Fruju Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Got a couple of taddies growing out in a small pond, had them since August and they still haven't morphed :-? only have developed back legs. Anyway, they are the biggest taddies I've seen, much larger than any offered in stores, any ideas? growth problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 tadpoles that don't morph in time can carry over to the next season and are usually bigger than normal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 If the conditions aren't right tadpoles can delay morphing. An iodine deficiency can cause it, but there are probably other factors. I had some this year from a weird spot - the tadpoles were HUGE and very slow to develop. compared to the other taddies I had from another site. They had back legs and were clearly moving their arms inside their skins. When they did eventually morph they were quite large compared to the normal ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 pond is much much better than any tank in a shop or home for that matter. how bigs big though?? they can easily reach 8cm, wouldnt be surprised if close to 10cm. morphs approx between 1.2cm -2.5cm so big variance there too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 heres an average to good sized bell frog tadpole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Well, many of the ones that morph in the stores tend to be around 4-5cm in length, the ones I have i'd say are around 8-10cm, substantially bigger than others. So if they have prolonged morphing when should I expect them to complete the transformation, they already have decent legs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Are you sure the pet shop wasnt just selling whistling tree frog tadpoles? if not could just be small bell tadpoles. inadequate conditions, diet, even onset of winter/days getting shorter may bring forward the morphing. tadpoles seem very good at adapting yet still so fragile. Ive found growing them slower often yields bigger tadpoles = bigger morphs. May take a month or even 3 longer (maybe more depending on season) outdoors but given the bigger morph size i think you would save atleast that in growing time as apposed to if they had morphed earlier and you'd fed them heaps of livefood since (saves alot of food getting bigger morphs ) hope that makes sense. to answer your question. if water temp is below 20C development will slow, below 18C i think it stops. outdoors is a bit different, temps will vary but as long as they get some sun they should be alrite. summers is here so still plenty of time for them to morph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-town... Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Ive seen some tadpoles up to 15cm long! they were ones that hadnt morphed from the previous year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Water temp varies, I originally found them in geothermal area so the water was obviously kept quite warm, put them into a pond where it would have been cooler, however the warm weather will have increased the temp in there substantially - small pond. Pretty sure the shops were selling goldens. So I should leave them in there to morph over summer? One of them only has 1 eye, a birth defect I think, its kind of cool actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 one eye is pretty cool alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 So I should leave them in there to morph over summer? One of them only has 1 eye, a birth defect I think, its kind of cool actually. i would but depends what you want to do. Are they to stay in the pond long term or come into a tank? if you intended to bring them in, i would now. if not leave em to it. maybe chuck in some bloodworms or some other high protein food may get the legs developing a little faster. this is my one eye, may keep it, is interesting watching it eat. have another that has only one back leg. he's my tri-frog. oh and an albino with one eye bigger than the other :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 tri-frog is amazing how they just adapt to deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hmmm, mutant frogs? Reminds me of Blinky from the Simpsons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 more likely they just got nibbled on from siblings at the tadpole stage. maybe not though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 was a weird lot of morphs in that bunch. this is more mutant, possibly just nibbled at tadpole stage and re-grew two mutant feet instead. :dunno: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nznatives Posted September 1, 2011 Report Share Posted September 1, 2011 man frogs are cool the way they just adapt to their suroundings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jangonz Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 hey, sorry but this is a bit off topic. But My brother in law found some tadpoles. About 50 odd... At the moment I am looking after them and I am keeping them in a 300Lx300Wx400H exo-terra cage. I have had them for about a month now and the majority are around 2-3 cms, there are a few that would be lucky to even reach 2cms. I am guessing that they are brown tree frogs. Since having them, I don't think they have growen a hell of a lot if at all. I have posted on here on what I should be feeding them. At the moment we are just feeding them fish flakes. That seems to be enough for them as they are not eating each other which is good!! My old man won't let me have them inside so I have found a nice place outside that gets lots of sun (when the sun decides to shine). I have been changing the water every weekend and replacing it with about a quarter of the water that they would be originally swimming in and the other 3 quarters would be rain water that I have collected in a bucket. Any help to get these little dudes growing would be much appreciated. Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Probably just slow due to low temp. Could leave them there as it is warming up now. 18-20C is probably a good temp for brown tree frogs. under 15C they dont seem to grow, above 22C is getting up there but they can handle upto 24C but you need to be on to it at higher temps as things get funky fast. Could just bring a couple inside (the old man wont know :lol: ), raise them in an ice cream container etc. should see some difference in size, compared to ones outside, within 2-4weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jangonz Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Ok cool. Thanks for that! I might try and see if I can find a good cheap thermometer. When you say I need to be on to it, what do you mean? As in with the water changes? Alos what about food. Is fish flakes fine for now? When they start to morph I was going to go out and get some wingless flies? cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 yeah just keep an eye on the water, as it will go off faster at higher temps. don't over feed. don't over stock. healthy tadpoles seem to do ok on just about any food. cant beat the outdoors really. nice and slow as mother nature intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jangonz Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Great! Thanks for your help! Yea, we were thinking that. How often should I be feeding them then? At the moment it is every second day. Sorry for all the questions, but I have never kept tadpoles before so just want to make sure that they will be all good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 no more than twice a day. every second day is probably more than enough? especially in cold water as they wont be eating much? if you raise temp to 20C id feed once a day, may be twice. breeders secret: if they look skinny feed more if they look fat feed less :sml1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jangonz Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 hey hey! That's great advice! Cool, thanks! I will keep doing what I'm doing then. So I sholdn't worry about lights and heaters for them then? They do look nice and round and fat. They seem to be grazing on the weed in there aswell so thats cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 they survive frosts. in winter they basically go dormant because it is not warm enough for them to metabolise food. and if they could and did turn into frogs in winter well there isn't much insects so they would be doomed anyway. So they just go dormant over winter until it warms up, then come spring time and the sun starts to heat things up, they start to grow again. by the time theyre frogs the insects are out and about and away they go good typing practice :facepalm: oh and legally speaking if you bring them indoors or into 'captivity' your not suppose to release them. bascially once in captivity must stay there. happy frogging :sml2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jangonz Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 haha sweet as! Thanks for clearing that up! Yea I did read somewhere that once they are in captivity they mustn't be released. So I hope people will want some frogs... I will make my own thread I think and see if I can get some good pictures of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.