greenmamato3 Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 ok i'm assuming we're not the only ones who fell prey to the allure of the grow a frog kit. we're honestly loving it. our tadpole is nearly a frog so (oops!) i've got to make some quick decisions about what to do with the habitat, food, and such for the long-term frog care. seems like grow-a-frog website is expensive (and which habitat should i buy?!) ... but when i start looking at just piecing it together from the local petstore, it's just as expensive. should i just bite the bullet and order from grow-a-frog? i need to make a decision on this like .... yesterday .... and when i get in a pinch, i'm prone to order more than i think i'll really need just for peace of mind. i *don't* want to blow money on this frog (albeit, beloved! :) ) if we don't really need to. this is what i think i'm going to need to get. can you help verify or advise, please, thanks in advance. -stage 2 food {how much? lots?} -water crystals {same question} -the filter (and pump?) -some sort of aquarium (and lid) -stage 2 habitat soil -some little place for it to hide: a seashell or something -magic powder to make him clap (worth it or necessary?) *really, i want to go as cheap as possible with this .... but not to the detriment of the longevity. :) should i just buy the stage two double tube town kit? or piecemeal it? what have yo udone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-2-7 Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 We have 4 frogs that we nurtured from tadpoles. I'm getting a little concerned about what will happen when they reach maturity! But that's a whole different post! :001_smile: We never bought the kit. We just went to our local pet store and bought some tadpoles. I put them in a 10 gallon aquarium with a bottom filter. As they began to change, I took some river rocks from our front yard, washed them and built kind of a wall for them to climb out of the water if they wanted to. I fed them frog pellets from the pet store. After they all changed, I drained the water and just put a big bowl of water in the tank that I change regularly. The tank is landscaped with fish tank gravel and river rocks for hiding places. They no longer would eat the pellets so we had to go with live food. Once a week I go to the pet store and buy small crickets for them to eat - about 4 or 5 per frog per week. That's it. I got the whole 10 gallon aquarium w/ lid & filter for $20 off Craigslist. I don't think I spent anything else. They seem happy enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmamato3 Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 ok. the difference for these grow a frogs is that they are completely aquatic their entire lives. they are south african frogs .... so they have to have the water, etc ..... which of course involves maintaining the eco-balance, etc. hmmmmm. i do appreciate your ideas. thanks for taking the time to post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhabelly Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I hate to break it to you, but my Grow-A-Frogs are six years old. I guess the ones that can survive the trip to Alaska are pretty tough. Don't bother with the tube thingy. The frogs get too big for it very soon, and ours almost got stuck in it. You need a big aquarium, I guess ours is 10 gallons? Five gallons? Anyway, a good-sized aquarium, with filter and the whole ball of wax. We feed them bloodworms now because the Grow-A-Frog food was so expensive, especially the shipping. Our local pet store sells dried bloodworms (for tropical fish, I think), and they seem to survive quite nicely on it. Unfortunately..... I say "unfortunately" because nobody likes to clean the aquarium. Except for the special algae-eating fish that we got to help keep the tank clean -- now five inches long! Good luck with your frogs, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhabelly Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Oh, one more thing. Make sure you STOP FEEDING your tadpole until it's tail is completely gone. It "feeds" on the tail, and if you feed it during this time it won't turn into a frog. Well, it will die actually, because one can't be a tadpole forever, can one? Good luck, Julie ok i'm assuming we're not the only ones who fell prey to the allure of the grow a frog kit. we're honestly loving it. our tadpole is nearly a frog so (oops!) i've got to make some quick decisions about what to do with the habitat, food, and such for the long-term frog care.seems like grow-a-frog website is expensive (and which habitat should i buy?!) ... but when i start looking at just piecing it together from the local petstore, it's just as expensive. should i just bite the bullet and order from grow-a-frog? i need to make a decision on this like .... yesterday .... and when i get in a pinch, i'm prone to order more than i think i'll really need just for peace of mind. i *don't* want to blow money on this frog (albeit, beloved! :) ) if we don't really need to. this is what i think i'm going to need to get. can you help verify or advise, please, thanks in advance. -stage 2 food {how much? lots?} -water crystals {same question} -the filter (and pump?) -some sort of aquarium (and lid) -stage 2 habitat soil -some little place for it to hide: a seashell or something -magic powder to make him clap (worth it or necessary?) *really, i want to go as cheap as possible with this .... but not to the detriment of the longevity. :) should i just buy the stage two double tube town kit? or piecemeal it? what have yo udone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmamato3 Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 well, given a variety of reasons and variables, i decided to purchase from Grow-A-Frog the kit that includes the 5 gallon tank, water crystals, habitat soil, pump and filter, stage 2 food, and then added on to it a little special treat for our little froggie: a seashell for a bed and the clapping hands powder (LOL!) all in all, the shipping is really high, but in the end, it was cheaper than buying a la carte .... and, yes, we stopped feeding him when his front legs came out .... thanks for the reminder!!