How to Grow a Frog

Frogs make great pets, and one of the best features of this popular pet is the fact that you can watch one transform from a tadpole into a full-grown frog. The length of time it takes for your frog to transform from a tadpole to an adult depends on the variety of frog you have. Some popular varieties, like the African Clawed Frog, will morph in about one month. Watching your frogs change is fascinating, but make sure you give them proper care so that they will grow into happy, healthy adult pets!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tadpoles
• 1 gallon aquarium
• 5 to 10 gallon aquarium
• Screen cover for aquarium
• Aquarium gravel
• Logs or other decorations
• Dechlorinator
• Bloodworms
• Brine shrimp
• Water fleas
• Crickets or other live insects
• Water

1. Prepare the tank for the tadpoles. Fill the one gallon aquarium with water, leaving a one inch space at the top, and add the dechlorinator. Place a few decorations in the tank. Let the water sit at room temperature for a day before adding the tadpoles. Add the tadpoles.

2. Feed your tadpoles brine shrimp, and water fleas. Feed the tadpoles daily. If the water gets cloudy too quickly, feed smaller amounts of food, but do not skip feedings.

3. Change a quarter of the water in the small tank each week. This adds oxygen to the water but keeps the helpful organisms in the habitat.

4. Stop feeding your tadpoles when the front arms appear. The tadpoles will gain their nutrients from the tail as it reabsorbs. When the tail is only about a quarter of its regular length, begin feeding again.

5. Prepare the second habitat. Use the larger aquarium as the home for your froglets. Put aquarium gravel on the bottom and fill it partially full of dechlorinated water. Place decorations in the aquarium so the froglets have somewhere to hide.

6. Add the cover and inspect it carefully to make sure that there are no holes in it, as frogs like to escape their habitats.

7. Add the froglets to their new home with the water in their existing habitat. Be sure that there is a couple of inches of space at the top of the habitat, as grown frogs breathe air with lungs. Feed them bloodworms until they are large enough to eat crickets or larger water insects. Continue with the one-quarter water changes each week.

8. Provide your frog with an area in the aquarium where it can get out of the water. Some species like to spend a little time on dry land. This could be a floating log or other aquarium decoration that sticks up out of the water.

9. 
    
   Adult frogs will provide you with many years of entertainment and enjoyment.

   Sit back and watch your frog grow!

Tips & Warnings

• Tadpoles can also eat boiled lettuce. You can boil the lettuce for 10 to 15 minutes and then chop it and freeze it.
• Take time to research the frogs you are raising. Some frogs do not ever leave the water, while others need a place to enjoy the dry land.
• Handling your pets is perfectly safe for them.
• Choose large aquarium gravel, as some species of frog can accidentally eat it and end up choking.
• Some species of frog can live as long as 30 years with the proper care, so make sure you are ready to make this type of commitment to your pet!
• Never use tap water that has not be dechlorinated in your frogs' habitat. It will kill your pets.
• Never release frogs back into the wild if you purchased them from a pet store or website. These frogs are not native to America and can harm the ecosystem. If you collected your own tadpoles, you can release the adult frogs in the same area.
• Always wash your hands after handling your pets.
• Never place the aquarium in direct sunlight, as this can cause it to get too hot.