Tadpole

[nstanley]

I work at a petco out here in colorado. As i was getting an order of feeders in, i found a random tadpole.

I decided to take it home with me. Problem being I dont have any real good idea on how to rear it?
Right now its in a 29 gallon with some other small native caught fish, and a crayfish i caught, only about 2 and a half inches.

anyways, i read that I can keep them in a bowl. is this true? How large should it be? What kind of food should i be feeding him?

And, since its a random tadpole, it will turn into a random amphibian right? pressuming a frog, but still.

 

[bromie88]

i had a bull frog tadpole years ago... it was great. similar size to yours and mottled brown. mine hapilly ate flake food. i had it with goldfish. it lived to about 4 years old. never turned into a frog though, i guess there was a lack of iodine in the water.

try posting in the reptile section. you'll get more info...

 

[Noto]

Pictures would help. It's probably a ranid (the group that includes bullfrogs, leopard frogs, and green frogs).

Tadpoles do well on a diet of algae, algae-based fish foods, and boiled greens. You can also offer meatier foods and slices of zucchini or squash from time to time. They can gulp air, so oxygenation is not crucial, but they do better with plenty of oxygenation.

Definitely think about the long term, though. What will you do with the animal once it metamorphoses into a frog? Ranids get big and are jumpy; you need a fairly large dedicated tank for them.

If you do not want a pet frog, I suggest using the tadpole as a feeder.

 

[meepster]

i had a bull frog tadpole years ago... it was great. similar size to yours and mottled brown. mine hapilly ate flake food. i had it with goldfish. it lived to about 4 years old. never turned into a frog though, i guess there was a lack of iodine in the water.

try posting in the reptile section. you'll get more info...

Bullfrog tadpoles only morph with the changing seasons. If the water is not warm enough, it will "overwinter" as a tadpole. Gradually bring the temps up and it will morph.

If you want to help it morph, get a small tank with a tight fitting lid or a screem top. Put gravel in it and slope the gravel so that it is slanted. Put water on the lower side and put the tadpole in. If it's warm, it will morph into a frog. Put crickets on the land side that is not submerged and it will hop up to eat them. After it loses its tail, I suggest that you move the frog to a more quitable frog habitat although it can live in your half-land tank long term.