Froglets are dying !!

[MissyKlein]

Hey Guys....I'm new to the Frog world.....I ended up with them kind of by mistake....I had to dig a trench in my side yard to drain water away from my property and realized a few weeks ago that it was full of tadpoles. I had just put a small water feature on my patio with a little pump in it and ended up putting some of the tadpoles in there (I don't cut the pump on anymore) Anyway.....as the tadpoles are turning into froglets, they keep dying ! The would jump put of the water gardens onto the patio and I'm guessing they would get stuck on the concrete and couldn't move and either dried out.....got too hot.... ?? so I went to Lowe's and my patio now has a big sheet of 8x12 linoleum on it....so their little feet wouldn't stick to the concrete. So I'm still finding 2 or 3 dead every day when I get home from work. I'm not feeding them because they are outside. Are they too young to get their own food ? I put food in the water features (I have 4 now with tadpoles in them)......lettuce in ice cubes, fish food, tadpole and froglet food....bloodworms....algae wafers.....so there is still food available to them when they turn into froglets, but should I be feeding them or are they able to fend for themselves? I hate to think my ignorance is the reason they're dying Any help would be greatly appreciated !!! Missy

[awelcome]

I don't know that much, still very new myself, but thought I would offer up at least one suggestion I have seen on here many times... and that is to use dechlorinated water or I think spring water is ok too. They can't have regular tap water. Hopefully someone else can come in though and clear up some other possible solutions for you.

[MissyKlein]

I actually have well water and also use rainwater out of the trench that I originally found them in. Surprisingly enough.....my neighbor stained his fence using oil based stain and it washed into the trench where the tadpoles originally lived and that doesn't seem to have affected them at all ! I washed all of the water hyacinths that I had put in that trench for the tadpoles to eat to get off the oily substance because it puts a reflective sheen on top of the water and I can't see the tadpoles.....and I thought it would be bad for them....but doesn't really seem to have any effect on them. My tadpoles are fine, so I really don't think it's the water....it's when they get out of the water that seems to be the problem....they jump away from the habitat and end up on the patio and just sit there and die I don't know if it's because they're not eating or they dry out or what....very depressing. My favorite little greens one are the worst...they seem to be very inquisitive (I keep finding the on top of rose bushes)......I'm thinking maybe they can't figure out how to get back to the water ??

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Missy! Sorry for the froglets death . Once they metamorphose they won't eat until tail is resorbed into body. Once they do, they will only eat live bugs. From your post appears you have a water feature surrounded by a concrete patio? Is there any grass/soil around they can get to before being "cooked" by hot cement/linoleum?

Another possibility is the presence of chemicals on patio that are affecting the froglets. Cleaners, fertilizers, insecticides; all those could be deadly to a froglet. Maybe some are making it past the concrete into safer areas, good luck !

[MissyKlein]

I was actually going to move all the water features over to the mulch beside the patio, but one of them was too heavy (full of rocks) to move so I just cut the linoleum to go around that one whiskey barrel and left them all on the patio. There should be no chemicals anywhere....I don't use anything like that outside....it would be possible on the patio since it's been there for a year, but I just put the linoleum down... and I haven't had anything on it except water. I wonder if there's something in the linoleum itself ?? like a glue or something ? I've had the worst luck with nature the last few days ...I found one of my hummingbirds dead with his beak stuck in one of the feeders I may go ahead and try to move everything again tnite into the mulch.....and just have to scoop all of the taddies out of that one whiskey barrel.......