A Tad Adventurous

Most often we go through life without witnessing the life process of the many creatures that share our world. Maybe the closest we get is to watch a butterfly lay an egg, the egg turn into a caterpillar, and then that caterpillar transform into a butterfly. This year, I was delighted to watch frog eggs go through their transformation from blob to frog.

After an unusually rainy string of days in July, we discovered frog eggs in a container on the driveway. I had actually been hoping this would happen because I’d seen gray tree frogs checking out the container at night. Shortly after that, the kiddie pool in the backyard—this time filled with water for the grandson—was the recipient of quite a few deposits. Gray tree frogs were caught in the act several days later when the chorus of mating calls was so loud that I felt compelled to see what was happening.

Gray tree frogs making it happen

Leaf being nibbled away

At some point I combined the two populations into a single large container where we could better watch them (and regain use of the kiddie pool for its intended purpose). There must have been about 200 of them! For food, we put dead leaves in the container. They seemed particularly fond of bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) leaves; after several days, there would be nothing left but the lacy veins. Later we bought some tadpole food; I could not tell if they preferred it.

Occasionally we would use the kiddie pool to remove them and clean out the container. We were careful to set aside fresh water a day in advance so that it could de-chlorinate (one could also use rain water). A horrible setback occurred when raccoons discovered the unprotected container (no top) and ate about 95% of them. Talk about your midnight massacre (or buffet). Fortunately, we were able to raise the remaining ones (about 20 tadpoles).

The progression of growth was fun to watch: first they got their back legs, which grew from tiny sprouts to noticeably jointed frog legs; days later, they got their front legs. Once they get their front legs, they need something to climb on. I thought that the sides of the container would be enough for them, but that probably takes more energy. They can drown if they can’t get out. We put several big sticks in there; you could also use rocks. Leaves might float for a few days but then unexpectedly sink so don’t rely on them for this purpose.

A nice big stick protruding out of the water helped

Those two bumps on the frog look like legs waiting to pop out

It was surprising how much time elapsed between the back legs and the appearance of the front legs, perhaps indicative of needing more time to support internal changes going on as well. Once they got their front legs, the process moved quickly. Most were released within two days, usually first thing in the morning. You know they’re ready when you realize their tail is stubby – apparently they eat it as the last step (for energy?).

Glamour shots (not all the same frog)

They will tolerate a little handling just before releasing, but they quickly get the hang of leaping faster and further. It was a fun adventure and another step in learning about nature for my grandson.

A quick check before this one took off

My friend gave him a toy growth set so we compared