Thank you for your question.  If you just want to place them in your garden, and you don't intend to install a pond, then you're talking about toads.  Periodically watering the garden, will most likely not be a problem for the toads.  If you intend to build a water feature of some kind to encourage frogs to take up residence in your garden, frogs generally don't do well in chlorinated water over the long term.  Frogs are often found in swimming pools, for example, which can have a higher level of chlorination than drinking water, in addition to having other chemicals, and, individuals spending an extended time in the pool usually don't do to well.  Eggs laid in the swimming pool usually don't hatch.  In a garden pond environment, the chlorine in the water will dissipate pretty quickly, but you may want to consider treating the water to remove the chlorine. There are commercial chlorine removers that you can use to dechlorinate your water.  If you use these, make sure you follow the label instructions.  You could also store the water in a container outside for a few days to allow the chlorine to dissipate naturally, and then add it to your pond.  You can also capture rain water to use in your water feature and avoid the chlorine issue.

Hope this answers your question, and thank you for using Ask an Expert.

Jim

Jim,

     Thanks for the information about chlorine tolerance of frogs and toads. I am now trying to identify the amphibians in the back yard and the local pond in Comanche County, OK. Can you look at the attached images and figure it out? I think they are all the same species. Clues: bumpy skin, no dorsal lines, no tympanic membrane, no poison glands behind eyes, oval eyes, pointy snout, kind of skinny, long legs, good jumper.

Thanks for your question.  I believe I know what these are, but I want to confirm it with a herpetologist I know.  I should be able to get back to you in a couple of days.

Jim

Just heard back from my herpetologist professor, and he confirmed my ID.  These are Northern Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans).  They are quite variable in color.  The body can be a mixture of gray, brown, or green.  They can have overlaying markings of yellow or black.  Their skin is warty, which is a little different.  Frogs usually have smooth skin and the warty guys are usually the toads.  You mentioned these were good jumpers.  The legs of this species are proportionately longer for their body length than the legs of any other North American frog.

They are found in all or a portion of every southeastern state, as well as most of the eastern U.S. and an area extending from southern Canada into Mexico.  It is found throughout Oklahoma.  Cricket frogs are found in and around  a variety of freshwater habitat including swamps, ponds, bogs, wetlands and small streams.

They feed on worms, spiders, beetles and flies.

Hope this answers your question, and thanks again for using Ask an Expert.

Jim

Jim,

   Thanks for identifying the Northern Cricket Frog. After a long drought, we had lots of rain a while back, and now there are gobs of these tiny frogs at the local pond and other wet areas. I have never seen so many frogs in my life. They are kind of hard to catch because they jump so far, but they are out during the day so they are easy to spot when they jump. They are only about an inch in size. I thought they might be toads because of the bumpy skin. I caught a few at the pond and put them in a backyard garden. One of them stretched out a leg and I noticed that it was very long.

This species doesn't grow to be very large.  Females, which are larger than the males, are less than 1.5 inches long when they reach their maximum size.  Good luck with your garden!

Jim