My new Xenopus Tads

[BugBoy99]

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to share some pictures of my new Xenopus tads. They are wild-caught, and I will be raising them. I hope that someone else will enjoy them just as much as I do.




The pictures aren't great I know, but they are still quite small.

Sincerely,
Joh

[rodsboys]

Thanks for the pics. I really hope you keep us up to date. Wild caught is not something we commonly see around here. Is there any chance you could also follow the progress of their siblings still in the wild or did you scoop them all up?

[BugBoy99]

It is my pleasure, and I will definitely keep this thread updated. I'm afraid that in Richards Bay, SA, we only get wild-caught frogs. If you want anything exotic you have to order it, at high cost, and many species are illegal. I could quite possibly follow the progress of the siblings, the pool where I found them is found along the route that I regularly walk to get to town. I don't think I could make space for all the tadpoles if I tried there are still many remaining in the pool.

Also, I have a personal policy against collecting too large an amount of tadpoles from the wild. If I do wish to keep that species, I never keep more than three specimens from a specific locality, and release the rest of the froglets/tadpoles. I have about forty/fifty tadpoles, but I will release most froglets at a later stage. I am considering keeping two or three froglets, though.

Thank you so much for being interested.

[BugBoy99]

Just an update. Yesterday afternoon, after having placed the tadpoles in a large glass bottle of de-chlorinated water, I fed them a mixture of powdered flake food, and powdered pond sticks. I gave them an airstone on a schedule of about half an hour at a time, for most of the afternoon. And, for the evening, they had the airstone on all of the time, on a very low setting. They had the airstone on for most of today, and by this afternoon, have grown quite a lot. The largest is now probably about 6mm long, whereas the largest was about 3 mm yesterday. They are growing very rapidly.

[IrishRonin]

very cool, thanks for the update.

[BugBoy99]

My pleasure! It is so refreshing to meet people who share my interests. Monday September the 21st- three days after initial capture of my tadpoles.
And, they have grown tremendously. The pictures should make the increase in size quite plain.

[rodsboys]

Wow, great results. Makes you wonder how old they are.
I have been meaning to ask if you can update with pics of the natural habitat some time too.

[BugBoy99]

My pleasure.

The tadpoles cannot be more than 9 days old. I found them in a temporary pool that only exists for a few weeks, sometimes months, a year. The pool had been dry till last Saturday, when there was a lot of rain so the tadpoles cannot be more than 9 days old. The pool should exist for a few more weeks, at least, if we have a lot of rain. We are entering our rainy season now.

I am hoping to go look for the tadpoles of other species(that breed in the same pool) this week, so I should be able to take photos of the pool and of the wild-caught tadpoles. Please feel free to ask if you would like to see photos of anything else related to the frogs. I will gladly oblige, if possible.

Sincerely,
Joh

[BugBoy99]

Hello Everybody,

I have wanted to update this thread, but have been quite busy.

First, the wild tads and pool. I did take pictures of the pool, but am running short of internet data so I will post them when I can. Then, this was a very, very dry week and the pool dried up. I don't think that any of the tadpoles made it. There were some huge thunderstorms last night, and the pool has reformed, and is much, much larger than before.

Secondly, good news, would be that I rescued 136 Xenopus tadpoles, and 7 Ptychadena tadpoles before the pool dried up. I initially had more than 136 tadpoles, but lost several. I have been taking photos every couple of days, and will add them as soon as I get more internet data.

Sincerely,
Joh

[SwimminSteve]

This is so neat! I'm really interested in learning more about these guys in the wild, so I can't wait to see pics Do you know which Xenopus species you have? Have you seen adults before? Do you think that the adults stay buried in the mud at the pools? or do they "hop" to the pools when they form? They are so awkward on land, I wonder how they could do that.

I was in Tanzania last year and I found Xenopus borealis in a well hand-dug by the Iraqw people in the Nou Forest. The well was too deep for me to catch him or get a close look, but it was SO cool.

[KingCam]

I'm watching this thread closely because I will be getting ACF eggs soon. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress!

[BugBoy99]

Hello Everybody,

Do you know which Xenopus species you have?

Well, I live on the overlap zone between the distribution zones of Xenopus muelleri and Xenopus laevis. However, judging from habitat preferences, I am about 80% certain that they are probably Xenopus laevis.

