Raising frogs in the classroom

[MsB]

Hello.

I am a third-year teaching student, and at the moment, have to create activities and lesson plans for my kindergarteners about animals and how they move and balance in ecosystems. I got the idea that raising tadpoles and noting the changes over the semester would be an interesting activity, and would love to give it a try.

The only problem is, I have almost no experience with frogs. I mean, I used to catch them and release them in my grandparents' pond when I was a kid, but I've never raised them. I don't want to put time, effort, and money in it, and then end up killing them. Not to mention how sad that would be for the five-year-olds I teach.

So, I was wondering if anyone can give me advice. I don't want a frog kit, since I want the children to find out on their own (with my help) about where frogs live, what they eat, different species, etc., and then come up with a habitat on their own (again, with my help).

Should I get just one tadpole, or more than one? What is a good temperature for the water? Water care? Food for pet frogs? Should the water be changed on a regular basis? What species are best for raising in captivity? Appropriate cage/container for raising frogs?

And any other advice or tips anyone can give me would be awesome.

[Socrates]

I'd recommend trying one of the science supply companies that Universities use. You can get a group of bullfrog, leopard, or wood frog eggs/tadpoles. They are easy to raise, because they are from a temperate region. All you would need is am aquarium, air stone, some live floating plants, dechlorinated water, place some live daphnia in the water. This will provide oxygen, food, and hiding places for the developing tadpoles. Then as they come along development, place rocks/branches that allow the later developed/proto-froglets a place to get out of the water (so they wont drown). I would go with wood frogs, because of their size and extreme hardiness.

[tylototriton]

First, i'm going to commend you. That is an excellent idea. Pardon me while I wax poetic for a minute. When I was in 2nd grade my teacher used to keep frogs in the classroom (she had White's treefrogs, a barking treefrog, and several African Clawed Frogs). She used to base lessons around them and allow the students to assist in taking care of them. She fostered a sense of investigation and discovery in her students and really pushed environmental education. Because of her (and several others) I am now finishing up a Bachelors in Ecology and considering a Masters degree. Now back on track. I agree with Socrates about your sources, there are plenty of biological supply houses (you can literally type that into google and get the best ones as your top hits) that can furnish you with eggs. You don't always have a choice of species though, and sometimes eggs can be fussy to raise. Another choice is to buy tadpoles at a pet store. I have seen stores with multiple bullfrog tadpoles for sale before. They tend to be hardy, and if one dies, you can replace it before your students notice. The problem with starting with an egg mass or a large number of tadpoles is that you may be left with a lot of young froglets to dispose of. With older students you can give them away (many of us kept African Clawed Frogs given to us by my teacher), however with younger students this may not be an option. These are some considerations that only you can answer. However, I can answer the ones you pose:
Multiple tadpoles are good, some may die, it happens. However, lots can be stressful.
Temperature for the water depends on species, however room temperature is good for most all. Consider a heater if the place you're teaching in a building that shuts heat off on weekends or at night ( a lot do).
Water changes should be semi-regular. Traditionally we figure a 30% water change maybe every other week, it ultimately depends on the filtration system and the volume of water.
Tadpoles are easy to feed. Most will take commercial fish food or you can find some sort of aquatic chow for vertebrates, just look around the pet store.
As for species, its variable. You can buy them at biological supply places, but often times these are wild collected eggs without a guaranteed species. I just checked out one of the main supply houses and they have bullfrog and Xenopus (Clawed Frog) tadpoles as well as bullfrog and "assorted" frog eggs. Truthfully, I recommend Xenopus because you will be able to keep them easily after they change. They are aquatic for their entire life, so there is no need to change the tank environment. Ranids (like bullfrogs or any of the "assorted" eggs) are hardy, but I find them to be skittish (which won't be great with young kids) and they demand a larger and different habitat than the tadpoles.
And as for an appropriate tank; 10 gallon would be sufficient. You can decorate it however you want for tadpoles. The more tadpoles you have, the more space you need. An undergravel and/or sponge filter will work, as will a regular fish tank filter. Keep in mind that like Socrates said, if you get tadpoles that metamorphose into terrestrial frogs you will need to accommodate that process as well.

Hope that helps,
Alex

[Socrates]

First, i'm going to commend you. That is an excellent idea. Pardon me while I wax poetic for a minute. When I was in 2nd grade my teacher used to keep frogs in the classroom (she had White's treefrogs, a barking treefrog, and several African Clawed Frogs). She used to base lessons around them and allow the students to assist in taking care of them. She fostered a sense of investigation and discovery in her students and really pushed environmental education. Because of her (and several others) I am now finishing up a Bachelors in Ecology and considering a Masters degree. Now back on track. I agree with Socrates about your sources, there are plenty of biological supply houses (you can literally type that into google and get the best ones as your top hits) that can furnish you with eggs. You don't always have a choice of species though, and sometimes eggs can be fussy to raise. Another choice is to buy tadpoles at a pet store. I have seen stores with multiple bullfrog tadpoles for sale before. They tend to be hardy, and if one dies, you can replace it before your students notice. The problem with starting with an egg mass or a large number of tadpoles is that you may be left with a lot of young froglets to dispose of. With older students you can give them away (many of us kept African Clawed Frogs given to us by my teacher), however with younger students this may not be an option. These are some considerations that only you can answer. However, I can answer the ones you pose:
Multiple tadpoles are good, some may die, it happens. However, lots can be stressful.
Temperature for the water depends on species, however room temperature is good for most all. Consider a heater if the place you're teaching in a building that shuts heat off on weekends or at night ( a lot do).
Water changes should be semi-regular. Traditionally we figure a 30% water change maybe every other week, it ultimately depends on the filtration system and the volume of water.
Tadpoles are easy to feed. Most will take commercial fish food or you can find some sort of aquatic chow for vertebrates, just look around the pet store.
As for species, its variable. You can buy them at biological supply places, but often times these are wild collected eggs without a guaranteed species. I just checked out one of the main supply houses and they have bullfrog and Xenopus (Clawed Frog) tadpoles as well as bullfrog and "assorted" frog eggs. Truthfully, I recommend Xenopus because you will be able to keep them easily after they change. They are aquatic for their entire life, so there is no need to change the tank environment. Ranids (like bullfrogs or any of the "assorted" eggs) are hardy, but I find them to be skittish (which won't be great with young kids) and they demand a larger and different habitat than the tadpoles.
And as for an appropriate tank; 10 gallon would be sufficient. You can decorate it however you want for tadpoles. The more tadpoles you have, the more space you need. An undergravel and/or sponge filter will work, as will a regular fish tank filter. Keep in mind that like Socrates said, if you get tadpoles that metamorphose into terrestrial frogs you will need to accommodate that process as well.

Hope that helps,
Alex

Well said