How to Feed a Tadpole

Help your tadpole grow into a frog.

Collecting tadpoles and watching them develop into frogs is a great exercise in teaching children about metamorphosis. Because the process of metamorphosis takes a few weeks in most cases, it is important to know how to feed and take care of the tadpoles in the meantime.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Lettuce

1. Boil some lettuce for about 15 minutes, then drain it.

2. Chop the drained lettuce into very tiny pieces. Put all of it into a baggie or covered dish and freeze it.

3. Pinch a little bit of the lettuce off of the frozen supply and put it in the water with the tadpole. If you have more than one tadpole, you need more than one pinch. Do this every day until your tadpole matures.

4. Watch for the water getting dirty. If this happens, it means you are feeding your tadpole too much. On the other hand, if you have several tadpoles, you'll know that you aren't feeding them enough if they start eating each other. Watch for disappearing tadpoles as a sign you need to provide more food.

Tips & Warnings

• One the tadpoles begin to have large hind legs, make sure to put something in the tank for them to crawl up on when they become frogs, otherwise they can drown.

References

• All About Frogs: How to Raise Tadpoles
• Nature Gift Store: What Do Tadpoles Eat

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish