Bullfrog Life Cycle - Guide to Bullfrogs | Bullfrogs.com Bullfrog Life Cycle Pet Bullfrogs Bullfrog Life Cycle Bullfrogs pass through several stages of development during their relatively brief life cycles. As most people already know, Bullfrogs are amphibians so they begin as eggs. How Many Bullfrog Eggs? In fact, an adult female frog will lay 20,000, even up to 25,000 eggs at one time – on water. This huge egg mass appears to be a kind of “floating white sheet” as it moves lazily on top of the water. It is also a target for predators and, in fact, many eggs are eaten before they get a chance to hatch. The Surviving Bullfrog Eggs After a period of a few days, the surviving eggs all hatch and release newly-born tadpoles (also known as polliwogs) to the world. The tadpoles which have long, narrow bodies and a tail, will spend their first winter, and often much longer, as tadpoles. During this period, they’ll live exclusively in water and eat only water plants.

They will also begin to grow, store fat in their tails and breathe through newly-formed gills. Young Tadpoles It can take as long as 2 to 3 years of growth and metamorphosis before a tadpole becomes a mature frog. However, after about one year, a young tadpole will grow legs and then, after the passage of a little more time, it will also grow arms. This is the beginning of the transformation that will turn the tadpole into a frog. The tadpole’s tail begins to shorten, it develops lungs and its gills disappear. However, it continues to live in water. Tadpole to Froglet During its next stage, the tadpole turns into a froglet -- an almost fully mature frog. By this time, the soon-to-be mature frog breathes oxygen and can hop around on land. However, it still has a tail which is now very small. Transformation Complete After a period of 2-3 years, the transformation of egg to frog is complete. The adult Bullfrog now lives on land and no longer in water.

As a newly-mature frog it has grown to about two-and-a-half inches long (older mature frogs may be as long as 6 ½ inches) and weighs as much as four pounds or more. The Adult Bullfrog The adult Bullfrog is carnivorous and aggressive. It eats just about anything it can fit into its mouth – insects, small mammals, birds, fish, other frog species, even smaller Bullfrogs. It rests during the day, usually at the water’s edge and it hunts after dark. And the tail that has been a part of its body since it hatched has disappeared (it actually has been absorbed by the frog’s body). Bullfrog Maturation The life of the adult, mature Bullfrog will continue this way until it dies. Rest by day, hunt for prey at night. Mating will take place when the male’s “bellow” attracts a female. And, after a period of 7 to 9 years, the adult Bullfrog’s life cycle will end. Bullfrog Lifecycle However, while the average life cycle is in the range of 7 to 9 years, the record for longevity goes to a Bullfrog in captivity – an amazing thirteen years.

Of course, frogs, in the wild or in captivity , tend to live longer in warmer climates than when the weather is cold. Frequently Asked Questions About Frogs Students Ask and Experts Answer Life Cycle Q. How long does a frog usually live? A. Frogs can live for may years, unless they are eaten by another predator or die of accidental causes or illness. Q. Why do frogs make such a ruckus in the spring? A. It's the male frogs you hear, and they croak like crazy in the spring to attract females of their species. Q. What is frog spawn? A. Jelly-like masses of eggs are called frog's spawn. Here's how frog spawn happens: A female frog lays eggs under water, usually in the spring. She may lay as many as 20,000 eggs. The male frog climbs on her back and fertilizes the eggs as they are laid. The female covers the eggs with a jelly-like substance that causes the eggs to float to the water's surface. Q. How do frogs reproduce? A. Most frogs need to lay their eggs in water. Each female lays thousands of eggs at a time, in slimy masses.

The eggs hatch into tadpoles, which look very different from frogs. The tadpoles live exclusively in the water and breathe through gills instead of lungs like an adult frog. The tadpoles have a tail for swimming instead of legs and arms for hopping. Tadpoles have also a small rasping mouth for scraping algae off the bottom of the pond instead of the wide mouth and strong jaws suited to the adult frog's carnivorous diet. Some kinds of frogs have different ways to raise their families. In some species, the eggs hatch directly into little froglets and there is no tadpole stage at all. One kind of treefrog builds hanging nests; the tadpoles drop into water below as they hatch. Q. How long does it take for a tadpole to turn into an adult frog? A. The process of changing from a tadpole into an adult frog is called metamorphosis. Depending on the species, it can take a few weeks to a year or more for the tadpoles to grow up. frogs who live in dry places where rains are seasonal have to grow up quickly because the tadpoles will die if their temporary ponds dry up first.

