karynjoy Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 I have been watching a large group of tadpoles getting bigger and bigger over the last few months. Their bodies are now about an inch in diameter. They are huge!! The only trouble is that they don't seem to be growing legs...plus the pond where they live is going to have something rather nasty done to it in the next few weeks. Does anyone know what conditions make the tadpoles turn into frogs please? Also is there anyone out there that would like some to put into a pond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 A hormone they produce called thyroxin, and they will produce it when they are good and ready. No frogs for me thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karynjoy Posted December 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 Thanks for that. Quite frankly...(my warped sense of humour aside!!!!) I'm quite relieved to see them, as there hasn't been many frogs/tadpoles about for the last few years... I had thought that it was because there was a lot of spraying going on in the area...but maybe there is some climatical reason... However, there seems to be a lot around this year...Thanks to this weird algae bloom we have perhaps? but Thank goodness!!!. The more we can get frogs spread about the better (IMHO ) In my belief they are the canaries of the terrestrial environment...what do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantedobe Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 Can you catch them and release them somewhere else before the 'something nasty to their pond' happens? We have a pond and unfortunatly can't have frogs as our cats would think we had supplied them with hopping tasty treats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 I would prefer to see more natives spread around than little Ausies. Having said that, I do have green and golds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karynjoy Posted December 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Well, the tadpoles are finally turning into frogs...thank goodness. They were in the school pool ( in case anyone was wondering.) I put a call out and some have gone to a wetland in Matamata, lots of kids have taken them home and put them in the troughs, the cub scouts have been on an evening fishing expedition and have rehomed a few more, and today there was a beautiful grey heron perched on the side...the kids at school have adopted them and spend lunchtime gazing through the fence at the frogs and tadpoles...they may be an overseas species but they certainly have brought our kids a whole lot of pleasure :-) (The pool has got about a month before they need to start getting it up and running again so a few more may hop away by then.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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