WOW these guys are really changing fast! I only posted a few days ago that some had gotten their arms - as of this morning, those two have already absorbed 90% of their tails. They've got little rottweiler tail stump looking nubs now, & probably by this evening they'll be entirely tailless.



So that's two of them - as for the other two, one is a couple days behind, has arms & legs but still a full tail. The last one has hind legs, hasn't sprouted arms yet.



These guys have been raised in 2 2.5 gallon tanks, with pond water changed out every other day. The weird thing is, the tadpoles in the glass tank are the ones developing faster. The ones in the plastic 'critter keeper' are behind. Their environments are otherwise identical. They've only had vegetation stuff from the pond to feed on - leaves, sticks, bits of reeds, duckweed & floating moss stuff, all of which were good cover for hiding, & all of which were growing algae. I tried adding fish flakes but they just made a mess. My method of maintaining that they had adequate food was real scientific: if I saw goldfish-style dangling poop hanging off their hind ends, I assumed they were eating well :-P



So now the little boogers are hopping around like experts! They've got their cute little raccoon masks, too. When they've all transformed, I'll choose the two least skittish, to move into the planted 10 gallon tank I've set up. It's got organic soil, & I've planted 3 different ivys, plus ferns, moss, & other shade-loving foresty stuff from the woods out back; the fluorescent hood I've got doesn't put out enough light for sun-hungry plants. There's a wide shallow dish which I'll need to stack some rocks in, & I've been aging some water; I really hope they adapt alright to the aged tap water. What should I try for feeding: pinhead crix, flightless fruit flies, ants? These guys are fingernail size (& I have small hands!)



I'm determined to choose the jumpiest two to go back to the pond; there's a big fat bullfrog there, & a few green frogs as well, plus chipmunks galore, & I'd like my little wood frogs to have at least a LITTLE chance of not being eaten for a while!



Thanks


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~kimhotep

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