Polywogs, which become frogs, are members of the zoological class Amphibia. Being amphibians, frogs need bodies of fresh water to reproduce. This activity is triggered by early weather conditions; the weather becomes warmer and the days get longer. This will bring frogs out of hibernation and begin the wonderful "frog serenades" that we hear in the early evening during spring and early summer. The frog's "song" is designed to attract females and repel other males. As many as 6,000 eggs can be laid in clumps which attach themselves to submerged plants or just on the side or bottom of the body of water. After the egg is fertilized by the male frog, each egg becomes surrounded by a substance which quickly absorbs water and forms a thick jelly-like protective capsule. When this activity is over, mom and daddy frog leave the pond and go their merry way.
Within hours the frog's eggs begin to change...
By the third day the shape of the developing polywog can be seen. As it grows, the polywog is nourished by the yolk portion of the egg. By the 8th or 9th day, the polywog breaks out of the capsule and clings to the jelly-like mass, or to the water plants, by a pad of sticky sucker-like 'things' below it's mouth. By the 16th day, these fun little polywogs, looking much like tiny fish, need to begin searching for food to eat. They usually feed on humus and algae found in the pond. This is why it isn't a good idea to bring polywog eggs into a new pond that isn't well established. There just isn't much to eat unless you add food for them.
As they get older the polywogs become carnivorous and will grow rapidly. If your pond is well established their only problem may be other predators, such as fish, garter snakes, dragon-fly larvae, or giant water beetles. Polywogs will stay in the pond close to the edge until July or August where they will live among the plants, feeding on tiny insects and other invertebrates. They may still fall prey to birds...especially herons, and also, as mentioned above, snakes, koi, goldfish, and turtles.
After the fully grown frog leaves the pond, it will continue to feed on a variety of invertebrates, or in the case of bullfrogs, smaller vertebrates. Most frogs will eat only live food. It is the movement of their 'dinner' which actually provokes a feeding response.
Be careful not to handle frogs too much. The salt content of your sweat can be dangerous to them, if you hold them too long. Most frogs, not being used to being handled, will empty the contents of their bladder and bowels upon being handled!
If you bring a mature frog home and put it into your pond it will quickly leave! Introducing polywogs to your pond instead will help ensure they will remain close by, especially after they mature.
If you decide to adopt tadpoles there are a few things you should know to keep them safe and happy. They are used to being in a scummy, murky pond. In fact, they LIKE green yucky water because it provides much of the food they eat. Remember, they can't survive in brand new ponds or jars where there is nothing to eat!
DON'T change their water unless it smells, and you can see them sucking at the top all the time. This means they aren't getting oxygen from the water and need to suck in surface water where the oxygen level is higher, because it soaks in oxygen from the air.
To change their water, fill a jar the same size as the one you are keeping the tadpoles in and let it stand for 24 hours so the chlorine can escape into the air. This also makes sure the temperature is the same, because dumping the tadpoles into water that is colder or warmer than the water they were in will shock them and their hearts may stop beating!
To feed them, remember that they eat plants and algae. You can substitute their diet with pieces of lettuce, blades of grass, vegetable leaves, or cabbage. OR, even better would be to bring home some pond scum. It isn't a good idea to feed them fish food. They have very tiny stomachs and giving them too much fish food will make the water stink, and the bacteria which are eating the rotting fish food that wasn't eaten will use up all the oxygen in their water. Remember...you are not being nice to them by feeding them too much!
DON'T PUT THEM IN THE SUN...just like a car sitting in the sun that gets too hot when the windows are rolled up, the water will get too hot, too. Oxygen escapes more rapidly from warm water, and it can't absorb as much from the air as cold water. Heat will kill them quicker than anything else.
The best part of adopting polywogs is watching them change. First they grow back legs. Then, usually one at a time, their front legs poke through the skin. Then their mouths change from a round fish-like mouth into a wide frog mouth. When this happens, they can no longer eat plants or fish food, and they aren't ready inside to digest frog food (bugs) so they use up the fat and muscle in their tails. When the tails are gone they are FROGS! When you see their front legs appear, put a small chip of wood, or float a leaf or stick in the water so they can crawl out. They need to breathe air soon because their gills are getting smaller and their lungs are growing.
When the polywogs become frogs BE KIND...LET THEM GO...You can't catch as many bugs as they need to live. Return them to a lake or pond so they can return next year to make new polywogs.
