Identifying Tadpoles

[SuttonMass]

Greetings, everyone! I'm new to this forum.

A schoolteacher I know took home a batch of 20 tadpoles when school ended, that another teacher was done with. So these are from the friend-of-a-friend. Apparently the teachers don't communicate over the summer so I have no idea what type of tadpoles these are. The teachers had talked about "releasing them into the wild" when the tadpoles became frogs so I'm hoping they are local frogs (to central Massachusetts) if that was their plan.

I have three videos of them so far -

https://www.youtube.com/user/suttonmass

They are just developing hind legs.

I realize it's usually quite a challenge to identify a tadpole. Maybe I just have to wait until they turn into frogs. But I'd like a sense if they would, indeed, be safe to put out into the wild when they're big enough. While I wanted to help out by rescuing them from the end-of-school situation, I'm not sure long term if I'm up to raising 20 adult frogs each in their own tank .

Thanks!

[Jessalyn]

You most likely won't get a definitive answer until they morph into frogs, which it sounds like they should be soon! My best advice would be to find a list of frogs local to you and compare them, which will hopefully give you a better idea. I wish I could help you out more!


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[SuttonMass]

Thank you, Jessalyn - we'll have to be patient!

[UncleChester]

Some handy ID links:

Your state frogs/toads: Massachusetts North American Amphibian Program
The SEARMIT tadpole guide (lots of pictures): http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/armi/Guid...dpoleGuide.pdf
A complex tadpole key: USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center "Tadpoles of the United States and Canada: A Tutorial and Key"
The tutorial for the above key (explains the anatomy bits): North American Tadpoles
A small chart of common tads with brief descriptions: Tadpole Identification Table

With the plan of releasing them into the wild, I'd also hope they were collected from nearby and it would be ideal to return them to the same location if possible.

There's a possibility that they were ordered from one of the many places that supply tadpoles for classrooms. In this case, some version of Leopard Frog, Bullfrog, or Green Frog are the most common suspects. IMO it would be irresponsible to release a mail ordered tadpole into the wild but this happens often enough out of classrooms.

[SuttonMass]

Dear Brian -

I appreciate the suggestions. We'd been working with those pages and so far nothing seems an exact match. I don't think these were mail order, but I'm still trying to find out where the eggs were collected so we know where to return them.

Thanks!

Lisa

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Also, check with your state's Fish & Wildlife for any laws affecting release of captured frogs. There are some states that do not allow it and others that have time limits after capture.

Yes, keeping 20 frogs would be a hand full; specially if they turn out to be Bullfrogs. Good luck !

[SuttonMass]

Hmmmm those look a little small. I'll try to link to some larger versions. I think these are leopard frogs.

Two now have arms - the rest either have just legs or no legs.

It appears the teacher mail-ordered them but provided our local zip code when she did, and that the vendor promised they could be released in the wild. I find that a bit iffy - are they really "local" frogs or just "frogs of a type that are found locally"? Massachusetts regulations are apparently that you can have up to **2** of a given frog - but I was told that they are lenient in school kid cases. They sort of assign "ownership" of the tadpoles across the kids in the class. So now apparently I'm a foster parent for all those kids' tadpoles. For another week or two anyway, at least.

[Mentat]

Animal laws can be funny at times . Those tads markings look like Leopard frogs (a conglomerate of closely looking species). If so; here is a care guide for them: Frog Forum - Leopard Frog Care - Rana pipiens (Schreber, 1782) and R. sphenocephala (1886). Keep us updated on their progress !

[SuttonMass]

Thank you so much! The latest video is here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRy...ature=youtu.be

[Jessalyn]

Wow! Look like they are ready to come out of the water any day now! I'm not sure if you've raised tadpoles before, but I would think about moving them to a setup with a wet paper towel on the bottom and a tilted container with water that covers all but their faces. That way they can easily hop out and you don't have to worry about the possibility of drowning. They look like very happy little soon to be froglets!


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