Season of Spring - Frogspawn, Tadpoles and Frogs Season of Spring From Frogspawn to Tadpoles to Frogs What is a tadpole/pollywog? A tadpole is the larval stage of a frog, a toad, a salamander or a newt. Also known as a pollywog. In the beginning it breathes by means of external or internal gills. It has a finlike tail and lacks front and hind legs. As a tadpole matures, it metamorphoses by gradually absorbing its tail and then grows its front and back limbs. Most tadpoles are herbivorous, subsisting on algae. Tadpoles change from being vegetarians (plant eaters) to being carnivorous (meat eaters) once they start to develop their legs. If food is scarce in a tank the tadpoles and froglets may start eating each other. You may want to put a bit of cat food or fish food that floats on the top of the water to be sure they have enough food, but take care not to over feed to avoid polluting their water. Where do tadpoles come from?

Frogs return to ponds around February or March (depending on your weather) to lay their clutch of eggs (frogspawn). Frogspawn is the eggs that the tadpoles grow inside. After three weeks, the frogspawn starts to develop into the tadpoles. The tadpoles are just a tiny black speck in the middle of the frogspawn to begin with. The tadpoles eat their eggs and wriggle away. What changes take place? The female frog begins by laying a clutch of eggs in water. The male frog sheds yellow semen on the eggs. The tadpoles develop inside the eggs. Then we have the embryonic stage (where the eggs hatch - becomes a tadpole). During the metamorphosis, the tadpole tail becomes absorbed into the tadpoles body and it grows two pairs of legs. Their gills are then absorbed as the gill slits close and their lungs develop. Their skin becomes thicker, eyelids, a tongue and internal organs grow as well as some bones and teeth. Where can you find tadpoles? You can find tadpole in ponds.

If you decided to take tadpoles from a pond, only take a few as this will insure that there will be tadpoles and frogs in this pond for the future. Also, by taking only a few tadpoles they will not be over crowed and they will have a better chance of surviving . Containers for keeping tadpoles Find a container that is appropriate for keeping tadpoles. The container should not be too deep (at least 6 inches in depth). Make sure that the container size gives the tadpoles enough room to swim around and to grow in their size. Be sure not to over-crowd their home. As the tadpoles metamorphosis (change) into frogs they will need to be able to jump out of their container (home). To help achieve this you will need to place a big rock of an object that reaches above the water where they can jump over the side of the container or make a ramp from the bottom of the water to the side of their container. Clean water for the tadpoles Be sure to use fresh clean water in the tadpole’s container. This water should come from a non polluted pond or stream.

Be sure that you Do Not use water straight from a tap as it contains chemicals that will kill the tadpoles. Also, keep fresh clean water ready to top up the tadpoles container as needed. Make a point not to let the tadpoles’ water become polluted by unwanted food and stale water. Keep their container topped up with the fresh clean water and remove any food that has not been eaten. Is tap water safe to use if you do not have access to pond or stream water? In order to use tap water, you will need to put it is an open top container and leave it to stand in the sunlight for around five to seven days. This allows the harmful chemicals to be removed from the water. What should I use to feed the tadpoles? When you collect your pond water or stream water be sure to gather some of the pond weed; as plants help to oxygenate the tadpoles’ water. Most pet shops and fish shops supply tadpole food. If you have trouble finding tadpole food just purchase the flake goldfish food. The tadpoles should be fed every day. Remember to feed them enough so that they get full. Any remaining food should be removed to help keep their water clean.

How do tadpoles breathe? Tadpoles breathe through gills. As they grow their gills start to shrink and become covered with flaps of skin and then their lung are formed. During this process the tadpoles swim closer to the surface of the water so that they can take in air. Once a tadpole develops its lungs it can then breathe air. How long does it take for tadpoles to change into froglets? Depending on the weather and size, it can take one-two days or up to 10-12 weeks for the tadpoles to metamorphosis into frogs. If the clutch of eggs are layed in cold water, it could take longer for the eggs to hatch. Life Cycle of a Frog Life Cycle of a Frog True Love? When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to clasp the female underneath in an embrace called amplexus. He literally climbs on her back, reaches his arms around her "waist", either just in front of the hind legs, just behind the front legs, or even around the head. Amplexus can last several days! Usually, it occurs in the water, though some species, like the bufos on the right mate on land or even in trees!

(photo courtesy of Emile Vandecasteele) While in some cases, complicated courting behavior occurs before mating, many species of frogs are known for attempting to mate with anything that moves which isn't small enough to eat! Spawn (egg-mass) While in the amplexus position, the male frog fertilizes the eggs as they get are laid. Frogs tend to lay eggs single eggs in masses, whereas toads usually lay eggs in long chains. Some frogs leave after this point, but others stick around to watch over the little ones. Some have very unusual ways of caring for their young. You'll learn about some of those later in this tour!. Egg Frogs and Toads tend to lay many many eggs because there are many hazards between fertalization and full grown frogness! Those eggs that die tend to turn white or opaque. The lucky ones that actually manage to hatch still start out on a journey of many perils. Life starts right as the central yolk splits in two. It then divides into four, then eight, etc.- until it looks a bit like a rasberry inside a jello cup. Soon, the embryo starts to look more and more like a tadpole, getting longer and moving about in it's egg.

