My grey tree frogs (which I like) seemed to disappear when the leopard frogs moved in. Is that my imagination or is it likely that the leopards have chased off the tree frogs (perhaps eaten the tadpoles, etc.). The leopards are very fast and seem to be aggressive while the tree frogs seem to be very docile. Or can they easily coexist?
I packed up several dozen leopards from my small, cascading water fall (which has a small pond at the lower end - maybe 30 gal? - I circulate about 20 gpm with a height of 8-10 feet) and moved them to a creek on the discharge of a 50 acre lake about a mile from my home. There is a creek in the woods at the rear of my property that feeds into that same lake (the creek is about 300 feet from my water fall). Here's a couple of additional questions: are the leopards likely coming up from the creek or are they throughout the woods and ivy behind and beside my house, that is, everywhere so that my efforts to clean them out of my pond are futile? Or are these simply the remnants of one mating activity within my pond this past spring (I had tree frogs in the spring but then several large leopards moved in, tree frogs were quickly gone and the next thing I knew, I was swarming with larger than "normal" tadpoles)? I've had several leopards whose body mass would fill half to three-quarters of a cup, that might be 7-8 inches long with outstretched legs.
Two more questions: some of my leopards are rather bright green overall or on portions of their bodies with yellow-orange stripe down each side of their back while some are very dark green with no hint of the bright green and with the stripes almost not visible because of the darkness of the coloring. The darkness also almost blots out the spots. Are these same species (male and female) or different species?
And last question: I've had more than one leopard with a missing foot or leg - what is likely cause - bird, cat or other animal? Another frog?
Thanks for any info you can share with me.
Tom
Tree frogs prefer to hang around ponds that don't have not only any fish but also any larger species of frogs. Frogs of most species will eat smaller frogs (of any species). Perhaps they know that. Tadpoles can eat other tadpoles but it's not as common as with adult frogs. It might happen if there are lots of tadpoles and not enough food.
If they are truly leopard frogs, then they are pretty terrestrial frogs that usually only come to ponds to breed and to drink water during droughts. Unlike bullfrogs and green frogs, leopard frogs spend most of their lives hopping around yards and in the weeds, not so much in ponds.
Within the same species of frog, there can often be a lot of color variation. Without seeing photos of your frogs, it would be a total guess for me to say if you are seeing color variation or different species or different sexes. My male green frogs are green while the females are mostly bronze. Leopard frogs can also vary in their color.
Various predators may take a foot off a frog - another frog, raccoon, fish, cat, etc. Sometimes frogs morph into adults without a leg as well. If it's a back leg, the frog probably won't last long. If it's a front leg, they may adapt pretty well as long as the leg doesn't become infected.