Dead frogs - white slime? (1 Viewer)

[vinnielo]

So I was just cleaning my water tub at the bottom of my garden to remove dead leaves and other vegetation.
I discover a dead frog with a bloated stomach - nothing unusual I thought - perhaps it'd just frozen to death.

I remove it from the tub and start scooping around again. Again, I find a dead frog, but this time, the side of its body had been blown open by a ball of white slime.

Is this stuff usually found in, say, frozen frogs? Is there some kind of disease that I ought to be aware of?

Photos attached.

 

[Nina P]

Sad but most likely a female frog in the attempt to spawn whilst mating with the males, the females have been known to drown with several male frogs trying to mate at the same time! That looks pretty much what has happened! Shame, but hang on to the spawn, it might just develop if you can keep it from freezing.

 

[mothman]

Females go into hibernation with unfertilised spawn already developed inside them,the most likely scenario is that they did not survive hibernation in the mud at the bottom of your tub(possibly due to poison gas build up).

When the body starts to rot away it leaves the spawn behind. It will not develop as the spawn is fertilised externally.

 

[vinnielo]

Thanks, mothman. That seems to be the most likely explanation.
Is it usual for frogs to hibernate in water? My tub is like a mini-pond. The frogs love it in there over the summer months.

Well, I'm glad it's probably because of body rot that caused the stuff to escape. I was getting visions of the Alien movies!

EDIT: I've just had an awful thought... when frogs hibernate, do they move at all? Perhaps the first frog (bottom of photo) was still alive (although I was pretty sure it wasn't moving in the slightest.. its mouth was open). I hope this isn't the case!

 

[mothman]

Yes, they will hibernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds absorbong just enough oxygen through their skins to stay alive,this makes them prone to poisonous gas or very low oxygen levels in some situations.

And no, don't worry, both frogs looked pretty dead and stinking to me!!

 

[vinnielo]

Thanks. The recent cold spell must've killed them.
Do they need the mud at all?
I'm thinking perhaps I ought to clean the tub before winter sets in to prevent possible poison build-up.

 

[mothman]

I recon it is best to let nature take its coarse for now, however late next summer or early autumn you might try replacing the buildup of silt with some potting compost.

If you do this make sure you use one designed for aquatic plants as normal soil and terrestrial potting compost contain too many nutrients and the resulting algal bloom may take a couple of seasons to go away.

 

[timwootton]

Hi Vinnielo - just in addition to the excellent advice already offered - if you have the space at all, why not dig a garden pond, at least 18" deep? Allow the silt to remain in the bottom and the frogs will definitely prefer it to a tub (the main problem with which is, because it is 'above ground' it will be more prone to radical changes in temperature than a pond - your frogs may have died as a result of this - although to be fair, they're pretty tough creatures). If algae becomes problematic, try barley straw added to the water (must be barley) the enzymes can counteract the algae. Good luck.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Hi Vinnielo

This could be expanded spawn jelly. The jelly matrix in which the frog spawn is suspended exists in a very compact form within the female frog and expands on contact with water. It can sometimes be found in clumps on the ground in early spring where a Fox has eaten a female frog, but has had the good sense to eat around the jelly, which would be very uncomfortable if it expanded in the Fox's stomach! In the "olden days" (not sure how long ago offhand) these mysterious clumps of jelly (expanded by contact with the dew) were thought to be fallen stars! Could be that when a jelly-filled frog dies, as it starts to decompose the jelly expands within it, resulting in your macabre discovery.

James

 

[Vectis Birder]

Eeeeewwwww! Disgusting. I have to admit I have (thankfully) never seen anything like it myself. Is this sort of thing common among frogs?

 

[vinnielo]

Thanks for the advice.
I may have to consider digging a pond.
The tub was good as it was easy to maintain, and yet it still attracted plenty of frogs to the garden. Family decided against a permanent pond (as they thought the "dead" water would attract flies) so a tub was my cheeky way of getting frogs without going against their wishes!!

 

[gw4aurora]

I noticed my frogs hibernated at the bottom of the pond and also behind the old patio wall. When this wall had to be rebuilt I allowed spaces between the bricks with a cavity behind and the frogs use this facility to hibernate.

Chris.