Usually, about 6-21 days (average!) after being fertilized, the egg will hatch. Most eggs are found in calm or static waters, to prevent getting too rumbled about in infancy! Some frogs, like the Coast foam-nest treefrog, actually mate in treebranches overlooking static bonds and streams. Their egg masses form large cocoon-like foamy masses. The foam sometimes cakes dry in the sun, protecting the inside moisture. When the rain comes along, after developement of 7 to 9 days, the foam drips down, dropping tiny tadpoles into the river or pond below. Tadpole Shortly after hatching, the tadpole still feeds on the remaining yolk, which is actually in its gut! The tadpole at this point consists of poorly developed gills, a mouth, and a tail. It's really fragile at this point. They usually will stick themselves to floating weeds or grasses in the water using little sticky organs between its' mouth and belly area. Then, 7 to 10 days after the tadpole has hatched, it will begin to swim around and feed on algae. After about 4 weeks, the gills start getting grown over by skin, until they eventually disappear.

The tadpoles get teeny tiny teeth which help them grate food turning it into soupy oxygenated particles. They have long coiled guts that help them digest as much nutrients from their meadger diets as possible. By the fourth week, tadpoles can actually be fairly social creatures. Some even interact and school like fish! Tadpole with legs After about 6 to 9 weeks, little tiny legs start to sprout. The head becomes more distinct and the body elongates. By now the diet may grow to include larger items like dead insects and even plants. The arms will begin to bulge where they will eventually pop out, elbow first. After about 9 weeks, the tadpole looks more like a teeny frog with a really long tail. It is now well on it's way to being almost fullgrown! Young Frog, or Froglet By 12 weeks, the tadpole has only a teeny tail stub and looks like a miniature version of the adult frog. Soon, it will leave the water, only to return again to laymore eggs and start the process all over again!

Frog By between 12 to 16 weeks, depending on water and food supply, the frog has completed the full growth cycle. Some frogs that live in higher altitudes or in colder places might take a whole winter to go through the tadpole stage...others may have unique development stages that vary from your "traditional" tadpole-in-the-water type life cycle: some of these are described later in this tour. Now these frogs will start the whole process again...finding mates and creating new froggies. Related Information: Frogs and Toads | Wildlife & Habitats | Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Download the Frogs and Toads Fact Sheet Frogs and toads have come under a number of threats in recent years. Many of their usual breeding places are disappearing, as ponds become filled in or polluted because of housing development or intensive agriculture. Large numbers are dying on the roads, especially toads on the way to their breeding sites. Over-collecting of spawn may be another factor on the decline of frog and toad populations. Breeding Frog spawn is laid in clumps in shallow water, while toad spawn forms long strands winding around aquatic vegetation in deeper water.

It takes about three weeks for tadpoles to emerge, and a further 12 weeks before they become mature froglets (6 - 8 weeks for toadlets). Spawn should only be collected from garden ponds that are really overcrowded with it - and it is important to take only a very small amount. Keeping Spawn in Captivity One clump of spawn might produce 200 tadpoles, and in a confined space most would die of starvation or an oxygen shortage. Tadpoles kept in overcrowded conditions eventually begin to eat one another. Spawn should never be taken from the wild. The spawn or tadpoles should be put into a small aquarium tank filled with rain or pond water. Tap water should be avoided if possible, as it can kill tadpoles. If it has to be used, it should be allowed to stand for several days beforehand. The water should be changed whenever it becomes cloudy or dirty. Tadpoles will eat canned spinach (washed to remove the brine), bits of boiled lettuce, or food pellets sold in pet shops for rabbits or hamsters. For 100 tadpoles about 5 large pellets should be given every 3-4 days.

As soon as the hind legs begin to appear, the tadpoles must be given small pieces of raw red meat - but be sure to remove any pieces of uneaten food before it begins to rot. The best time to release the froglets is when the hind legs are large, but before the front legs start to appear. If kept any longer, the froglets might escape from the container or drown. Newly metamorphosed frogs are fragile, and drown very easily. Froglets should be released in shallow water at the site from which the spawn was taken. An ideal pond for amphibians should have shallow areas for spawning, and some plant life, and it should not contain a high density of predators such as fish, newts, ducks or moorhens - although common newts will usually leave toad tadpoles alone. Hibernation Frogs hibernate at the bottom of ponds, under old logs, in stone walls or in compost heaps. Toads hibernate on land under stones or logs, or in a hole in the ground. They rarely hibernate in water.

