Where can I get some frog spawn for my 3 year old?

[mariner2]

I can't seem to find it in the wild, or is it too early yet?

[paddywak]

Just keep your eyes open when you're out, it should be appearing any time. I've none in my pond yet but other posters already have it in their ponds

[paddywak]

In regards to my first answer i must have had midnight visitors, as I've just been up to the pond and several large clumps of spawn have apperred overnight

[firewatch]

We have loads of the stuff! It was a right froggy fest a few weeks ago, but you cannot transport it safely from one pond to another, because our is a fresh water spring the water is constantly flowing and so i think spawn would die if it where moved to standing water.

[paddywak]

While agreeing that normally it is not advisable to "Transplant" wild life I dont think in the case of frog spawn it would matter that much as the frogs themselves often travel miles to reach the breeding ponds and god alone knows what they've picked up along the way. As to transplanting the spawn a forestry commision ranger I know regularly takes spawn from different sites to help kick start new pond developments and she's never had any problems

[mariner2]

Well, believe it or not I went out a couple of hours after posting my question with my 3 year old and we found some in the margins of the local gravel pit.
We walked round the windward side and there were hundreds of mating toads in the shallows, but no spawn to start with and I thought maybe right place wrong time. But a little further on there was a nice blob of it - I have bought a fish tank to put in and transferred some of our pond water into it.
I'll take them back and release them when they are frogs.

[dot.hawkes]

I am almost certain that it is an offence to transport or transfer frog spawn, i am sure i heard it on the radio just this last week, the same way it is illegal to remove lychen from stones, especially gravestones

[mariner2]

I'll risk it . . . . it's not going from one water to another where disease could be transmitted.

[dot.hawkes]

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/n ews-archive/2005/06/24/police-leap-into-action -over-sale-of-frogspawn-61634-15662007/

That is about selling it, but the same authority also act when anyone attempts to relocate it

[jules77]

Why on earth do you want frog spawn for your 3 year old???

[paddywak]

Jules. when I was a kid (don't ask when) every kid would at least once have had a jam jar with some frog spawn in to watch the change from spawn to tadpole to perfect little frog.a fascinating change that often leads to a lifelong interest in nature

[jules77]

I believe it is illegal to remove frog spawn from the wild without a permit from the wildlife service. There was an act in around 1976 to protect frog spawn due to the very low survival rate once removed and the danger of disease.

[dot.hawkes]

see, and noone seemed to believe me!!

[Diane1954]

where do you live? we have loads in our pond. Can you tell the difference betwen frogs and toads? and frogspawn and toadspawn? You talk about frog spawn then you say you saw toads mating?

[mariner2]

Frog spawn is in a clump and toadspawn is in strings as far as I know, but I've never seen toad spawn.
It's in a fish tank, on our breakfast bar for my three year old to see the transformation from egg to tadpole to frog.

[mariner2]

. . . . and it's pretty easy to tell the difference between warty toads and smooth frogs.

[jules77]

You have got about as much chance of seeing one of the tadpoles turn into a frog as you have of winning the lottery!!!

[mariner2]

Really? I did it loads of times when I was a kid, what's the problem?

[jules77]

It takes about four weeks for the eggs (spawn) to hatch into tadpoles, over which time the spawn requires good light and water flow, they then require oxygen from the water to breathe and will feed on plants.

The water you have transferred from your own pond may contain disease and unwanted plants not from their natural habitat.

[mariner2]

So far so good - all the tadpoles have hatched and are eating the duckweed and the lettuce . . . . I'm watching them carefully for when they show signs of being carnivores