Pacific Treefrog: From Tadpole to Frog

[DAVIDFBT]

Me and my dad are planning to make a pond in the area on the top right corner of the first picture, on the rocky area.

That place is about 12'x12' and we plan on putting large sheets of plywood on the rocks and put in an inflatable, durable pool, and then put dirt all around the pool so it wont get hot. Then I'll put in a ramp to the edges of the pool so frogs can get in and out.

But I'll still keep the tadpoles in the 10G until winter. By then the Pacific treefrogs would have turned to frogs, but the Bullfrogs would still be tadpoles. So they will spend the winter of 2008 in the pond. And in the spring of 2009, I will release all but 3 bullfrogs. I will put 1 in a ten gallon tank and 2 in the pond to live there in the wild.

As for the pacifics, I'll keep 5-6 of them inside and now I'll put the rest in the pond so they can have tadpoles next spring too.

 

[Notophthalmus]

Adult bullfrogs don't do well in tanks; they tend to jump and bust their noses on the glass. In any case, 10 gallons is okay for a new metamorph bullfrog, but he will quickly outgrow it.

I suggest putting all your bullfrog metamorphs in the pond. And I would also suggest that you don't return any of your frogs to the wild collection site, as there's always a chance they could have picked up some pathogen in captivity that will decimate the wild population; in most states it is also illegal to do so. Instead, release them all in your new pond.

Floating plants like duckweed or water lettuce, or floating-leaved plants like water lilies, will help keep your pond cool, provide cover for your frogs, and encourage periphyton and insects that your amphibians will feed on.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Thanks Notophthalamus! (wierd name)

I went to the local pond today and picked up some really tiny frog eggs (Pacific Treefrog) and now I temporarily have it in a Kritter Keeper thing full of pond water. When I went to the pond, I heard hundreds of Pacific Treefrogs on the edges of the pond, (Their croaks sound like krek-ek) and I got a little brown treefrog. It is now in a temporary bowl.

As for the housing, my sister got a new hamster cage for her hamster and her old one was a 10 gallon tank. So on Monday, I will put the treefrog and the eggs in the 10G. I'm worried I'll get mixed up with the Treefrogs and Bullfrogs in the old 10G so I'm seperating them.

Pictures coming tommorow evening.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Pictures!



Eggs:





My male PT, Johnny:

 

[terror spawnin]

I was at one of my lfs's two months ago and I noticed a little olive green tadpole in one of the tanks. It was 1.5 inches. I asked the owner about it and he said it accidentally showed up in a fish shipment. He did not know where it came from or what kind it is. He offered to let me have it to take home..so I put it in my crowded 5.5 gallon guppy fry tank. It took right to it! It ate immediately when I fed guppies flakes and shrimp pellets. It even learned to suck flakes off the surface. The thing eats like a horse! As soon as it gets a big flake in front of him he sucks it up fast like a vacuum. Pellets and blood worms too.
Well..that was two months ago and now it is a full measured 6 inches long! With a body almost the size of a golf ball. It's rear legs are fully developed and resemble a bullfrogs. I estimate they are 2.5 inches long right now.
The weirdest thing I witnessed was front legs fully forming under it's skin. You could see them moving around like legs in a sleeping bag. then yesterday I noticed it had just one front leg sticking out! And you could see the other elbow showing through the hole on the other side. It is best described as you putting your t-shirt on by sticking your elbows out your sleeves first. Today his other arm is out and he is crawling around the bottom like a little lizzard. I am so bummed I don't have a cam to have recorded this.

I'm guessing by the lack of cammo or any markings on the tadpole that it could be a plains leopard frog. If not I'm sure it is a northwest green bullfrog

 

[terror spawnin]

I spoke with our local herpatologist about these tree frogs and since we live with them in our area it is ok to raise and release them back to the wild. Just as long as you do not cross contaminate with other species of amphibians from other ecosystems.

As for the bullfrog...I would let them be. It is or will soon be illegal to capture and keep bullfrogs. It is not currently legal to release them anywhere in the wild. they were introduced in the 1920's and since then they have been taking over. Maybe that is why I saw frog legs for sale at albertson's last week for $8 a pound.

They are soon to be a black-listed species.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

^ I'm still not sure if they are bullfrog tadpoles, but I am 70% sure. And if I release them, I will release them soon in a pond where there already alot of bullfrogs and tadpoles.

As for the Pacific treefrogs, they all hatched now and are about 1/2 an inch big and I'm 100% sure they are Pacific Treefrogs. I don't have any pictures yet, but I'll get them by tomorrow evening.

 

[kingearwig]

Wow what happened to this experiment david?

 

[MudskipperFan]

Ah, I remember raising pacific treefrog tadpoles last year at around the same time as this. Memories.

 

[TheTriggerfish]

Cool, there are some tree frogs like those in a creek near from where I live.