In a severe winter frogs may die if the pond remains frozen for a long time: toxic gases such as methane build up from decaying vegetation and cannot escape because of the ice. To prevent this, melt the ice from time to time by standing a saucepan of hot water on it. Interesting facts Garden ponds are becoming an increasingly important refuge for frogs forced out of their old habitats. It has been estimated that nearly 50% of frogs in Britain live in garden ponds. This can be good news for the gardener, as they eat a number of insect pests. Frog colonies tend to be fairly small, so they can exist quite easily in gardens, but toads in field ponds frequently form colonies of over a thousand. Frogs and toads usually return to the same pond every year. Five Point Action Plan 1) Don’t Panic! Sometimes people fear that too many frogs have come to their pond to spawn and that they will be over run with frogs. Remember that only a tiny percentage (between 1% and 5%) of the eggs laid will ever make it to adulthood. Frog spawn, tadpoles, froglets and adult frogs are all predated upon by other creatures so only a very small number ever reach maturity.

Don’t move frogs or frog spawn from garden ponds into the countryside. 2) Avoid the use of chemicals Try to create a natural balance in your garden by employing the services of wildlife to help control pest species. Frogs are wonderful for keeping slug numbers down and insects such as ladybirds will help control aphids in the summer. By voiding excessive use of chemicals it is easier to create the conditions in which a range of helpful wildlife species can thrive. Try using wildlife friendly forms of slug control such as sprinkling grit or crushed egg shells around tender plants or wrapping copper wire around the top of pots and tubs to discourage slugs. 3) Be creative. Why not create a range of habitats in your garden where frogs can thrive. Log piles, rockeries, bog gardens and even compost heaps all help to provide food and shelter for frogs and other wildlife. If you do build a pond, make sure it is safe for children by building a fence around it or by installing strong wire mesh just beneath the surface of the water. It is also important to make sure that frogs and other wildlife have an easy way out of the water.

This can be achieved by using gently sloping pond sides or by placing planters at the edge of the pond which animals can use to climb out. 4) Be Aware Keep a look out for any signs of frog disease. If you find frogs with open sores or damaged limbs, which don’t seem to have been caused by an attack by other wildlife please contact Froglife on 01986 873733 5) Enjoy! Learn to appreciate the role that all creatures play in the natural cycle of life. Encourage children to learn more about wildlife by studying the fascinating development of frogs from spawn through to adulthood. Bullfrog Tadpoles - Guide to Bullfrogs | Bullfrogs.com Bullfrog Tadpoles Pet Bullfrogs Bullfrog Tadpoles Bullfrog tadpoles, known scientifically as Rane Catesbeiana, are native to eastern North America and can be found as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida. Bullfrog Tadpole Appearance Tadpoles are as easy to spot as their much larger parents.

While much larger than tadpoles of other frog species (they range up to a sizable 15 centimeters in length), they tend to sport the very same coloration of their parents – skin that is very dark green, almost black to the human eye. Bullfrog Tadpole Maturation Additionally, Bullfrog tadpoles mature much more slowly than tadpoles of other species. While the tadpoles of competing species may complete metamorphosis in as little as just a few short months, Bullfrog tadpoles can remain in the same state for as long as one to two years before they actually become adult frogs. Bullfrog Tadpole Size The Bullfrog tadpole’s appearance is distinct and one of the reasons why it is easy to spot (its color is another reason). The tadpole has an arrowhead-shaped body with a dorsal fin that actually begins behind its body. And while it is small in size compared to adult Bullfrogs, the Bullfrog tadpole is actually quite large compared to adult frogs of other species.

Bullfrog Tadpole Food Interestingly, while adult Bullfrogs are predatory and carnivorous and will eat almost anything they can fit into their mouths, Bullfrog tadpoles are herbivorous and tend to eat little more than algae and other plant life found in or around water. However, they have also been known to eat eggs and, on occasion, newly-hatched tadpoles. They also compete for food and habitat with the tadpoles of other frog species. Bullfrog Tadpole Eggs Bullfrog tadpoles hatch every month of the year, but they are especially plentiful during the summer months of June and July. Adult female Bullfrogs lay as many as 20,000 eggs at one time so that there are always many tadpoles alive and fighting for survival. Young Bullfrog Tadpole Survival Survival can be difficult. The young tadpole has almost no real defense against hungry predators. Thousands of eggs never get a chance to hatch. Thousand more newly-hatched tadpoles fall prey to predators, as well. However, many tadpoles do survive because nature has given them two “skills” to use to avoid predators.

