Tadpoles: Catching, Raising, and Observing Metamorphosis

Think back to your childhood and recall some of your happiest moments. What were you doing? Where were you? Who were you with (if anyone)? Last evening, my family was out on a late evening walk to go look at the fireflies that grace us with their diamond-like sparkling at dusk on these warm summer nights. The wetlands near our house seem almost magical with the thousands of fireflies that surround us as we stroll down the path. The sight of the twinkling fireflies always inspires my daughter to break out in her sweet, made-up songs while the rest of us listen, smile, and walk quietly beside her.

As we made our way back home, we all started to talk about what makes us happy (I guess the fireflies inspired us). All of our answers contained one commonality: being outside. Happiness for me is hiking, spending time at the cabin, and gardening; my husband said playing soccer, fishing, and camping; my daughter piped in with spending time with the chickens; and my son said exploring or treasure hunting. Now, my son doesn’t go treasure hunting for items like money, jewelry, etc., he, for the most part, hunts for natural treasures. Like tadpoles!

Catching Tadpoles

Late in the spring, when the edges of the lakes or creeks begin to warm up from the sun, tadpoles start to emerge from their eggs and swarm the shallow waters. This year my son had his trusty sidekick (my daughter) join him in his treasure hunt for tadpoles. The two amigos collected the supplies needed for the hunting expedition and set out on their tadpole hunt.

Supplies needed for tadpole hunting:

• bucket
• minnow net (using hands works too)

With feet sloshing in and out of the shallow, warm water, my son and daughter slowly and carefully tiptoed through the marshy edge of the lake. Within minutes I hear: “Oh my gosh! There are millions of tadpoles in here! Mom, you have got to come and see this!” I could read the excitement on my kids’ faces as they scooped up tadpoles and plopped them in the bucket.

My son also pulled out some type of aquatic grass to add to the bucket, not only to give the tadpoles shade if they needed it, but to give them food and oxygen too. After collecting quite a few tadpoles, we brought the bucket home and constructed a nice home for our tadpoles to grow in.

Building A Make-shift Tadpole Pond

A tadpole home needs:

• Fresh water from a lake, pond, or creek (tap water has too many chemicals for tadpoles to live in).
• A large, shallow container (we use an old saucer sled).
• Rocks or other items that break the surface of the water (when the tadpoles morph into frogs or toads, they need a way to get out of the water and breath air).
• Food such as algae, natural organic matter that has decomposed on the floor of the lake, and other aquatic vegetation such as duckweed (most of these things can be found in the environment you found the tadpoles living in).

Observation

After bringing the tadpoles home, my children decided to explore the tadpole water as they added the tadpoles to their make-shift pond. For hours, the two of them sat exploring the creatures in the water with their net. Every new organism was put in a separate clear container for observation. They found, snails, clams, minnows, tiny water bugs the size of a deer tick, and a fresh water shrimp!

We have had the tadpoles in their pond for over a month now. According the Minnesota DNR, Minnesota frog and toad species can take a little less than two months and up to two years to make the metamorphosis from tadpole to adult frog or toad. Within the past month most of our tadpoles have begun to grow their legs and arms,

and some have morphed from the aquatic vegetarian with tails and gills, to omnivorous toadlets (that eat insects) with limbs and lungs.

The toads you see above still need to develop their tough bumpy skin, and at this stage, they are smaller than my pinky fingernail.

How is the rest of the pond life fairing? The duckweed in our make-shift pond has at least tripled in number, the aquatic grass plant is still healthy, and the shrimp, minnows, snails, and other aquatic species are alive and well. We have ourselves a healthy microcosm we get to observe each and every day. What a fun and interesting learning tool!

Microcosms are a self-contained model of something that is much bigger in size. Our microcosm is a pond, complete with tadpoles, shrimp, minnows, aquatic plants, snails, and mud. We’ve also had rain that continues to fill our pond with natural water a few times per week. This year, our pond has been completely self-sustaining.  After setting up the pond, we’ve had to put no work into it. The only work we do is to sit and gratefully observe.

Embark On A Treasure Hunt For Tadpoles

Seeing the complete metamorphosis from tadpole to toad has been so much fun for our whole family. Once the last toad leaves our pond, we will return the water and the rest of the pond inhabitants back into the lake. I urge you to go outside on a treasure hunt of your own in search of tadpoles. Then you can enjoy a summer full of exploration, transformation, learning, and excitement by the side of your own little pond.