Frogs Only Please.....

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Here is a small frog (Leopard Frog?) in the fountain on top of a water lettuce, I have a large Bull Frog but can never get a good pick of him or her :/

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:3534]
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:3533]
 
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Sure looks like a Leopard frog to me. I found that my largest bullfrogs come out at dusk, just when the solar lights come on, and the 2 or 3 of them have favorite spots to sit on the edge of the pond, just under some light or another. So, try going outside at dusk, with a flashlight, and see what you can find! Totally different world out there at night. Spiders are busy spinning new webs, they love it when you shine a light on their web, as a moth is likely to come to the light, and be an easy meal for them. My young bullfrogs are mostly pretty easy going. I went into the ponds last weekend again, and there were times they were less than 12" from where I was standing, and considering I was pulling old lily leaf stems off underneath them, that's pretty tame! I talk to them so maybe that helps. They know me. And, I occasionally toss them a small grasshopper. I sure have plenty of the grass hoppers, but most of them are getting pretty large, too large for the young bullfrogs, but perfect for the big ones. I have a few leopard frogs, but they are VERY skittish, usually outside of the ponds, and jump into the overgrown bog for shelter.
 

JBtheExplorer

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Just found a new young Green Frog by my pond. Hopefully it sticks around.
DSCN3431.jpg


I found a huge population of Leopard Frogs recently so I tried to add a few to my pond but they all left :(
 

addy1

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Nice frog JB, but it looks more like a bullfrog then a green frog, see the ridge around the ear? in a green frog they don't have as prominent ridge and they also have a ridge that goes down their back.

not my picture
bullfrog

green ( my picture)
 

JBtheExplorer

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addy1 said:
Nice frog JB, but it looks more like a bullfrog then a green frog, see the ridge around the ear? in a green frog they don't have as prominent ridge and they also have a ridge that goes down their back.
Nope, its definitely a Green Frog. As you said, Green Frogs have two ridges that go down their back, the dorsal ridge or fold. Its the number one tell tale sign between the two. That ridge can be seen in my photo extending two-thirds of the way down its back.
As for the ridge around its ear, its not a tell-tale sign. Many Green Frogs do have very prominent ridges around their ears.
The coloration/pattern also matches a Green Frog, as does the shape of its snout. Green Frogs have pointier snouts, Bull Frogs have more rounded snouts.

Being a frog freak all my life and reading many herpetologists' notes over time really helps me identify the frogs in my area. Admittedly I can't tell apart the Eastern Gray Treefrog and Copes Gray Treefrog because I haven't had any time with them in person. Leopard Frogs and Pickerel Frogs can occasionally look very similar too.
 

addy1

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Neat thanks! I didn't see that ridge down the back at first look.
 
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You both have me more confused now! I was going to agree with Addy, thinking it was a bullfrog, too. Guess Addy's pic of a green frog has a more prominent ridge going down it's back from the ear fold, so it's easier for me to see. I have a ton of frogs on my pond, think they are all bullfrogs, but some are more solid green, most are more blotchy green and brown, like your frog, JB. Maybe I DO have some green frogs in my pond after all! LOL I don't really care, I like them all, large, small, and tiny, even the toads! I just wish those toads would stay out of the way of my lawn mower, takes a long time to stop and wait for them to hop out of my way these days. :blueflower:
 

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CountryEscape said:
You both have me more confused now! Maybe I DO have some green frogs in my pond after all!
The key are the dorsal ridges. Check to see if they have dorsal ridges. Prominent or less prominent, its a Green Frog.
 
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OK, you help me out here. Pretty sure these are bullfrogs, but they are the largest frogs on my ponds, so assume that is why I think that! They look like the same frog, but the pics were taken at the same time. First pic is frog just below the deck, on landscape rock on koi pond edge. The second pic is on top of the skimmer rock cover.
Bullfrog.JPGSitting on the skimmer lid.JPG
Here are a couple of pics of a bunch of frogs sitting on the goldfish pond edge. Not as close up, so maybe you can't tell from these pics.
Pair of frogs.JPG4 frogs.JPG4 frogs again.JPG
And, this is how I usually see the frogs, sitting on lily pads. I liked how the turtle got into this pic, too.
Two frogs and a turtle.JPG
 
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The second frog came to visit!!! YYEYYEY

granted I cant tell what it is. No ridge, small, all dark borwn, pointy nose, not a smooth skin, dont see any spots, about 2 inches long. The eyes are kinda sit on the side more than sit on the head, if you get what I mean.

Cant get picture, it jumped in the pond as soon as I got close. About 80% sure of what I saw but will have to confirm when I see it again and know what to look for :)

My thought is Carpenter frog or Chorus frog.
 
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Great, always fun to see new frogs. I spotted the largest bullfrog I've seen yet in my ponds yesterday. And, considering last night and again tonight I heard a one chorus "croak" from a bullfrog, wondering if he is pushing his way to the top of the pecking order, and demanding attention! I'm not a large person, but his body is the size of my hand laid flat on a table! He was HUGE. I've got large bullfrogs on my ponds, too, but this guy made them look like they were small in comparison. Wondering if he is the granddaddy bullfrog I spotted two years ago in the ditch across the road from my house. I could not believe his size then, either. If I get a chance, I'll try to take a pic of him but thinking a pic won't begin to show the size of him, unless he's on a lily pad that I can later take a pic of with a ruler! :blueflower:
 

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darnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn winter is coming.
Found this little one while pulling seeds from some plants. Sitting by the edge of one of the stream ponds.

DSC06502.JPG
 
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OK, I'm outside, putting the puppy to bed in his pen, and hear the bullfrog "click", and the a few seconds later croak. So, I go back inside, get my little LED flashlight and camera. He sat there just as pretty as can be, I took probably 12 pics of him, mostly with the flash, and I was only maybe 6' from him when I realized he couldn't see me from the flashlight. You tell me how big you think he is? All I know is I have some large bullfrogs on my ponds, and saw them tonight, at least 6 of them in the goldfish pond where this guy was watching over, and none of them are half the size of this guy.
Granddaddy bullfrog.JPGGranddaddy up close.JPGcheck out his width.JPG
Here's my hand on the same rock he was perched on. My palm is where his butt was, and fingers where his head and front legs. So, when I said he is the size of my hand, I meant it, and now I have proof. LOL And, looking at this pic, I see one of the other large bullfrogs is in the foreground in the water.
my hand as comparison to bullfrog.JPG
This was another little frog, not sure what kind it is, that was sitting on the landscape stones about 8' from the ponds. He looks different than my other frogs. Anyone know what kind it is?
Another frog.JPG
And, this one was on the INSIDE of my sliding glass door about a week ago. The cat must have brought him inside. First tree frog I've seen this year, maybe ever, on my property here! Was excited!
Treefrog on inside of sliding glass door.JPG
 

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That is one big grand daddy bullfrog CE! Wonder if he got that way eating all the baby fish in your ponds? Would be neat to have such a variety of frogs visiting my pond. I'm getting there tho and am happy I have any :cheerful:
 
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@JB -- You know you would make a LOT of people happy if you were able to ship eggs or tadpoles for those leopard frogs next Spring! I haven't had any luck finding any for sale. Northern Leopard frogs are native in my area, however they have been decimated by rising bullfrog populations. I'd love to be able to give a helping hand to increasing the local population.

I think having them grow up in your pond is one of the keys to them sticking around (or coming back when they wander).
 

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