Tadpoles have a speckled-brown skin which makes them almost impossible to find when they remain still on a muddy pond bottom. Moreover, their long tails give them the ability to evade or escape a predator by swimming rapidly in the water. Bullfrog Tadpoles Regenerating Tails Here’s another interesting fact about the Bullfrog tadpole: it has the ability to re-grow its tail if it loses it to a predator or by some other means. This is critical to its survival because the long and powerful tail enables it to swim rapidly and, generally, escape predators. Mature Bullfrog Tadpoles Finally, once the tadpole matures into an adult Bullfrog, it will be one of the largest frogs in the world, a carnivorous predator that will eat just about anything it can fit into its mouth, an aggressive oxygen-breathing amphibian with remarkable leaping ability that enables it to catch and consume prey. And, like all of the other members of the Bullfrog species, it will live and thrive for as long as 8 to 10 years, depending on climate conditions. VFG > Questions > How long does it take for a tadpole to become a frog ?

For EVERYTHING that you ever wanted to know about the state's frogs, see the "Frogs of Victoria" key guide. It's a complete online field guide. The Community The Community Stay in touch Get news from frogs.org.au with our mailing lists - you'll hear about upcoming events and changes to the website and much more. Manage your account to receive only the news that you want. Contact the VFG See the CONTACT US section for full contact details. For frog-related questions please ask the frogs.org.au Community . More to see This website is part of the ARC group of sites at frogs.org.au . HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A TADPOLE TO BECOME A FROG ? The simple answer There is no simple answer to this question. Life cycles vary greatly between species and, of course, the development of the tadpoles is one major difference. Tadpole life is often dictated by environmental factors. That is, conditions and evolutionary pressures have adapted the frogs' life-cycles to best suit their surroundings.

For example, species which live in arid environments must have a very fast tadpole development in order for eggs to be laid in pools following rain and tadpoles fully develop before those pools dry up again in a matter of days, while frogs which live by permanent water sources can have a much longer development. Another evolutionary modification is the removal of some or all of the "free-living" tadpole stage. Direct development is where the eggs are laid out of water and the tadpoles pass their entire developmental period on land, and delayed emergence is where the eggs are laid on land and the tadpoles enter the water at a relatively advanced stage of development. About one-quarter of Australian frog species use one of these methods. Even within a single species, the time taken for tadpoles to develop can vary. There are a number of factors that determine this. One is the temperature of the water (within a comfort range, warmer water leads to faster development). Another is the density of tadpoles - overcrowding leads to the tadpoles metamorphosing at a slower rate (and maturing at a smaller size too). A tadpole can require up to 20 Litres of water for itself before it develops at its full potential.

The final stages of metamorphosis are less variable. Within two to ten days of the appearance of front arms, the tadpole will have become a "metamorphling" and will be more recognisable as a frog. The specific answer Bearing in mind the factors that can influence tadpole growth, there have been numerous studies that have recorded the times taken for specific species to undergo metamorphosis. Presented below is the information for those species found in Victoria. (The TADPOLE LIFE column shows how the tadpole spends its developmental period: lentic is static water; lotic is flowing water; intra-capsular indicates direct development or delayed emergence.) SPECIES Poison Dart Frogs Poison Arrow Frogs Dart Frogs & Poison Arrow Dart Frogs Terrarium Animals from Saurian Enterprises, Inc. If I get several young frogs, what are my chances of getting a pair? My Frogs Lay Eggs, But They Always Go Bad. What am I Doing Wrong? Dart frogs can be prolific egg layers, but fertility problems are common, and most frogs will lay infertile, or bad eggs at some point, if not most of the time.

There are probably a lot of reasons for this, and most of them lay out side of the keepers control. In particular dart frogs often lay bad eggs when they are young frogs just starting to lay eggs, and also sometimes when they are beginning another cycle of egg laying they lay a bad clutch or two first before following up with good clutches. Some of the reasons that dart frogs eggs go bad, that are within the control of the keeper, and their solutions, follow. First, eggs should be removed from the tank within twenty four hours of being laid. While it is counter intuitive, eggs left in the tank for a few days have a much higher rate of going bad than ones pulled right away. A second cause of eggs being bad, and particularly eggs being fertile but dying before they emerge as tadpoles, is poor supplementation of the adult frogs diet. Good quality fresh vitamin and calcium supplements should be used regularly, probably at every feeding. We recommend Rep Cal and Herpti-Vite. A third cause is the eggs being laid in, or subsequently submerged in, water.

