Froggies

[milflk]

I have 7 tadpoles and I don't know much about keeping them. Do they need a special PH??? Will they eat goldfish food or should I just feed them lettuce??? Is there any way to tell boys & girls apart??? Is there any way to tell the types apart of tell toads apart???

[Lindy Loo]

Where do you live, as here in the UK frogs and toads won't breed till the spring. As it sounds as if these are from the wild please return them, as the chances of them surviving at home are almost nil. Frogs and toads both lay hundreds of eggs at a time because of the low survival rate, given that many are eaten by fish and other 'preditors'. In nature tadpoles would eat algae from around the stones and plants on the edge of the pond/lake. Later they will eat small flies and insects. There is no way of telling the sexes apart. The only way to tell whether they are frogs or toads is at the 'spawn' stage....Frogs lay huge clumps of spawn, but toads lay 'strings' attached to the weed. Hope this helps.

[New Forester]

There is another way, you know, Lindy Loo... UK frog and toad tadpoles apparently differ in taste. You pop one into your mouth for a moment, and then you know -- toads taste horrible. The taddie is not harmed if returned immediately to the water. Just do not inhale... I have no idea if this really works, as I've never had the nerve to try it! Where are you, milfik? Tadpoles in Europe should have frogged long since, unless they are exotic species (which of course should on no account be released).

[Lindy Loo]

New Forester that sounds gross and not suprised you haven't tried it!!! But thanks for that bit of info.

[dorset 1954]

And frog tadpoles taste of ......... that gastronomic delight .......... pondwater?

[zgma]

We have a pet frog (named Metamorphic) that eats special frog food (a little container cost next to nothing at the pet store and will probably outlast the frog). This food was fine for it when it was a tadpole too. You can't use regular tapwater... we have a solution from the pet store - you add a drop to a quart of water and it fixes the pH for the frog. Once they get big you can feed them little crickets (but not until they are far bigger than the crickets, or the crickets will eat the frog!).

[New Forester]

Ordinary tapwater should be OK, if you let it stand for a day or two first. Rainwater too.

[zgma]

Yes, New Forester is right - I forgot about that. The drops we use get rid of the chlorine, which precipitate naturally if you leave the water out for a day or so.