Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a tadpole and I'm very worried about him. He keeps laying on his back and just stays there. If I nudge him a little he swims away sideways, and sometimes he swims upside-down, then just sinks to the bottom on his back again. He just started doing this yesterday. I don't know much about tadpoles, so I was wondering if this is normal behaviour or if I need to do something to help him.

I don't know if this info is important, but just incase, I just found out he is a bullfrog tadpole. I keep him in a big plastic bowl, feed him boiled lettuce, and I have a couple of rocks and an air stone in his water. So if I'm doing anything wrong, please let me know. I hope I'm worried over nothing. Thank you for your time.

It may be something wrong with your water, try to get clean water with no chemicals in it and check the ph.

Could you describe your setup in a little more detail? How long have you had it and how big is it? I strongly discourage this if bullfrogs are not native to your area, but I always found the best way to keep them was to raise them in a pond outdoors. The more water in an indoor setup, the better, provided it's well filtered, oxygenated and free of chemicals such as chlorine. I don't know how others feel about this practice, but I frequently add a little water from a "healthy" pond to my tadpoles indoors to let the tank get some diversity and some extra food, it also seems to condition the water better. In doing so, however, you run the risk of introducing parasites, predators or pathogens. I also don't know if this is a good idea when your tadpole is already ailing, since it may be in a weaker state. I'd filter the water well, add some water conditioner, and slowly but thoroughly replace the water.

It could be a vitamin deficiency. I've seen things similar to what you describe with Northern Leopard Frog tadpoles, and it is due to a lack of vitamins. Try crushing childrens chewable vitamins into a powder, and add it to the water in VERY SMALL ammounts (I use 1 part vitamins to 4 parts food, but I also typically use salmon starter as tadpole feed). If vitamin deficiency is a problem, this treatment will not reverse the symptoms you are seeing, but it will stop the developmental problems resulting from the lack of vitamins.

It also may be the water itself, as previously stated. Tadpole development hinges on "critical developmental ions" in the water (sodium, potassium, etc.). These ions are not present in sufficient ammounts in tap water. However, DO NOT just go adding salt to your water! As previously stated, try and incorporate some pond water, as pond water is chock full of tadpole development goodness, and it provides a wider range of food opportunity (which, incidently, may help with any vitamin deficiencies).

Good luck!

You need more water for a bull frog tadpole