Lots of questions about raising tadpoles- can anyone help?

[jess32247]

Hello! New to the forum but I thought I would skip the introduction as I'm in a bit of a situation right now. I took in a group of tadpoles that hatched in our pool cover to watch them grow- however, I haven't realized what I've gotten myself into, so I'm looking for any advice/tips you frog savvy members have to offer!

I'll start off with the tadpoles themselves- they are all at different life stages right now, a few of them are very tiny (size of a pinky nail), a few are quite large (about the size of a thumb nail with formed legs, not counting tail), and some are in between that might be in the starting process of growing legs. I live in walking distance of a large river, so I plan of releasing them there or in our backyard- about how old should they be when I can release them?

Now onto food- I'll be honest in saying I have no idea what they eat. I've been offering cheap fish flakes every few days, which I can imagine is not very good, so what can I buy them from a pet store to eat? I have a couple Petco's and Petsmart's nearby and a small bait shop- would they have anything I could use? A member of another forum suggested blood worms and tubifex worms, is that a good choice? What about small bugs like crickets? They also suggested feeding live food since I plan on releasing them.

One last concern of mine- there tank. The only size tank I have is a 10 gallon, which feels very small with so many frogs. My question is, how would I go about making a platform for the older ones when they want to start using there legs and emerging from the water but not take up any swimming space in the tank for the tadpoles? Another member of the forum suggested using a couple sponges- what do you think?

Also, what kind of water should I be using in there tank? Right now it's just distilled water from our faucet- would river/pool water be better? Keep in mind that our pool isn't open and the water is pretty gross to say the least, it must be a good breeding ground for them if they keep coming back year after year- would either be better then plain distilled water?

Here are some pictures of them, if it helps any. The big ones have been moved into the tank with the little ones- they aren't in a container anymore.


Is that tadpole poop or legs starting to grow? I really don't even know!


And a really terrible picture of the tank- is there anything I can change or add? I threw in a bunch of fake plants to hide in which they seem to like, but I'm not sure what else I can add to make it more comfortable for them. How high should the water level be?

[Heatheranne]

Hello! New to the forum but I thought I would skip the introduction as I'm in a bit of a situation right now. I took in a group of tadpoles that hatched in our pool cover to watch them grow- however, I haven't realized what I've gotten myself into, so I'm looking for any advice/tips you frog savvy members have to offer!

I'll start off with the tadpoles themselves- they are all at different life stages right now, a few of them are very tiny (size of a pinky nail), a few are quite large (about the size of a thumb nail with formed legs, not counting tail), and some are in between that might be in the starting process of growing legs. I live in walking distance of a large river, so I plan of releasing them there or in our backyard- about how old should they be when I can release them?

Now onto food- I'll be honest in saying I have no idea what they eat. I've been offering cheap fish flakes every few days, which I can imagine is not very good, so what can I buy them from a pet store to eat? I have a couple Petco's and Petsmart's nearby and a small bait shop- would they have anything I could use? A member of another forum suggested blood worms and tubifex worms, is that a good choice? What about small bugs like crickets? They also suggested feeding live food since I plan on releasing them.

One last concern of mine- there tank. The only size tank I have is a 10 gallon, which feels very small with so many frogs. My question is, how would I go about making a platform for the older ones when they want to start using there legs and emerging from the water but not take up any swimming space in the tank for the tadpoles? Another member of the forum suggested using a couple sponges- what do you think?

Also, what kind of water should I be using in there tank? Right now it's just distilled water from our faucet- would river/pool water be better? Keep in mind that our pool isn't open and the water is pretty gross to say the least, it must be a good breeding ground for them if they keep coming back year after year- would either be better then plain distilled water?

Here are some pictures of them, if it helps any. The big ones have been moved into the tank with the little ones- they aren't in a container anymore.


Is that tadpole poop or legs starting to grow? I really don't even know!


And a really terrible picture of the tank- is there anything I can change or add? I threw in a bunch of fake plants to hide in which they seem to like, but I'm not sure what else I can add to make it more comfortable for them. How high should the water level be?

Hello Jess, and welcome to the forum.

Water - you can use spring water or dechlorinated tap water. You can buy dechlorinating drops in the fish section of any pet store.

Food - they can eat algae, fish food flakes, "tadpole bites", boiled romaine lettuce cooked until limp then cooled (boiled in dechlorinated water), dehydrated seaweed strips. Careful not to over feed. I found that the seaweed and romaine lettuce was less messy and did not cloud the water.

Size difference - if you plan to keep some I'd keep a few of similar size and set the rest free in a shallow pond. This is because the larger ones can eat the smaller ones if their mouths are large enough. If I were you I'd keep the larger ones because they will develop sooner. Also, too many in a 10 gallon will produce a lot of waste.

The tank - they will like the hiding places. They will live in water until all 4 legs develop. After the back two develop you'll want to prepare to move them. It will depend on what type of frogs or toads they are as to which type of set-up they will need. If you keep us posted here, we can help you . I think what you are seeing on the tad is poo.

I would recommend adding a filter the the tank. You'll have to cover the water intake tube with a nylon or mesh of some sort so they don't get pulled into the filter or their tails into the slots. You will still have to do partial water changes once a week.

After they morph into froglets or toads, you'll need to get flightless fruit flies, calcium with vitamin D3 supplement, and multivitamin supplement for amphibians/reptiles.