Pond or Frog Prison?

[slimrbp]

I have just moved into a new house and in the garden there is a very small pond. I am not sure what it is made from but it is essentially a hard plastic bucket, with vertical sides.

I was pleasantly suprised to find a pair of eyes looking at me as there is a resident frog. This led me to worry that he was trapped as it would be difficult to get out. One edge of the pond is at least 15cm above water level, I have topped it off with water from a water butt and the opposite end settles at about a 1-2cm below the pond edge.

To help Mr frog out I have placed a piece of wood into the pond that leads out to an overgrown portion and he does seem to rest on it and croak away.

I have left the overgrown grass at the sides as the pond gets full sun during most of the day so there will places for him to hide.

I have started to create a dead wood pile near the pond and will probably plant some wildlflowers and the like around the area to give cover.

Here are some shots, do you think the ramp will be suitable as a means of escape (I think it puts him in hopping distance of the pond edge)?

Thanks,

Richard

[Blackdogjnr]

As well as froggie I would worry about hedgehogs being able to climb out if they were unfortunate enought to fall in Richard.

I was concerned about this with the pond I dug so bought a few bags of boulders and rubble and submerged them at one end gradually creating a kind of beach so mammals and amphibians have something to grab on to or rest upon.

If the pond is a tough plastic tub then this shouldn't be much of a problem as long as you are careful and don't create a split or hole in the bottom ....

[slimrbp]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I spent a bit of time at the weekend redesigning the escape route. Unfortunatley the pond is deep but not very long so it was hard to build a gradual ramp.

In the end I sunk a brick at the back, used a saw to get the post to length and it now provides a gentle ramp along the right hand side as you look at it, so hopefully any hapless creatures should be able to get out.

As I inherited it with residents I don't want to disturb it too much but will look to re-design in the autumn.

Thanks again.