# Tadpole has all 4 Legs and is coming out of the water but still has Tail - Any Advice



## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

I had one Vent Thumbnail Tadpole with 4 legs completely formed.

It just stayed on the bottom of the Deli Cup like most of my other Tadpoles do.

Now I have 3 total with all 4 legs.

The newest two stay at the bottom of the cup most of the time but the first tadpole to grow all 4 legs now likes to stay up top (More like a Frog than a Tadpole).

I even saw him once climb up the cup.

He seems ready to transfer to a Grow Out Deli Cup but the thing is is he still has his tail and it does not seem to be getting any smaller either.

I was told that once a Tadpole gets its front legs it will loose the tail and be a Froglet within a week.

Is this true?

Well it has been a week and he looks just like a Froglet but still has the Tail and it appears to be the same size that it was a week ago.

Do you guys have any advice?

What should I do?

P.S. This is my first batch of Tadpoles ever so I am still going through the Learning Process of Raising Tadpoles.


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## MarkB (May 23, 2012)

Once my tadpoles have all four legs I set them up on an angle so the froglet can come out of the water and that's when they start to absorb their tale. Once their tale is fully absorbed I move them to a grow out tank. Good luck and congrats. Everything that is happening is normal. It takes a few days to absorb their tale so you have nothing to worry about because its still there.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

MarkB said:


> Once my tadpoles have all four legs I set them up on an angle so the froglet can come out of the water and that's when they start to absorb their tale. Once their tale is fully absorbed I move them to a grow out tank. Good luck and congrats. Everything that is happening is normal. It takes a few days to absorb their tale so you have nothing to worry about because its still there.


Interesting.

So you are saying that they need to be "out of the water" to absorb their Tail.

If I leave them in the Deli Cup that is just filled with water and not angled they will never loose their Tail then?

Do I have to worry about the Frog drowning during this time? I am very concerned about that.

Can I start feeding the Froglet Fruit Flies while he still has his tail?


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## redfrogger (Nov 6, 2010)

As soon as the tads develop 4 legs, I scoop them out and put them in a small 2 oz deli cup with a tiny amount of water (just barely covering him). I then stick it into a small tupperware shoe box with some sphagnum at the bottom. I angle the deli cup sideways so the froglet can climb up and out. The froglet will then climb out on his own onto the side of the deli cup after a few days. After the tail has been absorbed, I create a springtail mound ( abg mix with more crunchy leaves saturated with springs) for him to snack on.


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## MarkB (May 23, 2012)

that Frog Guy said:


> Interesting.
> 
> So you are saying that they need to be "out of the water" to absorb their Tail.
> 
> ...


Well there are many ways to rear tadpoles and many people do it differently. Your tadpole will absorb its tale when it's ready regardless how you set them up. I know some people who don't angle their delis. If the frog is able to climb the sides then it is removed. 

I also hate the thought of them drowning however it is said if they can't get out of the water themselves then it's never meant to be. I wouldn't be concerned with them drowning. If your tadpoles have made it this far I would expect they are going to be fine.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

MarkB said:


> Well there are many ways to rear tadpoles and many people do it differently. Your tadpole will absorb its tale when it's ready regardless how you set them up. I know some people who don't angle their delis. If the frog is able to climb the sides then it is removed.
> 
> I also hate the thought of them drowning however it is said if they can't get out of the water themselves then it's never meant to be. I wouldn't be concerned with them drowning. If your tadpoles have made it this far I would expect they are going to be fine.


Is it safe to take them out of the water and put them in a Moss Deli Cup with Fruit Flies when they still have the tail?

Or does the fact that they still have the tail mean that they still need to be in water?


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## WendySHall (Aug 31, 2010)

Personally, I don't totally remove a new morph or new froglet from being able to access water. I find that even froglets (just like adults) like to be able to go to the water when they feel like it. My grow-out tubs have a Chinese take-out container in them that contain water, leaves, and a little duck weed. When I get a froglet who has popped all of his legs, he's put in this little "pond" with the others who are near morphing. That way, they are free to come and leave the water as they want or need to. This "pond" stays in the morph-out/grow-out tub until all frogs from it are sold.

And...I wouldn't worry about the tail just yet. He'll lose it when he's ready.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

WendySHall said:


> Personally, I don't totally remove a new morph or new froglet from being able to access water. I find that even froglets (just like adults) like to be able to go to the water when they feel like it. My grow-out tubs have a Chinese take-out container in them that contain water, leaves, and a little duck weed. When I get a froglet who has popped all of his legs, he's put in this little "pond" with the others who are near morphing. That way, they are free to come and leave the water as they want or need to. This "pond" stays in the morph-out/grow-out tub until all frogs from it are sold.
> 
> And...I wouldn't worry about the tail just yet. He'll lose it when he's ready.


I know he will loose it when he is ready but should I wait until it is totally gone to move him.

Or might that stress him out still having the tail and move him into a grow out container.


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## WendySHall (Aug 31, 2010)

that Frog Guy said:


> He seems ready to transfer to a Grow Out Deli Cup...


You're moving him from a tadpole deli cup to a grow-out deli cup? Not a tank/tub/etc?

Is this a normal thing? Do people raise thumbnails in deli cups???


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