Please note:  We are no longer working with any frog species.

-  The information presented is by no means an "end all" method of husbandry.  A number of other people (including ourselves) may utilize other methods with equal success.  This guide is intended for the relatively small scale hobbyist. 

-  All tadpoles shipped will be from one quarter to one half grown.  All the species we currently offer are not cannibalistic, so group housing is fine.  (Cuban Tree frogs as tadpoles and froglets may cannibalize if they are kept too crowded and not fed adequate amounts of food.) 
Note:  Different species of tadpoles and frogs should never be housed together. 

-  Tadpoles can be housed in glass aquariums or plastic containers. (i.e.: 28 liter tall rubbermaid containers) 

-  Water sources can come from a well, city water, bottled water or rain water.  We generally use
rainwater collected in 55 gallon barrels located under a rain gutter down spout.  Extra water should be aged, prepared and available for necessary water changes. 

-  Water must be aged for at least five days prior to use regardless of origin, with the only exception being rainwater.  Water conditioner/treatment for tropical fish such as AmQuel should be used to help prepare the water. 

-  Water temperatures should range between 78 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Note:  Water heaters should be relatively new and checked daily for accurate temperatures! 

-  The pH of the water can be slightly acidic for all the tadpole species we offer.  This is most easily
achieved by adding rain water which is slightly acidic in most areas.  Strong alkaline conditions should be avoided.  In most cases pH will not play a very critical role in rearing tadpoles to frogs. 

-  Filtration is not recommended, but aeration may be beneficial in helping to oxygenate and remove some harmful dissolved gases in the water. 

-  Live tropical aquarium plants such as Anacharis (Elodea canadenssis) should be added in reasonable quantities to provide additional water conditioning and hiding places. 

-  Water changes should be made at least once or twice a week depending on amount of feeding and water quality. 

-  Upon receiving tadpoles float the unopened bags containing them in the enclosure in which they will reside.  Allow the temperatures between the shipped tadpoles and the enclosure water to equilibrate.  This should take no more than 30 minutes. 

-  After temperature equilibrium has been achieved, open the bag and introduce a small amount of water into the bag (approximately 25% of the volume of water the tadpoles were shipped in).  Allow the tadpoles 20 minutes to adapt to the new water introduction.  Repeat the procedure once more.  Once the water introductions are complete, you can pour the contents of the bag into the enclosure.  Do not attempt to feed the tadpoles until the next morning. 

-  The following species are top and semi-bottom feeders: 
      - Red-eyed Tree Frog Tadpoles Agalychnis callidryas
      - Waxy Monkey Tree Frog Tadpoles  Phyllomedusa sauvagii
      - Asian Foam Nesting Frog Tadpoles  Polypedates leucomystax
      - Cuban Tree Frog Tadpoles Osteopilus septentrionalis
   The following species are bottom feeders only: 
      - Tomato Frogs Dyscophus guineti

-  Top and semi-bottom feeding tadpoles should be offered a variety of floating flake fish food along with some small amounts of sinking foods.  Bottom feeding tadpoles should only be offered food that sinks to the bottom.  Examples of bottom feeding foods are algae wafers and shrimp pellets. 

-  About two thirds of the way into becoming a frog, the tadpoles rear legs will emerge.  From this point it is generally two weeks or so until the front legs emerge. 

-  Once the front legs are visible the frog will generally come out of the water that evening or in the next day or so. 

-  Red eyes, Asian foam nesters and Cubans will all climb the walls of the enclosure.  If a small number of tadpoles are being worked with it is probably easiest to reduce the water volume at this point to just about an inch of water.  This will help reduce the possibility of the froglets drowning if they flee back into the water.  Waxy monkey frogs will need to crawl up onto a lump of decorative sphagnum moss and then onto small twigs or branches.  Tomatoes will also climb up onto a land area made of sphagnum moss.  A land area is usually made by simply tilting one end of the enclosure to create a "dry" area.

-  Once the tadpoles have transformed to froglets it is critical that they not be disturbed until the remaining portion of their tail has been absorbed into their body and they begin to actively hunt for food at night. 

-  All young frogs should be offered appropriately sized crickets daily.  We use Rep-Cal brand calcium supplement with vitamin D3.  We dust crickets with Rep-Cal no more than once every 10 to 14 days.