Garden Frog In frozen pond

[Juliet]

Hello! This is my first time here and I would be very grateful for any help and advice I can get from you fellow frog lovers! I have two small garden ponds, each with very good natural eco systems. I have frogs in each pond and each year when they have iced over I've broken some of the ice to allow oxygen through and there hasn't been a death toll when it melts. However last year when I was away for a week in those freezing temperatures, the ponds iced over and when the water melted, I had three dead frogs. We've had a very mild winter here in the UK and last weekend I noticed my frogs had started mating. They were all very close to the surface. Three days ago the freezing temperatures set in and each morning and evening I've been breaking and clearing away two 1ft x 1ft sectons of ice in each pond to allow oxygen through (I'm currenlty melting that ice by the fire to pour back in so I don't lower the water level too much). The frogs have been visible, right under the ice and up against it. As soon as I cleared the ice, they came to the surface and stayed there for quite a while. I have also put balls, flower pots and some wood in the pond to see if that would help ...but I don't think it is . Having read this forum I poured some hot water in a few places to create a few 'air vents'...but in doing so , I hope I don't burn the frogs! (Oh, it is a dilema!). I've read all the articles here, and I'm not sure if I am doing the right thing. If they weren't mating and were in the mud hibernating, I don't think that would be so bad, but they're not. I want to keep the ice as insulation but given last years deaths I feel that I should remove some of it... but then in doing so, I don't want to kill them by lowering the water temperature. I will try the night light trick aswell ... but if anyone can offer advice, I would be SO grateful. Thank you!