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Question about 8mo old unmorphed 'american bullfrog' tadpole

Jazzy says yarr

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So, why so long to morph?
Hes got some lateral body line spots, his skull has changed shape a bit, his eyes have developed into a bronze color and moved more to the top of his head, and his overall abdomen shape is more frog like than tadpole. His snout is even taking on the frog shape.

However,
No feet. Not even stubs. He hasnt really gained any body mass either, which i suppose could be the biggest contributing factor, but 8 months and nothing? Usually the tadpoles we get do a lot of facial morphing after feet buds sprout, or they happen around the same time. Im talking about back legs, to be precise. Also, those are usually green frogs. I cant imagine theyd be terribly different.

Il try and get some pictures of him up for anyone to try and identify it; it might not even be a bullfrog. Thats what we were told when we bought it.

Hes massive, eats mostly 'bloodworms', blackworms, brine shrimp and 'alllivingthings' frog/newt pellets, tetramin tropical fish crisps. I thought maybe he would need much more body mass to facilitate the toll morphing takes on the body, but he eats and eats and isnt any larger or further along on his progress.

Weve had him since july, in a 10 gallon with a low flow filter, aerator stone, and a store brand 10gal water heater that keeps the tank at 82°f, based on the shop guys advice. Was that also a mistake?

Weve had 3 tadpoles morph fully under the same parameters this summer, in the same tank.

Am i doing something wrong? Is he just weird? Should i be terribly concerned?


Thank you for any and all advice.
Im not very well versed in bullfrog tadpoles; iv only ever found and caught adults on day trips that were immediately returned to the pond or sump wed find them in. Im just honestly kerfuffled about what is taking so long.
-jazzy
 

michael

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I'd turn the heater off. Bullfrog tadpoles overwinter in near freezing weather. Some bullfrog tadpoles take nearly a year to metamomorphose. Most do it in less than a year.
 

Jazzy says yarr

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Thank you, michael. Just unplugged the heater :) so this isnt uncommon at all? Thats good news to hear. I just thought that by now hed be bigger at least; just something, you know? Thats an awfully long time for stasis of growth.
 

Jazzy says yarr

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This is him. Hes about a half inch bigger than a stick of chapstick. In one of the pictures his vent looks like it could be a foot bud, but iv seen waste come out of this and can guarantee that it is not.
 

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michael

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I'm doing a project with albino bullfrogs. Most bullfrog tadpoles metamorphose the first year. Some take over a year. It will probably metamorphose this summer.
 

Jazzy says yarr

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Iv got an update on this little lump:

Hes finally got some legs!
Just back legs, but im beyond excited.
Hes been perching on the plants and decor consistantly, on purpose, for about two weeks now. I was hoping that would mean legs, and i was not disappointed.

Iv got two pictures. One is him in the plant perched up against the tank glass( im kind of embarassed about the amount of gunk in the plant; since we went bare bottom it has to be vaccumed every few days and this was in between those times). The other was after i had netted him for a quick closer inspection and picture. He was out of the water for less than 30 seconds.

Tank temp is 72, he eats every day and scrubs the glass grazing for algae. Maybe it won't be much longer now until he gets his front set :)
 

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Jazzy says yarr

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Another update: he's a froglet :)
We are rehoming him to a family with 2 children, and they are all very excited about getting a bullfrog. Here are some pictures of his later end of his metamorphosis. The last one with him on top of the long plant was from earlier today.
 

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