Many people assume that being frog eggs they need water, but with the exception of the ventrimaculatus group of thumbnail frogs, dart frog eggs should be lightly wetted with a little water around the edges of the clutch. Those are the main controllable causes of egg infertility and bad clutches that I can think of, a few minor ones include things like the clutch being disturbed by tank mates, or the eggs being laid in dirty areas. Sometimes, tinctorius and azureus eggs will be bad when the clutches are produced at higher temperatures, such as the low eighties. This effect can probably be found in other dart frogs, but I have personally experienced it with these frogs. You can remedy this by lowering the temperature. Breeding dart frogs, and their eggs and tadpoles, should be kept at temperatures in the mid seventies for best results. Beyond this, if the eggs are going bad, your best recourse is to wait for the pair to begin producing good eggs, or try switching frogs around. I Have a Pair of Dart Frogs, But They are Not Breeding. What Can I do to Make Them Breed?

While you do have some influence over your frogs, and whether they will breed or not, beyond getting the conditions right, you really can't do much to �make� them breed. This is the down side to animals that breed in a sporadic fashion, and are not strong seasonal breeders. Frogs such as tinctorius, azureus and auratus tend to breed fairly readily, and after four to six months together, as adults, it is reasonable to expect that some breeding activity will have occurred. However if it has not, there is not a sure way to make them breed. You can try things like drying them out a bit, by opening up some of the lid of the tank, and spraying less often, for about a month, and then seal the tank up and increase the spraying. At the same time drop the temperatures. This may get them going, particularly if you can time this to take place around the beginning of a rainy period in your area. Temperature fluctuations seem to be very discouraging to frog breeding, so try to keep your range of temperatures fairly constant.

For instance, lets say that for a few weeks your temperatures in the room that your frogs are in is about 75 during the day, and drops to about 70 at night. Then, winter sets in, and the room temp drops to the upper sixties and the night time temp drops to the low sixties. Frogs that were breeding will most likely stop within a few days of this change. If kept at these temps, (remember the tank temps will run five degrees or so warmer during the day when the lights on) the frogs may begin breeding again, but it will probably take them a month or two. With this in mind, I think its important to provide relatively stable temps, on a day in day out basis, to get your frogs to breed. Beyond this, the most important thing is patience. Some frogs take a long time to finally start breeding, and there really doesn't seem to be much to do about it. Occasionally shaking things up by adding new frogs or switching frogs around may bring the desired results, but you should give your frogs long stretches where the tank is not disturbed in a fundamental way to encourage stubborn breeders, such as D.

galactonotus, and some of the rarer tinctorius morphs. My Froglets Are All Emerging With Spindly Leg Syndrome, is There Any Thing I Can do About This? Spindly leg syndrome is a bane to frog breeders. The term refers to the failure of the front legs to develop normally, and instead develop into stiff useless little sticks, or spindly legs. Unfortunately it is not uncommon. The frogs that result from it are doomed, and should be euthanized. My suggestion is to put them in the freezer while they are still tadpoles. At first you may not be able to visually identify the problem in a tadpole, but after you have seen it a couple of times you will know it when the frog pops its front legs out, or sometimes when they fail to. There are a variety of causes of spindly leg, some we can fix and some we haven't identified. The causes we can fix are temperature of the tadpole water, condition, diet and supplementation in the adults, and the tadpoles diet.

Tadpole water temperature might be the most common source of a problem, the tadpole water should be accurately measured, particularly if you raise your tadpoles without a lid on the container they are in. This can allow evaporative cooling to lower the water temps down to five or more degrees below room temperature. Keep tadpoles water in the mid seventies for best results. Another common cause of problems is stale food. Vitamins and mineral oxidize out of foods, and then are not available for the tadpoles to use in developing their legs. Flake foods in particular are prone to this, so if you are using flake food, make sure its fresh. Store it in the refrigerator, particularly if you are going to be using the food for more than a few weeks, and buy the food at a store that sells a lot of it. Sometimes female frogs that have been producing good tadpoles and froglets will suddenly begin producing spindly leg babies. This might be a good time to stop this female from laying eggs, by removing the male for a few months. During this time, make sure she gets a good diet, and that the diet is well supplemented with good quality vitamin and calcium supplements.

How do I determine the sexes of my dart frogs? Unfortunately it's not all that easy to tell what sex dart frogs are, particularly baby and juvenile dart frogs, which are generally impossible to sex. Of course this is most often the age of the frogs offered for sale in the frog hobby, so you are often forced to buy frogs that are of unknown sex. This is frustrating in some cases, particularly if breeding is your goal, or if you are concerned about squabbles between tank mates of the same sex. So, one of the most important facts about your individual frogs, their gender, will be a mystery for you to solve. Below I offer a few pointers to help you figure this out. Male frogs are smaller than females . A useful point, but remember this is really only reliable once they are full grown, as another obvious cause of differences in size are age and rate of development. Adult dart frogs of most species are subject to this rule, but not every specimen, or, more to the point, not every male and female of the same species follows this rule, and in many cases the differences can be small and difficult to distinguish. Particularly useful with tinctorius and azureus. Female frogs and male frogs have different body shapes.

