Anyone who has grown a frog for science? What do you do. . .

[Rene Austen]

with the frog?? I'm probably really showing my ignorance here, but once it's grown. . .then what? It's now a family pet--does it need a cozy home environment more fancy than the plastic aquarium that comes with the grow-a-frog kit? What's its life expectancy??

 

I really want to grow a frog and a butterfly to observe life cycles during our science studies next year (BFSU); Butterflies, no problem--I've already got the butterfly garden, etc. Frogs--I'm clueless.

 

Any insights from you experienced frog growers??

[jonnia]

If you find tadpoles in a local pond, you can release the frogs back into the same area when you're done with your study. However, if you order an aquatic frog tadpole (We used Grow-a-Frog with great results!) then it cannot be released. Life expectancy runs a few years, I think.

 

Our current frog is a 2 year old female, and because she has grown larger than the male we had several years ago, we purchased a 5 gallon aquarium for her, allowing her plenty of room. Gravel in the tank is a no-no as the frog may swallow it. Grow-a-Frog sells colored sand for the tank bottom, but I'm sure you could get clean sand elsewhere. I found a really good filter at our local pet store that sticks to the side of the tank just under the waterline. Water changes are required at about the same frequency as for goldfish.

 

We actually enjoy ours! Friends are usually impressed to see how she'll jump up out of the water to grab food nuggets off of our fingers. Of course, a lid to the aquarium is almost mandatory. I think ours could jump right out if startled.

[Supertechmom]

Wonderful time to find a water spot and catch tadpoles! WE love it so much that we try it every spring. So far the 3 year old has done the best job grabbing the little suckers by their tale. The odlers run like mad through the water with their nets. Put them in a tank outside pond thing and they will grow. Then they just hop away!

[Sugarfoot]

Our Grow-a-Frogs (Harry and Hermione) are now 3 years old. They live in a 10-gallon aquarium in our school room. They're very low maintenance, and our dogs love to watch them!

 

HTH,

[buddhabelly]

Our Grow-A-Frogs (Leap and Hop) are five years old. We did have to get a much bigger tank for them. They are enormous! Just FYI, they are African Clawed frogs if you want to read up on them.

 

I guess if they were hardy enough to survive the trip from Florida to Alaska in the MAIL, they are pretty tough frogs.

 

Julie

[sarahli]

 

LONGEVITY average lifespan oThe f a Growafrog is 5 years. That is to say, most Growafrogs live about 5 years. However, they CAN and DO live much longer. We get letters and E-mails from customers with 20+ year old frogs, so at this time we still do not know how long they CAN live, since we have been in business since 1979. If you have a Growafrog that you've had for quite a while, please let us know. We'd love to hear about your frog !!

 

 

 

LIFETIME GUARANTEE All Growafrog frogs automatically come with our famous "Lifetime Guarantee". We mean it!! You are entitled to a free frog for any reason if you own a Growafrog and experience a loss - ever. We only ask that you include s&h with your order, which is 3.00. If you unfortunately need to use your Lifetime Guarantee, it is located on the very last line of all our order forms, including the online order form. To read the Lifetime Guarantee, and all our other wonderful guarantees, please click here.

 

 

 

WE WILL WELCOME YOUR FROG BACK HOME We know you love your Growafrog. Every now and then, however, a situation arises in which a Growafrog care-giver can no longer take care of their frog. If this should ever happen to you, please simply E-mail us so we may send you 'breathable bags' with instructions on how to send your frogs home to us. In no instance should you ever let your frogs 'go' into a pond or lake. Never release any kind of animal into the natural environment near your home ( unless it came from there in the first place ). To request your breathable bags at no charge at all, please simply E-mail us your complete name, address, city, state, and zipcode here.

 

http://www.growafrog.com/quesfrog.html#Anchor-HABITA-12160

 

African clawed frogs can be dangerous to the ecosystem if released in a non-native habitat. That's good that they have this guarantee.

I owned an african albino frog. I kept it in a fish tank, which now I know was not a good idea. It caught ick and died with the other fish. It was funny though, it would ride around the fish tank on the back of one of the larger fish.

[Alessandra]

Here is a policy statement that I have found helpful on release of living organisms. In my experience, science companies will give you info on species/subspecies and whether animal was collected (and where) or lab cultured.

 

http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/foss/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/ethics.html

 

THANK YOU for asking!!!!! So many people don't even consider this.

[Rene Austen]

Wow--thanks for the helpful replies! I will first try the nearby pond for local tadpoles; I feel silly that I didn't even think of that myself. And it sounds like a simple aquarium setup will suffice, which I think I can handle. I've never in my life grown a frog, so I think I am almost more excited than the children about this venture. Thanks again, ladies!

[Staci in MO]

I bought the grow-a-frog kit years ago, but I never sent away for the frog. Now that we have a four-year-old goldfish, I really don't want to care for another aquatic animal for five years (or longer).

 

But, friends of ours just moved in down the street - and they have a pond! I've been thinking of going down and snatching some tadpoles that we can later turn loose. But, what should I feed them?