Tad the Frog

[Music] some slimy jelly like stuff with black specks inside that's what Steve has found in the water this April morning what are those little black specks they're alive perhaps they're some kind of animals hatching from eggs what kind of animals are they [Music] they'll take them home to show Dad dad will probably know what they [Music] are the boys have found some frog eggs some of them are hatching baby frogs are called tadpoles how do tadpoles become frogs the boys can find out by taking care of the tadpoles and watching them [Music] grow first they'll need a good place to keep the tadpoles what about their aquarium with the tropical fish the aquarium should make a good home for the tiny tadpoles or will it the fish is larger than the tadpoles the fish might eat them the boys had better keep the animals in the jar for now plants from the aquarium will help make the jar seem more like a pond now what will the tadpoles eat perhaps some fish food no they're not going after the fish food young tadpoles eat plants most of the time on the sides of the tadpole's head we can see gills through the gills the tadpole gets oxygen there is oxygen dissolved in the water like other animals the tadpoles need oxygen and food to live and grow it is now 6 weeks later the boys are beginning to notice changes in their tadpoles they're swimming about with the help of their tails which had grown wide and long we can no longer see the gills a layer of skin has grown over them now that the tadpoles are getting bigger they'll need more room so the boys are putting them in the aquarium which is all right now now the tadpoles are too big for the fish to eat there they can swim about freely perhaps now that they're larger they'll eat some of the fish food yes they're taking the ground up bits of meat and cereal Jimmy thinks of the tadp as his pets he's picked out a large one and given it a name Tad you can see Tad's mouth moving Tad's skin is very thin so thin that we can see his intestines and his Beating Heart above none of the tadpoles has any legs yet by the middle of June they still don't have any legs but they've grown larger now it's the first week in July 3 months after Steve and Jimmy found the eggs what do you suppose has happened Tad has grown hind legs other changes are going on in the Tad poles the gills are disappearing and lungs are forming with the gills changing into lungs the tadpoles cannot breathe so easily underwater so they swim to the surface from time to time to gulp air the tadpoles are changing just as Dad said they would but they still don't have front legs well Jimmy won't have to wait much longer Tad has front legs already but they're inside his body see the bulges near his head that's where the front legs will grow out a few days later all four legs are out and Tad has dark spots like an adult frog although he still has a tail the boys have lowered the water in the aquarium and placed a piece of bark on on top this is so the young frogs can crawl out of the water into the air now their lungs are almost completely formed the tadpoles will spend much of their time out of the water now as they complete their change into adult frogs during this time Tad and the others will not eat they use up the material in their tails for food as the material is used the tail gets shorter and shorter until one day about a week after leaving the water pad has become an adult frog adult frogs spend much of their time out of the water searching for insects that's what adult frogs eat dad thinks the boys should take the frogs back to the pond where they can catch the insects they need but Steve would like to keep Tad and catch insects for him well all right the boys can keep Tad but the rest will have to go the boys will put them in the jar and take them back to the pond all except Tad a couple of weeks later Tad has a new home in a box that the boys have fixed up with gravel and a bowl of water right now they're feeding Tad a grasshopper see how he uses his front feet to help him eat he uses his powerful hind legs to kick kick in the water and jump on land the webbing between the toes helps him swim the boys enjoy taking care of Ted and Tad has become very tame to feed Tad the boys must catch a lot of [Music] insects and worms each day they feed the Frog and as the days go by Tad grows bigger and bigger by the end of August the boys have decided that Tad is getting too active to keep in the box so they're going to let him go they'll put him in the jar and take him back to the place where they found him he's big now this is the same jar that held so many baby frogs a few months ago [Music] the boys have had their pet for almost 5 months they've seen him grow from a tiny egg into a full-grown adult but now they'll let him [Music] go where is he Jimmy sees him he's found a place to rest on a log he'll have the space he needs in which to jump water in which to swim and all the insects he can eat in the pond where he was born hold