Froglets (will they survive)

Hi (new member) Highlands Scotland

At the beginning of march in a puddle/pool, during the short warm spell we had I found some frog spawn in it. Knowing this puddle/pool would dry up or the spawn would be killed by frost I decided to put some in a fish tank and watch the tadpoles develop.

Firstly the pool did dry up and the remaining spawn i left just dried up and a week or so later we had 6 inches of snow the spawn pretty much vanished! So I am happy with my decision!

The tadpoles have done well, in fact they have done to well! They are now turning into froglets, (as of April 20th) in fact I have had to release a small number back where i found them.

Thankfully due to all the rain the pool has filled back up and the land surrounding it is farmland/gorse marshy bog with soft rush etc. almost perfect for amphibians (if they don't get squashed by cow hooves)

I have put a sheet of corrugated iron down beside the pool for them to hide under and hopefully get warm if necessary.

I wasn't expecting to return them at least until end of may, but the ones I have released had almost absorbed their tales and where hanging around out of the water, and there is no way i can feed 150-200 froglets for a month or two.

My question ( I know you've been waiting for this ) Whats the chances they will survive the low temperature, it isn't that warm, most days approx 8 - 10 degrees and approx 3 - 5 at night.

I'm hoping if they survive the cold then they have a good start in life and can build their strength for the winter.

cheers

oddjob-ding wrote: Whats the chances they will survive the low temperature, it isn't that warm, most days approx 8 - 10 degrees and approx 3 - 5 at night.

They should be fine, they can stay active down to quite low temperatures. Even if the air temperature dips at night, they should be well above freezing if under cover.

When I raise frog tadpoles, I usually release them when they've got to a decent size, but before the hind legs have started to grow- I think this gives them a good headstart, but also gets them accustomed to their pond and its climate before they metamorphose.