Tadpoles - Name them!

[miguynmkoi]

I was just reading about tadpoles on the last post...here are pics of tadpoles thanks to a noisy little frog living in my lotus-less pot.  They are about 6 -7 weeks old and the last of the over 100 in the pot.  Weeks ago I was feeding these tadpoles to my fishys and turtles...yummm .  Then my daughter wanted to see the actual evolution of tads to froggies so I scooped up a bunch and they live in a reptile container laying in my small pond.

Love the cute legs.  They are less than 1" head to tail.  Full grown size they should be just a little bigger without the tail.  I don't know the name of this frog but I find them in wet or damp areas of my yard.  They're also colored to camoflage to the environment.

Smile!
Annette

[miguynmkoi]

Tad container is down in the lower right corner of pond pic.  We can see the swimming around and eating fish pellets.

Smile!
Annette

[Teresa]

Most likely a tree frog or a reed frog of some type . . .

[Ky Kim]

That's what I was going to say Teresa.  Tree frogs or toads.  Definately NOT bull frogs, they take forever to morph and they are alot bigger.

They are cute aren't they.

Kim

[miguynmkoi]

Most likely a tree frog since I have noticed them around the trees in the garden.

Love watching them change.

[Sandye]

My tadpole is about 2½" long and is the shape of the lowest one in the first picture.  He's just starting to develop his tiny, skinny little back legs.  He's still in a container in the house...and his name is "Bob"!   

Annette, how much longer will it be before your more-developed (both front and back legs) tads lose their tails?  Or is this the first time you've tried raising them? 

[frloplady]

Name them???    That one on the top can be Sally, the next one can be Bill...that one over there can be Rachel.... That other one..oh why not..Miss Piggy!   

Sorry couldn't resist...

Mary

[barb]

Aw, how cute!  Name them after the members here on the ponding board.   

[Teresa]

My tadpole is about 2½" long and is the shape of the lowest one in the first picture.  He's just starting to develop his tiny, skinny little back legs.  He's still in a container in the house...and his name is "Bob"!   

Annette, how much longer will it be before your more-developed (both front and back legs) tads lose their tails?  Or is this the first time you've tried raising them? 

Annette's taddies will develop their front legs really quickly and probably be ready to climb out of the box within days or even hours of developing those front legs.  They are some smaller frog and develop fairly quickly.  Yours will develop their arms only after the back legs are pretty well developed.  Yours will probably take several days to a couple of weeks to lose their tail after their arms pop out (and the arms do pop out, they do not develop slowly like the back legs).

[LeeAnne151]

They aren't bullfrogs which is wonderful because bullfrogs aren't native to California and are eating native frogs there into extinction.

If it were my pond, I'd not feed them to fish nor turtle no matter how yummy as even if there are hundreds of tads, there won't be that many make it to adults and native frogs are needed.

[Sandye]

Thanks for the answers, Teresa.   

"and the arms do pop out, they do not develop slowly like the back legs."  Now that will be a sight!     His little back legs have just shown up in the past week and they were so little and skinny that I wasn't sure at first that it wasn't just poop.     When I finally decided there were two of them, I realized they actually were skinny little legs.

LeeAnne, apparently mine isn't a bullfrog, either...although they are native around here.  I'm glad he isn't...cause that way I don't have to wait two years for him to turn into a frog.   

[miguynmkoi]

Sally, Bill,  fuuunnnnyyy!!!

This is my first time raising "wild froggies" but love checking in on them every so often.  Teresa is right about the back legs growing large before the fronts pop out.  The tail seems to be shrinking and the body more slender and frog shape.  The older they are the smaller they are compared to the tadpoles.

Naughty Turtles included....

Smile!
Annette

[Mikey]

  I didn't know that we had tree frogs here in southern CA    I'm looking to get my hands on some toad tads so that I can have toads in the garden.  I think that all the walled yards and domestic cats running around have pretty much curtailed the movement of toads....  In fact, earlier this week I trapped another cat that had been prowling about inside my garden killing my fence lizards and leaving unwanted greetings in my soil.....  Darn cats.....

[miguynmkoi]

Mikey, I didn't know cats would those things you listed    I'm guessing the neighbor's cat has something to do with the missing turtle dove babies and eggs  :'(

These frogs are real small about the size of a quarter and they can squeeze through anything.  Small they are but the croaking sounds they make  enough to make you    we live near a creek and the whole place lights up with the croaks of what may be many different types of croakers.

[Mikey]

I'm guessing the neighbor's cat has something to do with the missing turtle dove babies and eggs

Doves don't pick the best location for building a nest.  Cats will kill birds, lizards, frogs and other small prey but I imagine that a crow or crows got to the nest.  I see crows, and occassionally a blue jay, raid nests every spring.  They will eat both the young birds and the eggs.  That's why you often see small birds such as sparrows and mocking birds chasing and diving at a crow.