Hi - yesterday I found some frogspawn on my gravel drive. I do not have a pond and I am worried none of this will survive unless I do something to rescue it.
Am I ok to move this to a local nature reserve?
Thanks
I have a very strong suspicion it won't be viable. Re moving it, the recommendation is normally to not move spawn (or tadpoles) from one location to another to reduce the risk of spreading disease.
Could you not simply place it in a bowl of water & place it somewhere near grass or greenery in your garden? If spawn is viable and tadpoles emerge you could buy tadpole food for them!
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It is strongly recommended not to translocate spawn due to the risk transferring a variety of disease. It is unlikely to be viable/ fertilised spawn and more probably an egg dump from a predated amphibian. Frogs tend not to travel very far from water so unlike toads do not need to get back to their natal ponds. If you had said toad spawn in a small puddled in your drive way then there might be a chance it could be viable, from experience doing amphibian surveys we quite often find strings of eggs laid in anything that remotely resembles a body of water close to their ponds, especially after a wet winter.
Have a go at what Wendy has suggested - just in case
Cin J
Thanks for all the help - I have put it in a pot in some rain water and will see what happens. I would rather do something and it turn out not to be viable than do nothing at all. Many thanks for your time.
Please do let us know what happens?
I will do. Thanks Wendy.
It has presumably sunk as there is no air in it?
Ultimately if you want to help nature then dig a wildlife pond. Putting them in a sterile environment as you have won't be of any use when they hatch - they'll have nothing to eat so will perish.
I agree re digging a pond, if that is a realistic option. Keeping tadpoles in containers is also creating a problem for when they're ready to leave 'the pond'. Many would drown without intervention. However, in this case, it won't matter as it won't be viable.