Guest Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 hi there i'm so glad i have finally sorted out my internet connection as i have been unable to visit the site for a while! i need some advice regarding keeping frog spawn. i have been offered some for my Reception class but am a bit worried about the changes in temperature in my classroom. At night when the heating is off it (not surprisingly) gets cold, when i arrive in the mornings however it is very warm, the heating having kicked in a couple of hours earlier. will these fluctuations harm the frog spawn? my teaching assistant said they had some once before but it died before it hatched but was unsure of what may have affected it. thank you Lizz xx
Guest Posted March 11, 2004 Posted March 11, 2004 The temperature would also fluctuate outside as well, what is a problem is when you return the frogs to the pond, you should acclimatize the tank outside before you return the them to the pond. In a very warm room the water would become stale, I would change some of the water every few days and again it needs to acclimatize before adding to the tadpoles. Don't forget to use pond water. We have had a problem with the tadpoles not developing because there is not enough protein in the water for the tadpoles- fish food could be used also the frogs need to be able to climb out and sit on something when their legs develop. You can get some bog wood and weed from the pet shop which would add interest to the tank.
Steve Posted March 11, 2004 Posted March 11, 2004 Hi Lizz - Good to hear you're all connected up and back with us! I'd go along with Mimi - There's nothing to prevent you from keeping a small number of tadpoles inside, but it would be prudent not to keep them right above a radiator. And the water does need changing regularly, and they do need to be fed. What we did last year was dedicate our water table to the tadpoles for the duration and keep it outside (out of direct sunlight. This meant that the children could interact much more fully with them (although they do need to be supervised...) Here are some conversations we had a year ago on the subject - hope they help! We've got frogs! Feeding tadpoles
hali Posted March 11, 2004 Posted March 11, 2004 Hi i kept frog spawn in nursery for the 1st time last year, easy to do just dont let them get too cold as my 1st ones did over the wk end and clean them out regulary. I was told not to use water straight out of the tap but keep it in bottles or containers for 24hrs 1st (im not scientific but did it anyway). fed them on fish food and be careful when they start growing legs make sure you put rocks in that are able to get on else they drown.
Guest Posted March 12, 2004 Posted March 12, 2004 thank you everyone. i'm being given my frog spawn on monday and am excited now I have some helpful advice. The frog spawn is from a bird bath Wales and has survived the trip to London so i think it's pretty hardy! hopefully we won't have to speak to our hatchlings in Welsh! Lizz xxxxx
Guest Posted March 25, 2004 Posted March 25, 2004 Dont forget to take the little frogs out of the main tank as soon as they have their legs. It took me a few goes ( and pathetic little white 'skeletons' ) before I followed this advice. Mind you - it does teach the children about life and death -if you can bear to carry out the inevitable conversations when they notice what has happened before you do!
Guest Posted March 25, 2004 Posted March 25, 2004 I got to school this morning, having left my newly hatched babies in a bit of a sad way last night, and they had all died. Only a week after we got them too!! Some general mourning ensued in class, and not a little interest about what I'd done with them after they died! ( I didn't have the heart to say I poured them down the sink, so I made up a silly story about burying them in the field - & regretted it instantly when they wanted to go and see the grave!!!) Anyway, we chatted about it and how the tadpoles are easily upset/distressed, and have agreed to have another go. I think they died because I didn't refresh the water, I didn't think I'd need to quite yet!! Lets hope the new batch have better luck! Dianne xxx
Guest Posted March 26, 2004 Posted March 26, 2004 hi dianne sorry to hear about your tadpoles. We only have 2, Daffyd and Gareth (they are Welsh!) they really like boiled lettuce and have grown very quickly. i wouldn't be surprised if they have legs when i go in monday - just hope they don't eat each other over the weekend! Good luck with your new batch Lizz xxx
Guest Posted March 26, 2004 Posted March 26, 2004 May I send my deepest sympathy to you and your class!! We know how you feel our tadpoles have passed on to higher things too! We are on our second go! Hope this time it works out better. Jo
Guest Posted April 3, 2004 Posted April 3, 2004 Sorry to hear about your tadpoles Dianne. I'm not sure (distant memory) but I remember once being told off for bringing them into school. Apparently they are not to be removed from their habitat as it may be illegal. I could be wrong though. Chris
mundia Posted April 4, 2004 Posted April 4, 2004 welcome on board Chris and thanks fopr making your first post. You are quite right about the frogspawn, they are a protected species and therfore should not be removed from their natural habitat- this is one of the reasons their survival rate is qute poor.
Rea Posted May 25, 2005 Posted May 25, 2005 I've got to tell you this. My hubby bought some frogs spawn and toad spawn(?) home last year. All the little tadpoles developed and then, nothing! I checked on them all through the summer, winter (they survived the ice) and this spring and today I saw a tiny tiny frog and I think a tiny toad. Why did they stay as tadpoles for so long? Is this a record? Or a sign of environmental mess up?
Guest Posted May 25, 2005 Posted May 25, 2005 Rea - the first year we introduced spawn to our nursery pond we still had tadpoles in the autumn so I telephoned around and was told this can happen when there is not enough protein in the water. We were advised to feed with fish pellets or even rabbit pellets - yes they put animal protein in rabbit food even though they are vegetarian. In a rich environment they would have plenty to eat - where did you keep them?
Beau Posted May 25, 2005 Posted May 25, 2005 I remember you posting about this before Rea. So glad they eventually made it!
Guest Posted May 26, 2005 Posted May 26, 2005 Our spawn comes from my own garden pond, just a 5 minute walk from the setting. I make sure there's only about 10 eggs in the tank, shade them from direct sun & feed with fish food. All the spawn in the pond seemed to come to nothing, whereas the tadpoles at preschool are almost ready to go back to the pond they were 'born' in.
Guest Posted May 26, 2005 Posted May 26, 2005 As well as fish food, I fed our tadploes with some cress last year, and from a small batch of 12 eggs, we managed to re-release 8 frogs into the pond they came from. As was siad before, the spawn that was left in the pond did nit seem to develop much further than spawn. Our spawn came from one of the staff teams garden pond.
Rea Posted May 26, 2005 Posted May 26, 2005 Mimi, they are in anold fish tank, over the year it has developed it's own little eco system with water snails, plants and those little bugs that walk on water. I'm not all surprised by the contents of the rabbit food, didnt we discover a few years ago that cattle were fed chicken! Yes Beau, they survived being tipped onto the garden by my dad, scooped up with a spoon and the rigors of our weather. I'll put a bit of fishfood in tonight, help 'em along a bit. Funny thing is, while gardening a couple of weeks back hubby dug up a plastic frog and I freaked! Why I'm allowing them to grow in my garden is beyond me
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