Frogs Dying

[Neo]

Over the past 3 weeks I've found 4 dead frogs at the bottom of my pond and was hoping someone would have some more experience with frogs overwintering than me because last year was the first time we really noticed a real population and this was their first winter. I believe they were all leopard frogs.

The odd thing is that I would notice them all winter and they would hop back in the pond when I approached and acted normal even on colder days, unless it was below freezing but they started dying once the temps started rising into the 70's more often. They were all incredibly skinny and had white foam coming out of their mouths (not pretty) and looked a little darker than normal.

I have not tested my water but everything seems fine the was some leaf buildup that I missed but nothing severe, cleaned that out and my pumps and filters ran all winter. The fish all seem very healthy also.

 

[Big Lou]

So sorry.

 

[Dave 54]

So sorry to hear this Nick , the worrying thing is that frogs around the world are falling to a virus or fungus accidentally released by man in the South Americas .
So if it wasnt the cold that killed them it may well be an idea to tip off the wildlife people .
The famous golden frog of he South American jungle has now been reported as extinct I read some while ago anf this problem was heading ever slowly Northwards


Dave

 

[adavisus]

If there was a skim of ice over the pond overnight, the frogs may have drowned...

 

[addy1]

I found one dead frog, still finding a lot of live ones. Wish I could help you with this, no idea.

 

[Lisak1]

We have had a couple of frogs just sit on the edge of the pond and freeze to death overnight. I don't know if they simply don't realize it's getting too cold, or if they get caught with their froggy pants down, but it's always a curious occurrence. Ever hear the old adage about how a frog tossed into hot water will jump right out but if you heat the water slowly the frog will sit there until it's boiled to death? Maybe frogs just aren't that smart!

I would guess the foaming at the mouth came after death, rather than it having anything to do with why the frogs died. Same with the discoloration. But that's just a guess... I'm no frog expert by any means!

 

[Neo]

So sorry to hear this Nick , the worrying thing is that frogs around the world are falling to a virus or fungus accidentally released by man in the South Americas .
So if it wasnt the cold that killed them it may well be an idea to tip off the wildlife people .
The famous golden frog of he South American jungle has now been reported as extinct I read some while ago anf this problem was heading ever slowly Northwards


Dave

I definitely hadn't thought of that Dave, maybe it is something I should keep an eye on and check into.

If there was a skim of ice over the pond overnight, the frogs may have drowned...

This is what I thought with the first two that I found but then the other two I'm pretty sure were long after the pond has froze over because I noticed one acting lethargic a couple days before I found a dead one with no freezing temps that week.

We have had a couple of frogs just sit on the edge of the pond and freeze to death overnight. I don't know if they simply don't realize it's getting too cold, or if they get caught with their froggy pants down, but it's always a curious occurrence. Ever hear the old adage about how a frog tossed into hot water will jump right out but if you heat the water slowly the frog will sit there until it's boiled to death? Maybe frogs just aren't that smart!

I would guess the foaming at the mouth came after death, rather than it having anything to do with why the frogs died. Same with the discoloration. But that's just a guess... I'm no frog expert by any means!

I'm hoping they did just come out too early since we are still having cold snaps, it got down to 28 last night. I also agree that the white foam/color change was after they died but I thought I would add the facts just in case it helped identify anything.

Thanks for help/condolences everyone, I'm still going to test my water when it warms up a little also and maybe that will explain more.