# looking for Frogs for pond in New Jersey



## Mikalle (Jul 1, 2012)

my wife and I have a 3500 gallon pond in our yard. We have water lilies, pickerel rush, and irises growing throughout the pond so there is plenty of cover for frogs. We were wondering what frogs you would recommend for the pond, we want them to survive year-round, and where can we find the frogs that are recommended.

Thanks for your help,

Michael and Christine


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

You probably have just finished your pond if you don't have any frogs there yet. The last pond I built I had native frogs and toads there within a week of finishing it. They will find it on their own. I strongly suggest you don't go out and try and purchase any animals. Basically you would be releasing the purchased animals into the wild, if for some reason they carried some pathogen, say...Chytrid, or Ranavirus, you would also be releasing that into the wild. Absolutely something you don't want to do. Just relax and the native frogs and toads will find your pond and make it their home.


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## cschub13 (Apr 27, 2011)

I agree very much with Rusty! Although I think the idea of getting involved with some conservation organizations and introducing native threatened/endangered amphibians would be a very cool idea. I don't know the first thing about moving forward with something like this, just thought it was a really interesting idea...


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

Not to mention the illegality of releasing non native species, or the illegality of purchasing and possessing native species. Or the possibility of obtaining the wrong subspecies for a given geographic area.
It's best to just be patiend and let the native amphibians find it on their own. You'll probably be surprised how quickly they do find it.


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## Mikalle (Jul 1, 2012)

Actually the pond was completed in July of last year. We've had dragonflies, and other insects almost from day one. Birds and other animals have found the pond, we even had a pair of mallards dropping by daily for almost 2 weeks. I feel that the only reason we don't have any frogs is because we are quite a distance from any other bodies of freshwater. As for the type of frogs, we only want native To the area frogs in the pond, nothing exotic. I was hoping that someone had them for sale or had a few too many and wanted to share.

Thanks,

Mike


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## 19jeffro83 (Sep 5, 2011)

If it were me I'd go looking to "relocate" some leopard and bull frogs. ( ;


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

I built a small pond and several frogs found their way up within a few weeks. I agree that it's a bad idea to introduce non-native species. If you listen at night/ evening, do you ever hear any frog calls? There may be some toad, frog, and treefrog species in the area you aren't seeing, and if you find some nearby I don't see a problem with moving a few tadpoles over to your pond.
Bryan


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Do not stock your pond with non-native amphibian species as this can cause all sorts of deleterious results. Assuming your pond is amphibian friendly, they will eventually find and begin utilizing it: Pond Guide | Tree Walkers International


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Mikalle said:


> Actually the pond was completed in July of last year. We've had dragonflies, and other insects almost from day one. Birds and other animals have found the pond, we even had a pair of mallards dropping by daily for almost 2 weeks. I feel that the only reason we don't have any frogs is because we are quite a distance from any other bodies of freshwater. As for the type of frogs, we only want native To the area frogs in the pond, nothing exotic. I was hoping that someone had them for sale or had a few too many and wanted to share.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mike


If you have fish, that will reduce the number of anuran species that will find it acceptable. 

Ideally you want to have the frogs from the closest possible local source to stock the pond. Frogs (even of native species) from further away can result in the transport of diseases (like ranavirus) or chytrid as well as parasites. As a further complication, frogs from more distant populations that migrate away from your pond can actually introduce genes that are not beneficial for the local populations. (This is a form of outbreeding depression). 

As for collecting frogs, it is technically illegal to collect any frogs in NJ other than green and bullfrogs. Both green and bullfrog have seasons when they can be collected and you are required to have a fishing license to catch them (see Sizes and Limits: Freshwater). NJ is one of the states where you really don't want to be caught breaking the rules. 

One of the possible options would be to contact the local fish and wildlife officer and see if he has to relocate tadpoles/frogs (some will breed in pool covers or move into them) that he can release them there. 

I should also note that if you (or your immediate neighbors) utilize herbicide and pesticides on the lawn(s), that will create an area that is pretty inhospitable to anurans. 

Some comments,

Ed


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

some good advice from other posters...but if it works out--leopard frogs are really beautiful. When my husband and I tore down a client's huge pond and all the various components...we got about 4 pallets of rocks, a huge pump...all the incidentals, and a bunch of leopard frogs...hopefully they are liking their new digs here...I was not aware that I might have been doing the wrong thing...hopefully there will be no negative consequences to our two earth bottom ponds...


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## jejton (Sep 3, 2006)

How about posting some photos?


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## Froggywv (Aug 9, 2010)

Post a sign at a local barn, gas station, etc, that you will pay a couple kids to catch some frogs for you  Our kids are CONSTANTLY catching frogs, tads, eggs, etc. Look up your native species and take a picture of it, put it on your flyer, that way the kids know what type of frog to catch. Remember, most frogs will eat anything that fits into their mouths, even smaller species of frogs. Since you pond has been up and running for a year and still no frogs, you get to choose what goes in there. How fun!


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## JeremyHuff (Apr 22, 2008)

Depending where you are in NJ, it would be cool to have the new leopard frog just discovered if they are local to your area. They are in Great Swamp and in Staten Island.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

My parents' ponds took a little while before the frogs started moving in, I wouldn't be too concerned (we have fish and the ponds are crawling in frogs regardless). Make sure you haven't had any water snakes move in, as they'll take the frogs out pretty quickly.


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