Males tend to have a more flattened body shape, particularly when they are walking. Sitting upright makes males look more �female like�. Same with females, only opposite, when a female dart frog walks about her body flattens out and she looks more like a male. Females have a deeper body shape, but this aspect of their appearance is emphasized when they are sitting still, in an upright position. See images here for illustrations. This section really applies to D. tinctorius and D. azureus most completely, and then to the auratus, leucomelas, and some what to both D. galactonotus and the Phyllobates group. D.pumilio and thumbnail frogs do not show this difference in body shape, although in many cases the females are �fatter� than males. There is a difference in size and shape of the toes on the front feet of males and females. In the male frog, the pad at the end of the front toe is widened, whereas the females have a more narrow toe tip. Basically the females still have a widened toe tip, but the males are typically wider.

Females might average toepads that are 1.5 times wider than the toe, while males would run 2.5 to 3 times wider than the toe. Unfortunately, this �rule� is far from a rule, and is frequently broken. For instance, out of every ten males and ten females, there can be expected to be some overlap, where one female with wide toepads might have wider toepads then the narrowest of the male toepads. But in that same group there would be five or six of each sex that could be strongly suspected just based on their toepads. This information applies to the tinctorius and azureus species in particular, but the trait can be seen to some extent in auratus and leucomelas, but not most other species. In the tinctorius and azureus, the reliability varies from one morph to another, but is a very helpful tool in determining the sexes of these species. Female frogs will fight with female frogs, and male and female frogs will court. If you happen to have any adult dart frogs of known sex, particularly tinctorius and azureus, they can be used to help you sex your frogs.

A female frog in an established terrarium, particularly if its breeding with a tankmate, can generally be relied upon to give a defense of her territory if any new female frog comes along. She might also begin to court any new male put in the tank. The frogs to be sexed need to be approaching maturity for this test to be safe, and please don't put the frog in the tank and walk away, if you are going to get a response from the tanks inhabitants it generally wont take more than fifteen minutes for it to happen. Allowing a young frog to be bullied for a few hours to a couple of days could ruin a frogs health and cause it to die. You can also introduce two frogs of unknown sex to a neutral tank, and see what happens. They need to be old enough to be interested, which is typically eight to twelve months old. The less vegetation and decorations in the tank, the better, as a sparse tank will help to encourage the frogs to interact, and allow you to clearly observe them. An empty tank with a glass lid is perfect as long as they do not seem to distressed by the lack of cover. Male and female frogs will court. You can use the test above, but put a suspected female in with a male.

Males will sometimes attack other males, so if you put an unknown frog in the tank with a known male and it aggressively chases the new frog around, then you can guess that the unknown sex frog is probably a male. What is courting, and how can I tell if my dart frogs are courting? Courting is the mating dance of dart frogs. The specifics differ from one species to another in subtle ways, but most dart frogs have fairly similar courtship practices. In most cases females are the aggressors, and will follow the males around the tank. The male will, if interested, call occasionally, and perhaps hop of calmly, stopping a foot or so away. The female follows, generally approaching the male on his flank, from behind. She sits there, and strokes his flank in quick motions. These little strokes are given two or three times a minute or less, typically. As she strokes him, he will call once a minute or so. The calls, particularly of the tinctorius and azureus, are very quiet, you would generally not hear them unless you happened to be sitting right next to the tank, and it was very quiet in the room.

You can tell if the male is calling even if you can't hear him, by watching him. He will appear as if he is straining to defecate, the flanks deflated looking, and the throat pouch will be expanded. This sort of behavior will go on for anywhere from a few hours, to a day or two, but generally will end in egg laying. The male will lead the female to a chosen spot, generally a secluded spot on the tank floor, and the female will lay a clutch of eggs. The eggs will typically be laid on some smooth surface such as a leaf or a Petri dish or margarine lid. This can take several hours for larger clutches. In some cases, the male may leave the hut or breeding site during the egg laying, but will generally return to fertilize the clutch. Eggs will typically be fertilized by the time the day is over. If I get several young frogs, what are my chances of getting a pair? There are tables which you can consult which show the mathematical chances of getting a pair from a given number of frogs, but typically these do not reflect the fact that in different species the sex ratio is skewed towards one sex or the other.

