Tadpoles ?

[rivetter]

I just bought 4 tadpoles from a pet store. I asked if they had tadpoles for my pond and that I did not want bullfrogs. The tank was marked yellow belly frogs and that is what he said they were. I can't seem to find any info on them. They are about 1 1/2 " long. Anyone have any idea what they are? Thanks

[herpdoc]

I just bought 4 tadpoles from a pet store. I asked if they had tadpoles for my pond and that I did not want bullfrogs. The tank was marked yellow belly frogs and that is what he said they were. I can't seem to find any info on them. They are about 1 1/2 " long. Anyone have any idea what they are? Thanks

sorry to ruin the party but they look like bullfrogs to me. it's rare to find other kinds of tadpoles. your best bet is to go to a garden center where they usually have a ton of tadpoles in stock this time of year and sort through the mix. most (>80%) will be bullfrogs but you may find a few green frog or leopard frog tads in the mix.

[rivetter]

Thanks, I thought these might be bullfrogs but was not sure. I was hoping they were leopard frogs. Are green and leopard frog tadpoles smaller?

[herpdoc]

Thanks, I thought these might be bullfrogs but was not sure. I was hoping they were leopard frogs. Are green and leopard frog tadpoles smaller?

bullfrog tadpoles are generally larger than leopard or green frog tadpoles but there isn't a huge difference in size and there can be some overlap (ie a really big mature green frog tad can be larger than a mature bullfrog tad). the way to distinguish them is by appearance. the biggest difference is when the tadpoles are more mature you can see dorsolateral lines in green frog tads and bullfrog tads are smooth. in general bullfrog tadpoles tend to be have rounder, fat bodies with taller dorsal tails while green frog tadpoles have much flatter bodies, have flatter tails. bullfrog tadpoles tend to have fine dots whereas green frog tadpoles tend to have a more random color pattern. i'm not very familiar with leopard frog tads but i think they tend to look more like green frog tads and have those rectangular body markings.

[MsBlueRose]

Leopard Frog Tadpoles are a greenish gold with varing size (mostly small) goldish spots, the spots can even look green or brown. Here are my leopard frog tads.