and how I can correct it?

Thanks Gemma,  I have managed to change the image.

I shall have a good giggle later when I am watching the males 'grab anything that moves' and I shall listen out for the release call.

Can someone tell me if the one in the top of the following image is a frog?  I think three frogs have appeared tonight, I noticed them first because they were making a completely different noise to the toads and when I looked more closely their skin texture is completely different: glossy and smooth.

I have also taken a picture of the 'albino' newt, it's not a brilliant picture but it does represent the difference in colour between the odd one and a 'normal' newt.  Any info would be great!

From your replies Caleb, I am guessing that you are very experienced in handling toads and frogs and that as someone who has barely touched either I should leave them alone to sort themselves out. 

Thanks again for all the info, I'm sure it won't be too long before I have more stupid questions!

OK, another stupid question!  Do female toads flirt?  I have just seen the big female in my pond swim around and casually/flirtilly touch a few males.  She only has one male on her at the moment.  Is she looking for more?

Also, the activity tonight is substantially less than it was over the last few nights. I think it is a bit colder tonight (but not really cold) and there is also a full moon (or nearly one anyway), would either factor affect the breding process? 

We actually have two ponds, both are man made and connected with a small artificial stream.  The biggest pond is not very big, about 5ft wide and 7ft long.  We are in a fairly rural location and have a small river at the bottom of the garden. 

We moved into the house in April 06 and although I have no idea when the ponds were built they don't look all that old.  The lining on the bigger pond looks quite good, the small one may be a bit older and you can barely see into the water it is so murky, but they both seem to have been left alone for quite some time as both were quite overgrown.  We found the newts long before we realised we also had a fish!  We cleaned up the big pond a bit in the autumn, after the newts had hibernated, and luckily this doesn't seem to have done any harm.

My mum is dead jealous so she has built a pond herself this autumn!  The thing we are not sure about is what we can put in her pond from my pond to try to populate hers and when to do it.