Can I/Should I put leopard frog tadpoles in my pond?

[clintosaurus rex]

I have always wanted to see and hear northern leopard frogs in my backyard pond. There are plenty of insect in my partly shaded, well planted backyard pond. The problem is, even though im close to a creek, the frogs have to cross too many roads to get to my house (and the creek is better looking than my pond). The only frogs I hear over at the creek are chorus frog (boreal to be exact). So my question is would the leopard frogs stay at my pond if they were introduced as tadpoles? Because if not, I wont bother. They could easily escape my yard, and I dont want them to disturb the " leopard free" chorus frog population. Leopard frogs are native to where I live (Saskatchewan), but they are outside the city. I would also be ordering tbe tadpoles, not collecting them.

[Kurt]

Collect them locally.

[clintosaurus rex]

Ok, but would they stay around and breed in the pond? And do they hibernate in the ground or the water?

[Kurt]

Sorry, I do not know enough to be able to answer your inquiry. Time to hit the books!

[clintosaurus rex]

Alright thats fine. I think they would stick around if raised as tadpoles in the pond. I have heard frogs have a "homing" abilty and go back to the same pond they were born in, much like a salmon. But if you introduce them as eggs or tadpoles, they will call your pond "home".

[KingCam]

Ok, but would they stay around and breed in the pond? And do they hibernate in the ground or the water?

I believe they hibernate in the mud underwater. Your pond would need to be 3ft or deeper (to retain enough warmth), with a layer of mud and leaf litter at the bottom to accommodate brumation. It would also be a good idea to buy a stock tank heater to keep a hole open in the surface of the ice.

I just pulled that information from memory, and might not even be thinking of the right frog. Do your research before you take any of my advice :P

[clintosaurus rex]

I did some research and found that Rana pipiens, and all the other rana (bullfrogs, green frogs, etc) hibernate underwater. This excludes the wood frog, which routinely hibernates under leaflitter, stones, and underground or in burrows.

[Zach]

I don't think it would be a good idea. They aren't really that aquatic, in the summer they venture away from ponds into damp woodlands and meadows. They require more than a pond enviroment to survive. Green and or bullfrogs would be a much better idea, since they stay in the ponds.