Some interesting facts about our Grow-A-Frog Tadpole:
1. They live in water their entire lives.
2. The only thing the frog has in common with a fish is that they both have gills. That's where the similarities end.
3. The tadpole/frog eats 24 hours a day. When it is a tadpole, it will eat the food we give it. The frog is a filter-feeder, so once it becomes a frog, it will feed on the tiny microscopic food particles in the habitat.
4. The tadpole's skin is completely clear and will remain clear when it metamorphosis into a frog. This means that you can see al of the inside organs.
5. The frog will have two webbed feet.
6. The water in the habitat will NEVER be dumped out! If the ecosystem habitat is low on water, ONLY bottled spring water can be added. Regular tap water has chlorine and chemicals that are harmful to the tadpole/frog.
7. The tadpole must be fed one spoonful of food per day until the front arms are fully formed. At that time, the tail will "disappear" into it's body and will supply all the nourishment the frog needs to survive.
8. The best temperature for the tadpole/frog is 68-72 degrees. It cannot survive below 45 degrees or in temperatures above 95 degrees for an extended period of time.
9. We will not know if the tadpole is a boy or a girl until the frog is approximately 8 months old. At this time, the boy frogs will have a black "streak" on the insides of their forearms. It will look like someone took a magic marker and drew a line down the inside of their arms. Then, we can name him or her.
We will be charting the tadpole's metamorphosis in class.
Some pictures taken in class with the document camera on Friday, October 7, 2011. I wonder when it will start growing it's legs.
Our tadpole's back legs started to emerge on Saturday! Check these new photos to see if you can spot it's legs and webbed feet!
Additionally, Dr. Fancera asked us if our tadpole has a lateral line. In class, we pulled up a website that shows that a tadpole does have a lateral line. The website we were viewing is: http://books.google.com/books?id=77fPT1qk_9AC&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=tadpole-+lateral+line&source=bl&ots=y4JwKywz7Q&sig=o9-BLFuy6gf7U36PN9vMPEg8HtM&hl=en#v=onepage&q=tadpole-%20lateral%20line&f=false