Have you seen adults before?

I'm quite sad to say that the only adults I've seen are the ones that I have raised once before.

Do you think that the adults stay buried in the mud at the pools? or do they "hop" to the pools when they form?

I know for certain that the adults do not stay buried in the mud at the pools. During the dry season, the soil beneath and around the pools dry to a rock-solid plate, overgrown with vegetation.

My personal theory is that the adults do not hop to the pools to breed. The pools form in a stream bed which was dried up so that building could take place nearby. However, the entire stream was not dried up and, although it does not flow anymore, there are permanent pools of stagnant water further up the stream bed. My personal belief is that the Xenopus live and breed in these stagnant pools. And, that when torrential rains take place the eggs are washed down the stream bed, and then caught in the temporary pools further down. I am not absolutely certain of this, though. I would like to explore the permanent pools, more thoroughly, but it is too dangerous due to the informal settlements that are in their close vicinity.

According to the field guides I have looked at, Tanzania has a diverse array of Amphibians. Did you experience this when you were there?

I'm watching this thread closely because I will be getting ACF eggs soon. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress!

It's only a pleasure. Do you know which species of Xenopus you are getting?

Sincerely,
Joh

[rodsboys]

This whole thread is definitely a treat. I just want to adsorb every tidbit you share with us like a sponge. lol

[tgampper]

Hi Joh:

Thanks for keeping us informed of your progress with your tads. I am sure you have X. laevis. One important characteristic between X. laevis and X. muelleri are the length of the sensory tentacles. In laevis, the tentacles are about the width of the body while muelleri is twice the width. It looks like you are located in the southern fringe of muelleri range.

[BugBoy99]

Hi Joh:

Thanks for keeping us informed of your progress with your tads. I am sure you have X. laevis. One important characteristic between X. laevis and X. muelleri are the length of the sensory tentacles. In laevis, the tentacles are about the width of the body while muelleri is twice the width. It looks like you are located in the southern fringe of muelleri range.

Well, that's good to know. Thank you for the information. I am located on the southern fringe of X. muelleri'sdistribution range, I believe that I live almost at the southernmost point of its distribution. I will post the rest of the pictures as soon as I have sufficient data. The tadpoles are now about 4 centimetres long, and are beginning to grow hind legs now. I don't know if this is common with the tadpoles of domesticated clawed frogs, but my tadpoles have a habit of floating along the bottom of the tank, and then blowing upon the food on the bottom. This pushes the food into the water, where the tadpoles easily suck the food into their mouths.

[KingCam]

Do you know which species of Xenopus you are getting?

I don't actually know, I just know a lady in Texas that has two albino clawed frogs. She is sending me eggs next time they lay (she says they lay frequently). I will ask her if she knows the species. Does it make a difference on husbandry?

[BugBoy99]

Hello Everybody, I'm very sorry that I have not updated this thread in such a long time. I have been taking photos, and will upload them as soon as I possibly can.

For the most part, the tadpoles have been doing very well. I lost a couple just after I last posted. And, thinking that it might have been some kind of bacterial problem, I switched them over to highly diluted rooibos tea. These last two days, I lost fifteen tadpoles, I don't know why.

And, there are now four or five tadpoles that have four legs. This makes me very happy.

Does it make a difference on husbandry?

KingCam, to the best of my knowledge, husbandry does not vary between species. But, I always enjoy knowing which species I have. And, my interest naturally spreads to the species others have. I couldn't help[ but ask.

Sincerely,
Joh

[rodsboys]

I don't actually know, I just know a lady in Texas that has two albino clawed frogs. She is sending me eggs next time they lay (she says they lay frequently). I will ask her if she knows the species. Does it make a difference on husbandry?

Those albinos are surely X. Laevis.

[BugBoy99]

Just another update. I promise to post photos as soon as possible. The first tadpole is now a frog, and three others are very close. There are a good many tadpoles with two legs, and a whole lot with four.

[BugBoy99]

Hello Everybody,

I finally have enough data to post pictures of the tads. I am proud to say that I now have four froglets, eight more tads that will morph in the next few days, and quite a lot of tads that are somewhere before that phase.

First, one of the froglets


Second, a two-legged tadpole


Lastly, a legless tadpole


I hope that everyone enjoys these photos.

Joh