They lived!! Advice?!

[discfocused]

So my step daughter saw tadpoles at Petco and overheard the store lady say that cant sell them and they would probably just die or get eaten (thanks to that lady by the way for telling a 6 year old that). Much to my luck, that the lady was also a sap for a 6 year old tearing up at that thought. So we ended up buying a "bag" with water in it. We came home with the 2 tadpoles. We put them in a 15 gallon tank and now after 5 months, they are frogs. So I went up and bought stuff to try and transform their habitat into a frog suitable living area. I think I did fairly well and I stuck a few small crickets in there too because I had NO idea what to feed them... They ate those crickets within 5 minutes, so I guess I need more. Any ideas what frogs these are? I think they are bullfrogs but I really am clueless. I thought the things would die and now I am stuck with them because she LOVES them and I am now kind of fascinated as well.

[Heatheranne]

Awe!!! So cute! Yep, I'm thinking bullfrogs . Congrats! They are a blast.

I love my big baby . I have a male albino and am looking for a female friend for him.

Great job on guessing on the set-up for them. They are considered aquatic frogs but need a bit of land to hop out if they'd like.

They can eat crickets and cut up earth worms and night crawlers. I feed my adult freshly molted (soft) dubia roaches also. You'll need to get some amphibian or reptile supplements for them to keep them healthy. They need calcium with vitamin D3 powder lightly dusted on their food every other day and multivitamin powder once a week. The shake-and-bake method works well....take a small pinch of the powder and put it in a baggie or glass/ceramic cup, put your bugs/worms in and give it a little shake until they're lightly coated. Then feed. Do not use the multivitamin powder on the same day as the calcium as it lessens the absorption. Be sure to gut-load your crickets by feeding them some good foods such as fresh fruits, potatoes, carrots, zuchini, whole wheat cereals, cat food, fish food, etc. (never ever use tomatoes -they are toxic to frogs). Crickets are not very nutritious on their own. Feeding the crickets healthy foods will feed our frogs healthfully . Use gel water for the crickets so they don't drown. Be sure any worms are not scented or dyed and have no chemicals added.

I'm guessing by your nice set-up that you already know to dechlorinate your tap water? It's a must, all of the time. Never use distilled water...it pulls electrolytes out through the frogs skin. Bottled 'spring' water is fine. Never use bottled drinking water -it very often has chlorine in it. Do weekly water exchanges for the first few weeks until the nitrogen cycle in the tank stabilizes itself. Depending on the amount they eat and the amount of waste they create will determine how often after that. Every 1 to 2 weeks should be fine if they're not messy. I do mine weekly to be safe, even with my filter running. A good fish tank siphon is great for this. Remove any visible wastes when you see them.

You've done a great job!

They will need a larger tank as they grow but will be fine for now .

I hope you'll keep us posted with pictures. So cute!

P.S. as they grow you'll be able to tell their genders by their 'eardrums' and if they call/croak. Males croak and their tympanum (ear drum) is larger than their eyes. The female tympanum is about the same size as their eyes or slightly smaller.

[KingCam]

I agree, bullfrogs, and everything Heather said is accurate.

[Heatheranne]

Welcome to the forum, by the way!

If you're up to it, how about a nice into post in the introduction area?

We are always happy to have new members and love sharing stories and photos .

[Heatheranne]

Thanks KingCam

[Heatheranne]

Oh yeah...might want to get some good lid clamps or weight the top . They can leap 3 to 6 feet, yes feet! Lol! as adults. Not sure how far as juvies, but they get strong pretty fast .

[Lija]

welcome to the forum! beautiful set up and frogs you got here