# ?s on azureus tads and morphing



## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

This information is probably on the board here somewhere but I couldn't find it. Sorry if that upsets anybody.

I have some azureus tads, my first ever tads, that hatched 12/19/06. So they're just a little over a month old and I just noticed they've started to pop their back legs. What's the timeline from here? How long before they'll pop their front legs? I'm assuming around 3 months from when they hatched to morph out. Is that about right?

When do they get moved to a morphing container? Do you wait till you see the front legs pop or does it need to be done before that? At what point during the morphing process do you stop feeding them?

Thanks for the help.


----------



## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

I usually wait until my azureus tads pop thier front legs to move them to a morphing container. It won't hurt to move them before hand though. I use a big glad ware container with about a half inch of water and something that is eaesy for them to climb up on. Usually a big piece of cork bark.

As for what time you would stop feeding them... I stop feeding them when they stop eating. The tads will start absorbing their tails and stop feeding. 

Hope that helps!

Later,
Brad


----------



## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Thanks Brad. That helps alot.


----------



## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Gary,

The tads will stop eating once they pop front legs or are very close to popping them as their mouth is being remodeled for life as a frog.

I merely lower the water level in their tadpole container (I use 16 oz deli cups) and let them walk up the side out of the water. This way I don't have to use separate morphing chambers and only those froglets that are strong enough to climb make it...

Bill


----------



## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Thanks Bill.

I have 4 tads now. Once they morph is it OK to raise the four together in say a 10 gallon tank? Or do you guys raise them all separately in their own container like a plastic shoe box?


----------



## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

It's okay to raise them together but you need to make sure all of them are eating well and if size differences develop, be prepared to sort them into size groups.

One observation I've made, albeit not a scientific study, is that froglets raised by themselves in a 190 oz deli cup seem to grow faster than counterparts set up in 10 gallon vivs. Perhaps it's due to lack of competition for food or the increased leg room (a 190 oz delic cup has a footprint of ~ 75 square inches).

Bill


----------



## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Bill, there are a couple different reasons for the differences you're seeing... the D. tinc group frogs deposit their tads individually and have a couple fail safes that make sure that sharing the body of water is rare... starting with tadpoles not wanting to get off the parent's back, to tadpole aggression and hormone growth inhibiting. With two animals in a good sized area, this may not be an issue, but the more tadpoles in an area, the more you're going against nature and how they've evolved, and the more problems you will have (aggression, long morph out times, etc).

The reports on what gets the largest froglets tends to vary per person, but my personal experience is that those raised individually tend to be consistently larger, and faster morphing. I think the cases of small froglets morphing from individual containers involves the fact that the containers are "new" and clean, where the community tadpole tanks have lots of yummy stuff growing in them... the best fed diet won't cover up the significant differences that occur when tadpoles have stuff to graze on from day one in between meals...


----------



## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Thanks Bill & Corey.

Since these are my first tads I'll probably play it safe and raise them each in their own plastic shoe box.


----------

