# Morph delay



## Ribblebit (Apr 5, 2020)

I have a pair of Ranitomeya imitator 'Baja Huallaga' that hatched a tadpole in September and it still hasn't turned into a frog. I finally removed it from their enclosure 2 weeks ago and put it in RO water with moss and a piece of indian almond leaf. It still only has 1 tiny front leg and alot of its tail. Is this destined to be a tadpole forever??


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

This is not a healthy tadpole.. If it only has one small leg (possible SLS) and its not developed as it should have, you should probably put it down..


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Tijl said:


> This is not a healthy tadpole.. If it only has one small leg (possible SLS) and its not developed as it should have, you should probably put it down..


I agree -- that's not the normal pattern of development.

If you tell us more about the viv, the frogs, feeding/supplementing, we can help troubleshoot.


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## Ribblebit (Apr 5, 2020)

Sorry. I meant to say it has 2 normal looking back legs and a front leg just started to show on one side and the other popped out a couple days ago. It eats and is active. I will give it some more time and see how it develops...


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Misunderstood. Sometimes tadpoles do develop slower , but I forgot the name of this phenomenon.. I agree to give it some more time. 🙂 Post some photo's if you van. Always Nice to see


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Peter Pan Syndrome


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## Ribblebit (Apr 5, 2020)




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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I'm curious as to why you pulled it now -- I presume the parents were feeding it.

More info would help us all to understand the situation, too; perhaps someone who reads this later can use the information for their own situation. Perhaps feeding or supplementation issues exist, or maybe temperatures are unusual, or the viv is set up differently than imis would prefer, or...


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## Ribblebit (Apr 5, 2020)

I moved them into a new habitat and took the tadpole out at that time. The parents had been feeding it and it would eat fruit flys that fell into its bromeliad. I feed it frog pellets and bug bites and fruit flys now. It stays between 72 and 78 degrees.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

There is an old thread floating around here somewhere, where somebody had a tad that never showed signs of developing front legs. It never morphed. He eventually ended up picking up a fishbowl and keeping it as a novelty pet. He kept it alive for over a year. It eventually died still as a tadpole.
I'm guessing it was a severe vitamin A deficiency with the parents, causing a severe case of SLS, (spindly leg syndrome).

Are your parent frogs receiving a proper vitamin A supplement? 
What dusting supplements are you using? 
Are they fresh? 
Do you keep them refrigerated, dark, and well sealed?

Without knowing your dusting program, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you are vitamin A deficient. If that is true, the problem will get worse until eventually, eggs stop developing, or they start to form, then die.
I can't help with your current tad, sorry. If my guess is correct, then I'm afraid it is too late to help him. You can still help his future siblings.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

We have a DN member who has an Azurues tadpole for over 2 years..




I want to add the tadpole of Ribblebit is not healthy. It does like like it is best to put it down. It looks like it has an ait pocket in it's stomach. Like pumilio said, this probably is a VitA deficciency with the parents


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Tijl, is the tail of that tad in the pic kinked? Sure looks like it.


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## Drthsideous (Oct 14, 2019)

At my job we had a benedicta tad that never morphed. He got pretty big, size of a tinc tad. Lived for well over a year, close to two. Other clutchmates developed just fine. We named him Peter Pan. We guessed it may have been some kind of enzyme deficiency that caused his system to never send the signals to morph. Through it all he was active and ate. Never developed any legs at all.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Drthsideous said:


> We guessed it may have been some kind of enzyme deficiency that caused his system to never send the signals to morph.


I understand that thyroid hormone is a central player in amphibian metamorphosis, and can be altered by nutritional imbalances. This is a pretty commonly faulty and usually easily treatable system in humans, too.


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## ssky (Sep 15, 2009)

Giving it time might be prudent. I recently had a southern variabilis tad that grew and developed normally up to the point where the front legs should have popped out. I was figuring the front legs to pop out within the next two or three days... but no. The front legs didn't pop for at least another two, maybe three months. I was sure I was going to have SLS but, when they finally popped they were perfect. The tad absorbed its tail in a week and is now one of my fastest growing froglets.


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## Ribblebit (Apr 5, 2020)

I waited and it seems to be morphing fine. It left the water today😄


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