There are many people out there who absolutely love frogs, and you might like seeing them on your property. If you wish to see more frogs on your property, then you could try to attract them by creating a pond area in your yard.
Some people even have natural ponds that are perfect for frogs, and you’ll be able to see tadpoles turning into baby frogs in this pond over time. If you’ve noticed that many of the baby frogs are dying, then you might be worried that something is amiss.
Is there a reason why many of the baby frogs would suddenly die like this? What can be done to help keep the baby frogs alive?
Read on to learn more about what could be going wrong in your pond. If you are able to figure out what’s happening, then you might be able to keep more baby frogs alive in the future.
1 – Ice Forming
You likely would notice if your pond froze over, but it’s still worth mentioning as something that can kill baby frogs. You see, if ice forms on your pond, then it’s possible that baby frogs could get stuck under the ice.
Once the ice thaws, you might see many dead baby frog bodies float to the surface. The baby frogs can’t survive under the water, and this means that they’ll die fairly fast.
If cold weather comes rather suddenly, then this can happen before the frogs have a chance to leave. In some areas, it’s fairly common for this to happen to at least some baby frogs each year.
However, the likelihood that you wouldn’t know that ice is to blame is low. Ice forming on a pond is very noticeable, and you’re going to likely understand what occurred if you had a cold snap in your area.
2 – Water Conditions
The water conditions could cause baby frogs to die, and you definitely shouldn’t be using normal tap water. If you’re keeping frogs in an artificial pond of some sort, then you’ll need to use treated water that is right for baby frogs.
If you go to add water or change out some water, then you could forget and use tap water. Many people have made mistakes like this, and it winds up killing many baby frogs.
Sadly, small mistakes with the water can lead to dire consequences. Be very careful when you’re taking care of baby frogs so that you can avoid issues like this.
3 – Predators
There’s a possibility that predators could be to blame for the baby frogs dying as well. It’s unlikely that most types of fish that would be in your pond would eat the baby frogs.
However, many types of fish will eat tadpoles, and that means that some tadpoles will likely be lost to fish in a standard pond setting. There are many other types of animals that might try to eat frogs that you’ll need to think about, too.
Different types of snakes and even raccoons might try to kill frogs when looking for food. Predators like this might even go after adult frogs, and this means that it shouldn’t be hard to believe that the baby frogs could be getting killed by local predators.
You can try to look for signs that predators are nearby to see if that’s really the problem. If there are no signs of predators that your frogs need to worry about, then it might be something else that killed the baby frogs.
Of course, if you do think predators are killing baby frogs in the area, then you can try to get rid of the predators. There are things that you can do to deter predators from coming around, and you could also look into hiring exterminators.
For instance, if you have snakes on your property that you’re concerned about, then a pest control company could come out and handle that for you. This might be a good way to help the baby frogs to survive if you’re sure that predators are picking them off.
4 – Infectious Disease
Another thing to consider is that infectious disease could be what is killing the baby frogs. There are different diseases that could be killing frogs in the area, and there likely isn’t much that you can do about that.
If all of the frogs in the pond seem to be dying, then this is a likely answer to what you’re seeing happen. Infectious diseases can take out many baby frogs and adult frogs in short periods of time.
You might find that the number of frogs in your pond will diminish significantly in a short period of time. If nothing else really explains what is going on with the baby frogs, then you might need to consider if an infectious disease is to blame.
Determining what type of infectious disease is to blame will be hard unless you do some lab work. You could contact a local veterinarian who’s willing to look at the frogs to see if they can give you an opinion.
The state of the dead baby frog’s body might give some clues as to what’s going on. Either way, you’ll need to consult with professionals to determine what’s really going on.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of different things that could be causing the baby frogs to die. If you want to do your best to keep them alive, then it’s going to be important to make good decisions and be careful about how you’re doing certain things.
When keeping baby frogs in a pond outside, you’ll need to watch out for predators. Try to deter predators from coming near the pond as best you can while also keeping an eye on the weather.
You’ll need to be careful about the water that you’re using since that can have an impact on the baby frogs. It’s also true that cold snaps could wind up killing the baby frogs due to ice forming in the pond.
Even infectious diseases could be to blame for killing baby frogs. With so much to consider, it isn’t always easy to determine what went wrong with the baby frogs.
You’ll just have to follow the evidence to try to figure out what went wrong. This should allow you to determine what’s happening so that you can make good decisions moving forward.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. I have a wife and two children and love taking them to the zoo to see all the animals. I grew up with dogs and fish and now have two dogs and two cats. I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.