In the larger species of frogs such as tinctorius azureus and auratus, the ratio seems to be skewed towards females, and maybe 65% of frogs are females. The opposite seems to be true for many of the smaller frogs, the thumbnail species and pumilio. So, statistically, based on the sex ratios being 50/50, if you buy two frogs, you have a 50% chance of getting a pair, three frogs is 75%, four frogs is almost 90%, and so on�.So, if getting that pair is important to you, then get as many frogs as you can afford, it will take many months for you to figure out what you have, and you don't want to have to start over again! Generally you will find a market for the �leftover� frogs, and you should be able to trade or sell them to other hobbyists. Learn about Frogs & Metamorphosis Like 13 Dislike 5 Frogs are animals that belong to the class Amphibia, commonly known as amphibians. Amphibians live both on land and in the water; sometimes they live in water only before they are fully grown.

They have moist skin that water can pass in and out of, and most of them spend part of their life (in the tadpole-like larva stage before they mature) in the water. The name Amphibian means literally 'both life.' There are three orders of amphibians: frogs and toads with over 2,000 species, salamanders (including newts) with approximately 300 species, and caecilians with about 160 species. What makes frogs different from other amphibians? They have smooth skin, are usually tailless as adults, and have the ability to leap. Some frogs are aquatic, spending most of their time in the water. Others are terrestrial, staying mostly on land or in trees. (Toads are also tailless, leaping amphibians, but they usually have rough, warty skin.) Frogs range in size from less than 0.5 inches to 12 inches long! Frog Life Cycle A frog begins life as a fertilized egg. The female frog usually lays the eggs in water in a string or mass that sticks to vegetation. The male frog fertilizes the eggs as they are laid.

The outer layer of a fertilized egg is a jelly-like material that swells in water, forming a protective coating. The fertilized egg is a single cell that rapidly divides again and again, producing new cells that quickly differentiate into the organs of the frog embryo. Within 2 to 25 days, depending on water temperature, the egg hatches into a tadpole. The tadpole looks more like a fish at first than like a frog. As the tadpole develops, it forms gills that allow it to breathe efficiently underwater. Its tail grows longer and a fin forms, which allows the tadpole to swim effectively. The tadpole continues to swim, eat and grow for several weeks before it matures to the next stage. The first sign of further development is the appearance of hind legs. Then front legs develop and the tail becomes shorter as it is resorbed. Internally, the tadpole's gills are replaced with lungs until finally the tadpole has become a frog. The young frog grows and matures to adulthood over a period of 2-4 years. The adult frogs then lay their eggs and begin the cycle again. Anatomy of Adult Frogs Some frogs are able to leap 20 times their body length!

Their front legs are short and specially designed to absorb the impact of landing. Their muscular back legs also work well for swimming. Aquatic frogs have webbed rear feet, usually with five toes. Their front feet are not webbed and usually have four toes. Tree frogs have suction cups on their toes that allow them to cling to the bark of trees. Frogs have large, bulging eyes that rotate in their socket, providing sight in almost any direction. Their nostrils are located on the top of the head to allow breathing while most of the head is submerged. Although frogs have a good sense of hearing, they don't have typical external ears. Instead, frogs have a tympanic membrane behind each eye. These pick up sound waves and carry them into their internal ears. Frogs' tongues are usually long and sticky and designed to be flicked out quickly to catch insects and other prey. Frogs have skin that is specially designed to protect them from their enemies and to protect them from drying out. To hide from their enemies, frogs have camouflage skin colorings that help them to blend in with their surroundings. Special pigment cells in their skin control the camouflage pattern and colors.

Also, some frogs have serous glands in their skin, which secrete poison that will irritate the mouth of their predators. South American tree frogs secrete a deadly poison, but most are just irritating to humans. To help them keep from drying out, frogs have mucous glands that secrete a waterproof coating to keep their skin moist and slippery. Have you ever wondered how frogs breathe? When under water, frogs get their oxygen from water that passes through their skin. Capillaries take the oxygen from the skin into the bloodstream. On land, frogs usually get oxygen by taking air through their throats into saclike lungs. Frog hearts have three chambers. If you really want to see frog anatomy for yourself, we recommend doing a frog dissection . To find out more about frogs, do research on one of these topics: what kinds of frogs live in your area? Can you find more than one species of tadpole locally? If so, compare them. What do local frogs eat? How would the mosquito population be affected if there were few or no frogs in a swampy region? Pick a frog or frog characteristic that is interesting to you, and see what you can find out about it.

Look for close-up frog pictures in a magazine like National Geographic or on a website.

Question: What is a frog before it matures?
Answer: Tadpole