An Update on the Tads

If you read this post, you know that we're "growing" frogs. What started as eggs the size of poppy seeds, are now full grown tadpoles, almost frogs. It's amazing to see how different they have become, having hatched at the same time. While they all started out and stayed exactly the same for a long time, they have now changed dramatically.


This Tad has changed the least. He is still very fish-like. He is about 5 cm from nose to tail, and while he is not much smaller than the others, he has changed the least, staying remarkably similar to the stage he was at in the last pictures, which was over a month ago. If you click on the photo you can see the start of his toes on the right side.


This Tad has just started to grow his hind legs. If you click on the photo you can see the bend of his leg and the toes on the right side. He is about 7 cm from nose to tail and will change rapidly (so we have learned) into the next stage. His head is starting to change shape, too. He's in between the shape of the Tab above and the Tab below. He's starting to get that wider shape at the back of his head that will eventually turn into the widest part of the body, looking less like a fish. The wood piece that you see in the water is for them to climb up onto when they get all four legs. Since they are land frogs (specifically Leopard frogs), not water frogs, they would eventually drown if they didn't have a place to rest outside of the water while their tail is disappearing.




This Tad has changed the most. He is almost a full-fledged frog. He spends most of his day on the wood, breathing air and resting. His tail shrinks more and more everyday. At first, we weren't sure if the tail would fall off, or just disappear. But, it's clear that it is disappearing. I noticed a difference just overnight. He was the largest tadpole, but now with less of his tail, is just about 5 cm from nose to end-of-tail. He is very strange looking now (not that the others aren't also) because he's so close to a frog, but with the big tail hanging down. And his whole body really has the frog appearance, with the triangular shaped head and froggy legs. The Tad in the second photo will look like this in just a few days, if he takes after this guy.

The next step after they lose their tails is to move them to a terrarium with dirt, plants, and water, and to start feeding them bugs. Luckily it's spring and we should be able to find some things moving outdoors soon. I also need to figure out how to differentiate between boys and girls, because I don't want any more frogs!

Oh, and we just found out that they can be cannibals. Ugh!