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnia Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Our grow a frog is about three years old now - a female, so she's pretty big! If I held her in my hand, I'm certain that her feet would hang off. Go ahead and plan on at least a five gallon tank. I made the mistake of trying to use aquarium gravel, but our frog kept trying to eat it and once actually succeeded. We watched gravel work its way through her little body. It had to have been painful! I ordered the sand after that and installed a filter that sticks to the back of the tank and looks like a stingray. Other than regular tank cleaning, she's an easy pet to keep. We order the food pellets, but it's good to read from previous poster about the bloodmeal worms as an option. Ours learned a fun trick pretty easily. We wet the tip of a finger, then press into the food pellets for a couple to stick on. We hold "loaded" finger an inch or so above the water, and she jumps up out of the water to grab the food off of the finger. Feels funny and never fails to impress visiting kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 -stage 2 food {how much? lots?}-- I buy the 3 pack. Best deal. -water crystals {same question}--- Not necessary. If you let the water sit in an open container overnight the chlorine will evaporate and be fine for your frog. -the filter (and pump?) ---Worthless. Doesn't do any good. I got a small regualr Whisper filter and it keeps it clean. The GAF one did not. I know they say not to use these as they let too much oxygen in the water, but our frog is fine with it and it is a significant difference. -some sort of aquarium (and lid)-I just got a $10 5gal. tank from the store. -stage 2 habitat soil- They say not to use rocks as they can harm the frogs. They'll try to eat it and choak on it. I believe it. I bought their sand, though I suspect store-bought sand would be cheaper. We didn't risk it. I would recommend not getting red. Sometimes the sand gets on him and it looks like he's bleeding. -some little place for it to hide: a seashell or something- We did get the shell bed. He does like it. -magic powder to make him clap (worth it or necessary?)- Never got that, so I don't know how great it is. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Oh, one more thing. Make sure you STOP FEEDING your tadpole until it's tail is completely gone. It "feeds" on the tail, and if you feed it during this time it won't turn into a frog. Well, it will die actually, because one can't be a tadpole forever, can one? :ack2: I had no idea! I'm so glad I ran into this thread before we break out our frog kit this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 We just have our aquatic frogs in in a regular old fish aquarium with the filter and rocks/gravel at the bottom - that's worked well for 3 years so far! As for food, our local pet store carries actual frog food (it's is a shaker can just like regular fish food) so we just shake some out each day. Now our 2 cats can't get used to the frogs - they are constantly attacking the glass sides of the aquarium trying to get those poor little frogs so we'll had to buy an aquarium screen for the top. SOmetimes the cats get so tired that they fall asleep on top! Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmamato3 Posted October 21, 2009 Author Share Posted October 21, 2009 our bigger 5 gallon home for little froggie arrived today :) i'm ery excited to transfer him to his "big boy" home LOL. his tail shrunk from about 3/4" to 1/4" over night last night!!! shocking!! very fun. btw, the grow-frog company has a guarantee that if your froglet or tadpole doesn't make it to frog status, they will provide you with another one. you could double check about that .... i'm nearly positive .... might be worth re-trying! :) HTH and good luck! this has become *quite* the thread! :) thanks, gals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Oh, one more thing. Make sure you STOP FEEDING your tadpole until it's tail is completely gone. It "feeds" on the tail, and if you feed it during this time it won't turn into a frog. Well, it will die actually, because one can't be a tadpole forever, can one?/QUOTE] How does nature manage this? We got ours from someone whose grown grow a frogs reproduced. He was very particular about who got them....I felt like I was adopting from over seas! Anyway. They all did perfectly until the tail was gone. Not one of them (and we are talking 8 different owners) would eat as adults and died. There are duds, FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gevs4him Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Our grow-a-frog is over a 1 year old. She is real big about a 3 inch body. We love her! We bought a 10 gal. glass tank with wire lid and a filter that hangs on the side - wish we would have bought a bottom filter. We change the tank water 1 time per month and the filter 2 times per month. Anyway we do not have anything in the tank - no sand on the bottom and no fake plants. I buy liver about every 4 months for around $1.60 (keep it in the freezer) everyday I cut off a small piece and cut it into smaller pieces - sometimes she takes them off my finger, catches them in the water or when they drop to the bottom she stirs them up and eats them. We started feeding her liver after she stopped eating and I called the company and they told me to feed her it, just never went back to Wal-Mart Food. Hope this helps Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kls126s Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Wow! I didn't even know we needed a grow a frog! :D We got some tadpoles from a neighbors garden and just dumped them in an old aquarium we had. I did not realize that they need something to climb out of the water once they grow their legs so a lot of them drowned before we figured that out. :glare: Once we did we had more that made it, but we just let them go back in the neighbors garden once they reached maturity. Wonder if it would be fun to raise one and keep it as a pet? Where did ya'll order them from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Oh, one more thing. Make sure you STOP FEEDING your tadpole until it's tail is completely gone. It "feeds" on the tail, and if you feed it during this time it won't turn into a frog. Well, it will die actually, because one can't be a tadpole forever, can one? Good luck, Julie Really? Maybe this is why our last one died. We have a bunch of tadpoles right now. Too many. We'll need to get rid of some. So they eat fish food right now. I should stop feeding them when they get front legs? When do I start feeding them again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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