New Bullfrog Owner

[BullFrogGurl]

Heyo people of Frog Forum! Last week or so, I caught a wild bullfrog tadpole. I know what to feed it, and its in a nice large tank with logs and rocks sticking out for it to climb up on as an adult. I just have a few questions, like how long does a bullfrog tadpole (that's about 2 and a half inches long) take to mature? I have no idea how old it is, just that I put my net in the water and there it was! I am currently feeding it fish food and boiled lettuce. It has a white throat which I think means a girl. She is currently eating and active and "doing its business" so I think she's healthy Thanks!

[Mentat]

Even knowing how old it is, tadpole development varies greatly and normally takes 1 to 3 years. Froglet size is dependent on tadpole size at metamorphosis and varies too; so tadpole size is not an indication of time left to mature into a froglet. So since your tadpole is 2.5 inches; it could happen soon... or not !

[UncleChester]

It has a white throat which I think means a girl.

The throat colour is a semi-reliable method of sexing adults, I don't think it applies to tadpoles. I don't think there's any visual clue for sexing tadpoles.

[BullFrogGurl]

I can see ting little nubs by its tail, are those legs starting to form?

[demon amphibians]

The throat colour is a semi-reliable method of sexing adults, I don't think it applies to tadpoles. I don't think there's any visual clue for sexing tadpoles.

I just bought two bullfrog tadpoles from a person who breeds them in his outdoor pond in his yard. this is the same person i got my first bullfrog arya from over a year ago. One tadpole I have right now has a yellowish belly and the other has a white belly. they are both about 4" long and one is starting to morph. I added this because when i picked out arya as a tadpole i picked her because she had a white under-belly hoping it was a female and she did turn out to be a female. I do not know if it was just luck or if the color is slightly visable allowing sexing as tadpoles. none the less when my tads morph i will let you all know on this thread if my assumptions of the sex in the tadpoles are correct. But like you said Brian, coloration is not all ways reliable even for adults.

[BullFrogGurl]

Im thinking of getting another tadpole, and I found a site where you can get 28 tadpoles for 2 bucks! How many bullfrogs can i fit in a ten gallon aquarium? Thanks!

[MyfrogGatsby]

Unless you have an outdoor pond, I would not buy 28 tads. When they mature into actual frogs there is not going to be room for 28 froglets in there, let alone like..two..maybe. Thats just while theyre little. When they get bigger I would keep it down to like one frog per 10 gallon if that's all you've got. But, really, bullfrogs need lots of swimming space, and they get so big. An easy way to make a large enough aquarium for a bullfrog for cheap is a large tupperware storage bin. They run about 10 bucks for like a 40 gallon one and then all you need is your filter, pump, and rocks and logs and such. Easy peasy.

[Psychotic]

As a baby the bullfrog in a ten gallon tank will be fine. But by time the frog is fully grown it will be much much too large for a ten gallon tank. Heck just sitting in the tank the frog would take up nearly half the tank. So not even one adult bullfrog should live in a ten gallon. The smallest you could use is a 20 gallon. But even that is rather small for a bullfrog. They have powerful legs and like to jump into the water. In a small tank they will hit the top and sides and can injure themselves.

There is no way to sex tadpoles. They can only be sexed once they start to mature. Males will get huge tympanic membranes. They usually will not develop the yellow throat until they are sexually mature which can take 2-3 years after morphing into a frog. Both male and female bullfrogs can vocalize. Though females are usually pretty quiet unless startled. Only the males make the mating call which is a sort of "RUMMMM RUMMMM RUMMMM" sound. They make this sound by puffing out their throat and vibrating the tympani (which is why they need to be so big).

I currently have 4 bullfrogs.

[demon amphibians]

10 gal is far to small as every one has stated i have mine in a 40 and that is far to small i will admit. I think the right size is around 80 and 100 gal they do need a lot of space. I plan on getting something that size once my other bullfrogs start getting larger. The more space you have the better for these guys. If you have to small of a tank your frog will become obese and unproportionate such as have small skinny legs with a large body. thus far i have not had this problem but i have to be extra careful because my frog is currently becoming obese. i have stopped the once a month feeding of rodents due to this problem and have had to cut down on the roaches too. they will become abese for a number of reasons such as over feeding or high fat foods but also lack of room to move about will also cause this i am finding out. my frog is pushing 7" vent to snout right now.