Questiondear Robyn,
saw your link for winterizing ponds. i have a 150 small pond with some fantails in it. i noticed this summer that i had a toad living in the pond. he has done well with the fish and now the winter is approaching here in phila. Should i plan on trying to catch the frog and use an aquarium for the winter inside? I have a ring heater that i use in the pond all winter which makes an air escape hole. Please let me know what you think I should do
sincerely,
mike m
AnswerToads and terrestrial frogs hibernate on land. I'm assuming you have an aquatic frog. You should identify what species it is. Bullfrogs, green frogs, and pickerel frogs hibernate under water. If you have one of those, it may try to overwinter in the pond and could potential suffocate if the pond completely freezes over. You could also keep the pond open with the heater. Where do you live? If you're in Zone 7 or higher, the frog can probably stay in the pond.
You saw my winterizing page but did you see this section on overwintering frogs specifically:
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/frog3.htm
(the first and third topics may be relevant)
Good luck!