Tadpole Farming to the Extreme

Had I known what I know now, I am not sure i would have volunteered to give the frog spawn in the pond a chance to survive. I rescued the spawn in March and it is now July and OMG this is a full-time job! Helping to save an endangered species was my motivation, but this is now proving to be very educational. I am reading and learning so much. The taddies are all at various stages of growth and I really don't know why. They are in about 7 containers and there is nothing different about the location, water or food being fed.

They have feeding frenzies everyday when I bring the freshly boiled romaine lettuce to them, and some even take right from my hand.

I have been separating the larger taddies as they grow so that one container now holds all the ones with back legs.

Yesterday I came home from work to find the legged group of taddies completely in metamorphis stage. By this I mean they have stopped eating because their gills are being absorbed and the lungs forming. This happens at the same time their front legs are coming out. This part is amazing - the front legs pop out elbow first! I was lucky enough to see this occur on one of them. In the picture below you can see one with his right arm out, and the other arm just poking out at the elbow.

It doesn't stop there; at the same time as this is all happening, their digestive system is changing from plant based to insect based, and their tiny tadpole mouth is spreading to form a large frog mouth and tongue and the head and body are morphing into shape. Here is one taddie with a mouth starting to show.

At first I thought they were all dying but then realized what stage they were in. This is a very very stressful time for those little guys. You would think it would be painful to have all that going on at once. They can only float there letting their body do its thing. While waiting, their system is also absorbing their tail for nutrients. Absolutely amazing process. They look dreadful at the moment though. Many don't survive this stage in the wild as they are week and vulnerable to birds, fish, or water snakes. Some just die from exhaustion. I hope they all make it so I can release them back to their natural habitat.