I'm in need of building a winter habitat for (so far) 12 three-lined Sallies that I unearthed while digging up a pump used for outside watering.
They were located from 3 to 12 inches below the soil that I had covered with wood slabs to keep the leaking water from ponding around the spigot. We've been having freezing temps recently and the sallies and frogs decided to use the water-logged area to winter in. Unfortunately I dug several up and may as of yet dig more while working on the faucet. I know several must have internal injuries after being dug up from the ground which consists mostly of little stones, clay and dirt. I'm trying to "save" as many as possible to release in the spring. Or...is it still warm enough to release these hoping they'll be able to get down far enough to keep from freezing. Right now...there are 5 little green frogs as well as 12 sallies. I've not handled them exept to put them in the a storage container. I've put about 3 inches of the same type "earth" they came out of in the container along with the leaves that cover the ground. Then put a large pan of water down in the soil along with the stoney soil inside the pan with a lot more leaves in that too. Also are some large pieces of bark for them to hide under along with many many leaves. It's pretty wet in the container itself since I figured they preferred that wet soil to hibernate in.
Is there anything else I can do to improve their chances for survival if I need to keep them for the winter? Do I keep the storage container outside in the normal temps they're experiencing now....or do I store it inside knowing they'll become more active because of the heat. I also raise mealworms and have another habitat containing a couple of baby turtles in rehab that has a lot of earthworms. I know they eat both...but will that be good enough until their release?
I'm hoping that it isn't too late in the fall to put them in another area where they have time to dig down for hibernation. But being so cold...I'm worried.
Thanks for the help.

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