Can I Buy Frogs To Put In My Pond?

No you can’t!

Firstly, you have to apply for a licence before you can buy frogs.  There are specific rules and regulations on the back of the licence and these are your legal responsibilities that come with owning a pet reptile or frog.  They state that you are not allowed to release your pet into the wild and that includes your backyard.

Some of the frogs that you are allowed to keep as pets may not be native to the region where you live.  In captivity you would set up their enclosure to mimic the environment where they occur naturally.  If you put them in your pond they may die because the weather is too hot or too cold.  They may not be able to find food that is part of their natural diet and die of starvation.  They may compete with locally occurring frogs for food and territory creating an imbalance in the local ecology.  They may thrive and become a pest.

Northern Green Tree Frogs

Even if you release frogs that are native to your region, even those that appear perfectly healthy, you risk is a very real danger of introducing exotic diseases or parasites into wild populations. CALM regulations state that animals purchased as pets may not be released and they have penalties up to $4000 to discourage this.

So how can you get frogs for your pond?  Do some research and make your pond frog-friendly to the frogs that live in your area.  Plant the right plants, which will attract the right kind of insects, which will in turn attract your local frogs.  Good luck!