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I have spawn in my garden pond how can I tell if it is from frogs or toads?

If you wake up to find you have spawn in your garden pond but have no idea who it was left there is an easy way to find out. Frogspawn is laid in clumps of jelly with black dots, while toads lay long jelly like strips which are often referred to as strings.

If you want to tell the difference between toad and frog tadpoles look at their colour after a few weeks. Toad tadpoles remain jet black while frog tadpoles are mottled green/grey with gold speckles.

This is a question posed to me on a regular basis by enquirers. I am pleased to say providing you have not introduced additional frogs to your pond there is no such thing as too much frogspawn. Ponds have the ability to support a large amount of life, exactly how much will depend on the size of the pond and the surrounding habitat.

Each year any one female frog can lay in excess of 2000 eggs in jelly which swell up. Sadly despite the large quantities of spawn laid each year only a tiny fraction of spawn or tadpoles will survive. The perils faced by amphibian including being the natural prey for a number of birds, fish and aquatic invertebrates. Spawn, tadpoles and froglets are also susceptible to a number of amphibian diseases and variations in temperature, it is a wonder these little creatures survive at all.

Ponds that have a successful spawning season appear to turn into a big black writhing mass of tadpoles. It is often at this time people consider moving tadpoles out of their pond. We would never recommend moving spawn between ponds, especially wildlife ponds, as this can aid the spread of non native species and amphibian disease such as red leg disease. Simply sit back and marvel at the adaptability of this valuable habitat and its inhabitants.

I have found a bright red frog in my garden, are frogs normally this colour?

Frogs naturally vary in colour, while many frogs we see are green or brown they can also be orange, red and yellow. They can also have irregular dark blotches over their skin. To be sure you have seen a common frog there are distinct markings that can help you with identification. From the photograph we can see this is a common frog as it is identifiable from the dark mask behind its eyes. The common frog also has paired folds of skin running along the back of its body.

Frogs also have the ability to alter their skin colour to match in with their environment. In addition to this during the breeding season female frogs in the south of England have also been seen to change to a pinky red colour. After the breeding season the female will quickly return to her original colour.

Will frogs and toads cohabit in a very small (1sq m) wildlife pond, or would you only expect one or the other?

If you want amphibians to breed in their garden we recommend a pond that is at least 2m x 2m that has different depths going down to at least 0.5m. That said any sized pond will be beneficial to wildlife. In general common toads are much more particular than common frogs. They tend to migrate to larger ancestral breeding ponds e.g. farmland ponds, reservoirs because they prefer deep water. However with the loss of so many ponds in the countryside, common toads are starting to use garden ponds more and more. Common frogs are less fussy and will spawn in more unlikely places such as puddles so it is possible that a 1m x 1m pond will get frog spawn.

Although they have different preferences, it is possible to get frogs and toads 'cohabiting' but it is very unlikely in such a small pond. Also the 'cohabitation' will be for a very short time i.e. a few weeks in spring, because common toads in particular spend so little time in water. Both common toads and frogs spend the majority of their life on land so the area around the pond is just as important as the pond itself. It is best to try to create a variety of habitats in which amphibians can shelter and forage including areas of long grass, log and stone piles and compost heaps.

Things to do

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Copyright Sussex Wildlife Trust January 2009
WildCall Factsheet disclaimer: All information contained within Sussex Wildlife Trust WildCall factsheets is to the best of our knowledge true and accurate at the time of printing. The Sussex Wildlife Trust will not accept any responsibility or liability for any losses or damage resulting from following the advice given.