Peron's Tree Frog-
Litoria Peronii
Photograph - ©Derek Heward

Peron's Tree Frog
Litoria Peronii
Photograph - ©Derek Heward

Giant Barred Frog
Mixophyes Iteratus
Photograph - ©Vaughn Nash

Green Tree Frog
Litoria Caerulea
Photograph - ©Vaughn Nash


Redeye Green Tree Frog
Litoria Chloris
Photograph - ©Vaughn Nash

Tusked Frog
Adelotus Brevis
Photograph - © Suzie Pearce

                    THE LIFE CYCLE

Male frogs call in the breeding season to attract mates. The eggs of most species are usually laid in or near water and may be surrounded by either clear gel (tree frogs) or a frothy, floating foam (ground frogs). Hatching will take between 24 hours and several days depending on the species and temperature. It should be noted that there are many exceptions to these rules, but from a backyard pond point of view, most species conform.

Tadpoles eat mainly decaying plants, living algae and drowned insects. They gradually develop hindlegs, forelegs and lungs allowing them to leave the water and begin their growth to adulthood. At this point the tail is resorbed into the body. It does not “drop off” as many people believe.

The tadpole stage varies enormously from species to species and depends on temperature, food supply and competition from other tadpoles. Some species, such as the Ornate Burrowing Frog can go through the tadpole stage in as little as 15 or 16 days! Others, such as the Barred Frogs can take many months.

   A  Adult frogs mate..
   B  Eggs hatch
   C  Tadpoles grow
   D  Hind legs develop
   E  Front leg emerges
   F  Other front leg emerges
       Then the tail is absorbed,
       the lungs develop and 
       finally the frog leaves the
       water.

                 
                     

Frogs need food, shelter and breeding opportunities.  A heavily vegetated backyard will provide more resources for a higher number of frogs than a lightly vegetated one.  Additionally, the greater the diversity of plants and sheltering sites is, the greater diversity of frogs will be.  High humidity helps, but this needs to be balanced with sound water use practice.  Collecting your own rainwater to top up ponds and maintain garden moisture levels, heavy mulching, and trickly irrigation will allow greater frog amenity without impacting on water conservation.  on the other hand, long dry spells will not have an adverse long term effect on your frog population.. When it's dry - they just stay hidden.
 

Setting up a pond

You will need:-

1. Plastic pond liner
2. Washed sand or gravel
3. Ledge for plants or rocks
4. Water depth to 20 cm
5. Rocks, logs
6. Native water plants

Above Ground Ponds:
Any clean non-metallic container can be used. Tadpoles prefer shallow water with a large surface area. Toddlers ‘clamshell’ wading pools are suitable.

Position:
Tadpoles are heat sensitive. A position which is predominantly in the shade is best. Frog choruses at night can be quite loud and can disturb some people. Talk to the neighbours before choosing the pond’s position.

Water:
Rainwater is best, but tap water can also be used quite safely if left to ‘cure’ a few days in sunlight before using to top up ponds or establish a new one.

WATER is No: 1 need to frogs.

PLEASE, be waterwise!

                      

What you can and can’t do to frogs

♦  There is a Nature Conservation Act and two Conservation Regulations that apply to frogs and they need to be read in conjunction with each other (over 700 pages )

♦  The definition of wildlife
includes eggs, larvae or any part of any animal.

♦   It is prohibited to take any protected animal, with varyi ng classes of offences if they are
taken. The taking of any frog, egg or tadpole is illegal without a permit licence or other authority.

♦  There is however an exemption. The exemption applies onl y to frogs which are declared to be Common Wildlife.
If you do not have a licence (like most of us), you can take up to 8 frogs and up to a maximum of 2 species of any one species if they are declared common.
Tadpoles and eggs cannot be taken.

♦  The problem is, there is no such Common Frog List! You therefore need to assume that if a species is not listed as Extinct, Endangered, Vulnerable or Rare, then it must be common.

♦  These exempt frogs can only be taken from the backyard that they are to be kept in!
(does that make sense??? It sounds to me,  that means you cannot transport them from your backyard).
So, what does this mean? It means we cannot have a display of live frogs at the Frog Festival unless someone has a permit.

If you would like to delve into this marvellous world of legislative legalise a little more, visit the Nature Conservation legislation at


                   www.legislation.qld.gov.au.

 

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FAVOURITE THINGS FOR FROGS

1. Water—Unpolluted and abundant for living and breeding.

Frogs need a diversity of water body formations found naturally with creeks and wetlands. They are very sensitive to toxins and other pollutants.

2. Food—Lots of invertebrates (the essential element for most food chains)

Healthy unpolluted creeks, rivers and wetlands provide the greater diversity and abundance of invertebrates

3. Shelter—Moist microhabitats, vegetation, leaf litter, logs.

Natural places such as rainforest, streambanks, wetlands, and wallum are important habitat areas for frogs. If such places are removed or disturbed, frogs living there are likely to be lost.

Gardens can be made more frog-friendly where natural habitat has already been removed and this can be important for frog survival. Frogs need a diversity of vegetation types (preferable local native) and
sheltering sites (logs, leaf litter). Ponds for breeding and moist mulched areas are also important with water collected by rainwater tanks being ideal. Tadpoles prefer shallow water with a large surface area. Keeping smaller variety native fish (e.g Pacific Blue Eyes) in ponds is helpful for mosquito control. Keep pets secure particularly at night.

4. Mates—Opposite sex of the same species preferred

5. Peace—Not to be moved, eaten, captured, tortured, diseased, out-competed or poisoned


Domestic animals and foxes are a direct threat to frogs.


It is important not to take frogs or tadpoles from the wild for pets, as disturbance is a serious threat to their existence.


Handling frogs or tadpoles can spread the chytrid fungal disease that is threatening whole populations of frog species.