Hey guys!
My name is Dani and I am 25. I am married and have a 3 1/2 yo son, a dog, a cat, and now two tadpoles!! My family and I were taking a walk through Moss Rock Preserve when we came upon a little water fall coming off a huge boulder, along with puddles filled with cute little tadpoles. My son was fascinated by them and watched them for quite some time. I noticed that my husband was scooping water from the puddles in to an empty water bottle and I begged him to put them back because I didn't feel right about disturbing nature. By that time, my son was in love with them...so, yeah. I feel that, since we interfered with nature, I have a responsibility to give them the best possible chance of survival. And once I accepted them as new pets, I instantly fell in love and now want to know everything about them and how to care for them! Their names are Wasabi and Ginger (yes, I can tell them a apart). I looked up the different frog species that have been found in Moss Rock Preserve, and the possibilities are gray tree frog, green free frog, toad, spring peeper, or chorus frog. Based on the pictures I have seen online, I am guess they're toads. They do not look newly hatched as far as their details, but they are still pretty small in size. From a far, they just look like little fish, but up close they look like tiny tiny toad/frog heads without arms or legs and with a tail. They are black and I can see their eyes (more on top of their heads), that spiral thing on their stomachs, their gills, their little sucker mouths, and what looks like poop coming out from where their tail starts. They do not have any markings, and they have skinny black tails, but I can also see a clear layer around the black as well. Wasabi is bigger and more round in shape, and Ginger is thinner and more oval shaped, but other than that they look identical. I keep them in a small/med critter carrier with some natural spring water (mixed with a little of their puddle water along with some of the algae). I can see them nibbling on that algae, they are so cute! I bought some "river rock" pebbles (they are not small, but not too big either) that they are hiding behind, and I also bought a live green plant from a pet store (an employee who seemed to know a thing about tadpoles picked it out) that they have been hiding in and nibbling on (along with some of the algae left from their natural habitat). So far I have had them for 4 days and I have already noticed they both are a tiny tiny bit bigger. I am waiting until I know for sure what species they are before getting a bigger habitat for them. I keep their tank out of direct sunlight, but in a good spot to get indirect sunlight. I have done plenty of research, but I am still afraid of doing something wrong. I really, really want them to survive so I can give them an awesome home! It will be a fascinating learning experience for my son to observe. He can learn about nature and that we should respect all living things. In my home, all my pets are treated like members of the family. If anyone has any advice for me, I would really appreciate it!! Thanks