Help! With Amphibians!

J-Williams · #1 (**permalink**) 27-03-2010, 07:04 PM

Hi,

Im a new member to the forum, I joined because of my love of UK Wildlife and well, I need help!

A few years back (Year Of The Frog) I buried a large bucket into the ground and left the area around it for wildlife! I called this the Frog abode! There was soon Frogs in the Water and there was also lots of frogs in the under-growth around the "Bucket".

During 2009 my neighbours had Frog spawn in their Ornimental Pond (which was about 8cm deep!) and I realised that this wasnt good for developing Tadpoles, so I put them in my more naturalistic "Bucket"! A year on I have Frog Spawn!

Yet there is a problem, there is a very large amount of it in a very small bucket (Diameter being about 40cm). I realised I would have to move some to other ponds in the area, yet I also realised I need to create a new proper pond! I want one no larger than 6ft x 6ft and I want to keep it cheap!

So I was wonder, does anyone have any idea's on its design, I need to know what depths, plants etc. are best for the frogs (or other amphibians) and I need your Help!

Any Idea's and can anyone tell me about their back-garden ponds!

Jack

dampflippers · #2 (**permalink**) 27-03-2010, 07:24 PM

How long's a piece of string!

Cheapest way: Join your local freecycle.org group or freegle group and look for someone giving away a pond, or place a wanted ad. (Both groups aim to save the world by cutting down on landfill by giving things away.

If you don't get a free one, then buy a piece of pond liner.

Try to make it 18 inches in at least one part, have flat shelves for plants, and a sloping beach for easy access and exit for amphibians and hedgehogs.
Remove sharp things under liner and line with wet sand and or some pond underlay.

Don't trim liner until it is full and bury the egdes. Make sure the top is flat or you will get lots of liner showing.

Don't have hard paving all the way round as babies will dessicate on it.

Lots of planting around, and marginal and submerged oxygenating plants.

DON'T get azolla/ fairymoss, Crassula/Tillea recurva/ swamp stonecrop, or floating pennywort as these are highly invsasive and will soon take over your pond.

Fill pond and leave for a few days or use pond water conditioner.

Add some water and debris from the bottom of your bucket pond.

Keep your bucket pond.

More ideas look on BBC wildlife pages.

Toads like deep water to spawn, frogs like shallow water or pond plants near the surface to rest on. Newts like plants with soft pliable leaves to fold their eggs into like water starwort and water forgetmenot.

Rocks/logs near edge to hide under.

J-Williams · #3 (**permalink**) 27-03-2010, 10:53 PM

That may explain why I have Frog Spawn, there is ALOT of Plant life in my bucket pond, it must be supporting the Spawn!

Thanks alot by the way, hopefully I can start work on it in the next few weeks! Ill look at a few other websites aswell!

ps. I love the name!

Tracey.A · #4 (**permalink**) 28-03-2010, 12:09 AM

My mum dug out her own pond and it is full of frogs and other wildlife year after year

The information that Dampflippers shared is brilliant, you can't go wrong if you follow the advice given by this wabber

Good luck with it all. Once established you will be trully amazed at the amount of wildlife that will find your pond

Only thing I would point out is that remember to have a shallow area, so that if a hedgehog falls in it will be able to get out. My mum found a dead hedgehog in her pond a few years ago and she was so upset, poor thing couldn't get out. Mum has made sure that this will never happen again.

Good luck

Tracey

Malx · #5 (**permalink**) 28-03-2010, 01:05 AM

Do pay heed to what dampflippers said above!

Almost the best thing I've ever done, building a pond 2 years ago!
Don't pay too much money. Honestly, amphibians aren't that posh.

I bought a plastic pond shape from my local Garden Centre in the 'Reduced' section as it was the last of its line, and it cost me about £20 odd. I suspect a bit of pond liner would be much cheaper even - do you know any builders or landscape gardeners, for example?
But that's all it cost me. About 3 hours' digging later I had a pond about 2m x 1m x 1m, with little ledges built in. I took cuttings and small offshoots from friends' and relatives' ponds, and little else. In no time there were frogs hopping around the place.

I've built a proper Hedgehog ramp just in case, but otherwise there's little else to do - most things just grow by themselves in time, and get better each season.

This site's good for further basic reading:
How to make a wildlife pond

J-Williams · #6 (**permalink**) 28-03-2010, 08:27 AM

Speaking of Hedgehog falling into deep ponds! We had a mouse fall into our bucket pond last year, so I dont want that to happen again!

I treasure the fact of having Mammals in the Garden!

J-Williams · #7 (**permalink**) 28-03-2010, 08:57 PM

Another point I must ask, if anybody has any tips is the idea of a...

BOG GARDEN!

I have researched these, I know you have them in your garden, I also know that they can be a better choice than a pond if you have young children but I do not understand the concept!

I would want to have mine on the outskirts of my pond, but I do not have a clue how to make one, do I have to do work on the ground, do I need to alter my pond deisgn, what plants would be needed???

It must be a good thing that the area in which I am planning my pond is quite large and very damp!!!

J-Williams · #8 (**permalink**) 30-03-2010, 07:18 AM

Right Im all sorted, I have designed my ponds (Im having 2 now) and it looks like Im going to spend about £40 on pond liner!

One pond will be 1m x 1.5 m and will reach a depth of about 40cm and the second more Newt associated pond will be 1m x 2m pond and will reach a depth of about 60cm!

There will be a medium sized ornimental bridge inbetween the two and underneath there shall be a 5cm deep strip connecting the two ponds, this will provide a shady place for the frogs! And ofcourse Im putting everything you have said in to my plans!

I am having my small over-flow bog beside the larger pond! I now understand how to create a bog garden, Im still not sure on what type of soil to use!

Atleast the area is wet!

Malx · #9 (**permalink**) 09-04-2010, 09:39 PM

Sounds great.
In round figures, a bog pond is just a pond liner which isn't very deep in the ground, and with a load of soil in the bottom of it.
You get permanently moist conditions [though you may need to water them in the summer] but the soil allows greenery too, and islands and land for smaller amphibians to enjoy.
All you miss from not having a full-on pond is: the chance of free-flowing frog/toad spawn, and the ever-present hope that the Loch Ness Monster will vacation at yours...