Well Here Goes....

A friend of mines pool had tadpoles in it and they tried to move them and ended up killing off a good amount, but it could have also been reactions from chlorine etc..

well anyhow there were still a few swimming in the pool so I decided to take 2 of them home.I was thinking that they would have a better chance, I would have grabbed more but I didn't want to contaminate the tads from the pool to the ones that had been in the small aquarium.

The information I have read so far suggests that everything is a little less complicated then what I originally thought. Things I need.

*de-chlorination tap water
*filter-with protective screen to prevent a massacre.
*Fish flake food-the bottom feeder kind

For food also Spinach? I was wondering (I am willing to get spinach) we have a lot of other things from the iguanas ....what about turnip/collard/mustard greens?

Also how warm should I keep the tank, they were found in pretty cold water, but I am guessing that's not whats really ideal. I don't know what kind of frogs they are, so what temp would a tadpole in general thrive at?

And since I cant really return them to the pool; would it be harmful if I chose a location outdoors when the time comes? If they go that this..... hehehe*looks for husband*

Wingless fruit flies are the best for younger frogs right? Where can I find them are their other options?

Liz if your out there come and help me lol!
Any info would help guys

 

Also I have read that I should boil the spinich so they can eat it is this necessary?

 

No boiling the spinach, they will eat raw just fine. You could try collard or mustard, not sure if they will go for it.

The water should just be room temp. No heating.

You can release when grown up!

 

Thank you! so excited to see the metamorphosis.

I put the greens in there and they have been eating it so far!

 

Yup, what Liz said...

And just be prepared to have two tads/froglets at different stages. They don't always morph at the same time, and you may have to move the froglet into another container until the other catches up. It's not a big deal, but depending on the type of tads you have, once they turn to froglets they may need to get to drier land and away from the deeper water the tadpoles need.

Of course, maybe it was just me -- none of mine morphed together. They may have done it for spite!

Good Luck - it is a very fun thing to watch them grow into little froglets and into frogs!!!

 

None of my toadlets morphed at the same time either. They were up to two weeks apart! Of course I had a little more luck in that they are semi-aquatic so I had no worries about them drowning.

 

most tads will eat almost anything that sinks. You could also use algae pellets, etc. Any sinking fish food should do.

 

Clean water is the most important part.

 

And even with a filter, you still have to get the left over food that sinks as it will start turning fuzzy. I used a turkey baster and just sucked the food particles out, then replaced the water back to the proper level.

 

Thanks guys!

The water has stayed clear so far. I got bottom feeder fish food and they are still eating at the collard/ mustard greens!

What I am worried about is when they get leg's, should I have something floating in the aquarium? Will it be overnight? Hope that doesn't sound stupid, what I mean is I won't wake up one morning and their little stubs have grown into little legs and they drowned?

Also dose it have to be wingless fruit flies or is there something else suitable for the little guys? If that is the only option where can I order them?

 

They will have their back legs for at least a few days for you to prepare, then yes, you need to have something in there for them to climb out onto, like some fake plant or a rock or floating turtle dock.

Depending on how big the tads are (I can't see them) pinhead crickets might be OK. The froglets will be considerably smaller than the tads. That took me by surprise.

 

Thanks again!

 

Um..., as soon as one of them sprouts legs -- have something in the water for them to crawl onto, because my first tadpole went from sprouting back legs to froglet in 24 hours!!!!

He went from having back legs when I left for work in the morning, to front legs but still underwater when I went to bed to escapee the next morning. (He managed to get out a small hole in the lid of the tank that I didn't think needed covering so soon (I did find him, by the way)

None of my others were that fast, but I was totally taken aback -- fortunately he had good climbing feet, because he was able to crawl up the glass. (and out the lid!!!)

 

One of the tad's has all 4 legs now! YEAH! Should I transfer into a tank without water? I am kind of confused on that part.

I am afraid that if it make the tank half and half he could drown once his gills go away (i read somewhere that this could happen) How often dose that occur? I think that I may have Identified them I was looking at a site that shows alot of pics of tadpoles and mine were closest to Scaphiopus holbrookii Which upon further investigation I got the name eastern spadefoot. I am not sure if this is correct though or not...

Also if I decide to keep them can they be housed togather? They have been so far, I am not saying that I will keep them but I am just wondering.

Also do i start feeding insects tonight or not? his mouth is nto devloped yet so I am assuming no, but I don't want to be wrong here.

 

Well, I would say that if they don't have mouths yet it would be kind of hard to eat insects don't you think??

 

Oh hush Steve!

 

ROFL!!

 

Algea pellets. When I lived in Ohio I collected tons of tadpoles/eggs and raised them (and released them back once they were frogs and toads). But I never fed them anything crazy and only filtered the water every now and then as algea is what they prefered to eat. I also would freeze romaine lettuce and then put it into the water, as it gets extremely mushy when it defrosts...they will love that, trust me. Good luck, it's lots of fun.

 

What you can do is build a pile of rocks that reaches out of the water. It's the safest way to know if the frog is ready to leave the water. They will walk out and sit on the rocks when they are ready for a waterless environment.

 

You need to make an island where he can get out of. They spend a day in limbo, with gills and front legs and once those gills go away, they could drown. Once you see him hanging out on the land part, no matter how small it is, transfer him to a land tank. Put in a dish of water that has some rocks, so he does the transition well.