Too many Tadpoles

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

We tried Cucumber yesterday. These Scots Taddies don`t like it.(They don`t sell much salad in the shops in Scotland either) We will try beef tomorrow -or maybe haggis will do the trick.
Dave

Why not deep fried Mars Bar?
Truth to tell, their favourite is Marmite on toast.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

They like chopped up watercress you can get this from any supermarket but they will be at the meat eating stage by now so try chopped worms, crushed snails, fish food ect.

I think you've made a good point that a lot f people might not be aware of - tadpole growth includes a change from vegetarian to carnivorous - cucumber, like any old greenery, is okay in the early stages but they will need protein and animal/fungal vitamins in later stages - they can eat each other (one of the reasons why there are so many of them laid) or you can ive them Marmite on toast!

[maggiem]

Thanks Shotski - as we're very dry in Kent at the moment, the water in the pond has been going down, so I think now would be a good time to really clear it out and start afresh. Though whether I can bring myself to throw away my lovely yellow irises just now is another matter!
Your thought about a new pond in the area is a good idea too - though I guess I'll never know without conducting an aerial survey!
Thanks again.

[maggiem]

I take it all back! My complaint about our vanishing frogs was unjustified - on various people's advice I started to clean out the pond today, and indeed there's a lot of rotting vegetation in there.
But while I was doing that, 4 frogs appeared, and then sat and watched me from a couple of feet away!
So, although we had no tadpoles this year, we do still have frogs, who must have laid their frog spawn elsewhere.
Hooray!
Thanks for all the help,
Maggie

[SallyV]

Well our tadpole population is now depleting quite rapidly. Sadly though, there are a lot of dehydrated little bodies on the shingle surrounding our pond, so it seems they have found their legs and hopped out of the water never to return.
I have also noticed a lot of sparrows and young starlings pecking around the pond. Would they take the little froglets?

[GCN lova]

many birds will pick off froglets and tadpoles. i would leave some long grass for them as they adore it. they also get dried out when they get stuck to rocks and stones

[galanthophile]

I have hundreds of tadpoles in my pond but they get eaten mainly by blackbirds who just stand by the edge and gobble them up! Plenty do survive and I have frogs of all different sizes, quite a healthy population for the size of my garden despite having cats, visiting hedgehogs and a heron! My BIL had the opposite problem, no frogs or tadpoles for a couple of years but then they appeared and now he has newts. So I'd say don't give up hope. As long as frogs can find their way into your garden they will turn up. If it wasn't for gardens I don't think there would be any frogs so we are all doing our bit - or I like to think so anyway. Just make sure your pond is an attractive place to be (in frog terms). They like still water and places to hide during the day, easy access in and out. Good luck!