# General Topics > General Discussion & News > Forum Questions & Workings >  A little help please

## Leanne

Hi, 
  Our tadpoles have started to become froglets, we have notice that 1 of our tadpoles has now got all 4 limbs so I have moved it from the tank with the other tadpoles and put it in with our marsh frog so that it has access to land. I'm not sure if I've done the right thing or not so please advise me, I've also turned off the filter in the frogs tank just in case the little froglet gets sucked into it

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## John

Frogs eat other frogs - don't keep differently sized frogs together.  If you want a guide for helping them through metamorphosis then please take a look at the Gray Tree Frog article linked on all pages of this site - the guidelines for dealing with metamorphosis apply to almost all frogs and toads.

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## Leanne

ok thank you

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## Kurt

Did you manage to get the froglet out before it became dinner for the bigger frogs?

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## Leanne

yes I did and I've set up a large plastic storage box and as they all transform I'll be able to transfer them across to the new container, where they'll have access to both water and land, can you tell me how long they can stay without a land area once their front limbs appear?

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## John

A day or less, otherwise you risk drowning them.

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## Leanne

thank you once I get a chance I'll post some photos of our new little froglets

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## John

We look forward to seeing them  :Smile: .

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## Leanne

Here are a few photos of our changing tadpoles sorry they are a bit blurry I was using my phone's camera, I'm not sure of their species but we are thinking spotted marsh frogs, it's a bit hard to see in the photos but about a day before their front legs appear they get some very green patches on their back.

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## Tom Highum

Wait what are they?

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## Kurt

Tadpoles. Duh!  :Big Grin:

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## Leanne

I don't know what species they are but we don't get a great deal of variety here in Melbourne Victoria Australia that is why I'm thinking they are probably marsh frog tadpoles

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## Kurt

Well, based on the photo of the adult frog you found, I would say its the most likey the same species, _Limnodynastes tasmaniensis_.

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## Tom Highum

Ooh are they all the same? How many are there? Also are you ready for that many frogs? I made the mistake of capturing a bunch of tadpoles once and not being ready for the toads.

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## Leanne

yes they all came from the same dam so I am assuming they are all the same species, we have a pond to put some in and friends who have asked for some for their ponds also and we will probably return the remainder to the dam where they came from

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## Leanne

Can you please tell me how deep the water should be in the container I'm transferring the froglets into, this is a photo of our very first froglet

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## Kurt

Your froglet looks a lot like _Litoria subglandulosa_ or one of its close relatives. I don't think it is a _Limnodynastes tasmaniensis_ based on these latest pictures. Where *exactly* are you from?

I just wrote an article on _L._ _subglandulosa_, so I am hoping this is what they are. If so maybe I could use your pics in the article.

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## Leanne

I live in Narre Warren South but the tadpoles came from a dam on my partners parents farm in korrumburra gippsland victoria, you are welcome to do what ever you please with the photos

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## Tom Highum

I am pretty sure you should place them in a cage that has a sloping water area to land so they can choose when to come out.



> Where *exactly* are you from?


Or better where *exactly* did you get them?

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## Kurt

> I live in Narre Warren South but the tadpoles came from a dam on my partners parents farm in korrumburra gippsland victoria, you are welcome to do what ever you please with the photos


Let me hit the books and get back to you.

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## Tom Highum

Wait an article for Frog Forum? A Meet the frog?

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## Kurt

Tom, do you really want me to tell you what you're getting for Christmas right now?

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## Tom Highum

Skis and a record player (my dad sucks at hiding) Ok but remember secrets, secrets are no fun, unless you share with everyone.

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## John

> Can you please tell me how deep the water should be in the container I'm transferring the froglets into, this is a photo of our very first froglet


For froglets about to pop or already popped the front legs you want the water end to be just deep enough to cover the froglet's back, and make sure it can climb out very easily or they _will_ drown.  If it's a tree frog it should be better at getting out of the water but don't take any chances.

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## Kurt

Well, I hit the books, looked at some maps, and the best I can figure is your froglet may be Litoria citropa, the Blue Mountains treefrog. It does closely resemble _L._ _subglandulosa_, the New England treefrog.
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/im...0000+0706+0292

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## Tom Highum

Whoa those frogs are pretty. What is their conservation status?

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## Kurt

> Whoa those frogs are pretty. What is their conservation status?


As far as we are concerned (those of us outside of Australia) it doesn't matter. It is illegal to export Australian wildlife out of Australia. Any Australian herp you may have now is most likely a descendent of animals that were either smuggled out to Europe or the US.
The only Aussie frog that ever managed to get smuggled out was _Litoria caerulea_ and supposedly _L. chloris_ and _L. gracilenta_, though I have never seen either one for sale here.

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## Leanne

ok thank you I'll post more pictures as they develop further

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## Kurt

Cool, then we will be able to make a positive ID.

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## Leanne

Thank you for all you help I've been looking at some sites and pictures on the net also and our tadpoles look a lot  like the *litoria ewingi* what do you think

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## Tom Highum

Kurt my question was more of a is it ok that she has them?

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## Kurt

I don't know off hand, as I don't know what species Australian law allows and forbids.

Leanne, I am sticking with my earlier ID of_ Litoria citropa_ over _Litoria ewingi_, for now at least

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## Ebony

Hi Leanne, They are definitely not Whistling tree frogs (Litoria ewingii). I would go with what Kurt said and knows his frogs.

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## Leanne

litoria citropa are listed on the license I have so I'm assuming if that is what they are then I'm ok

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## Tom Highum

Oh cool congrats. They look really cool are you going to keep any of them in an enclosure?

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## Leanne

if they turn out to be something nice I think I'll have to, but I'm unsure what to do with the rest of them now, as I dont know how well they'll survive in the area we got them

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## Kurt

Too bad you can't send them to us.  :Frown:

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## Leanne

I will have to contact an authority over here to see what to do with them. I'm sure this is possibly going to get very boring for all of you by the time all of the tadpoles become froglets but I'd like to introduce froglet no.2 ( hopefully they'll start metamorphosing more than 1 at a time  :Big Grin: )

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## Leanne

This is the container I've set up for the froglets to go into from the tadpole tank, and also some photos of the variance between the tadpoles, the photo of the single tadpole is a bit blurry but the red in the body is why I was thinking *Litoria Ewingi*. There seems to be a variance in the tadpoles could there be 2 different species or are they just at different stages? I know I have a lot of questions so I do really appreciate all of your hepl

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## Tom Highum

Is there a top on that? I think they are tree frogs, they will have suction cups. I would also (if you plan on keeping them) add more arboreal decorations.

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## Ebony

I see what you mean Leanne. The Triangle type shape from the snout to the eyes is similar as well. The only thing is the colouring of your tadpole's don't look the same for Litoria ewingii. I have some photo's of my Litoria ewingii tadpoles from last spring in my album if you want to cheek them out. They do have quite distinctive markings. May be you could try to get a clearer photo for us.

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## Leanne

yes it does have a top but I removed it to give a clearer picture, I'm thinking the spotted marsh frog that we have will get a new home and then these guys can have it's tank as the marsh frogs tank is quite high because it was originally going to house a green tree frog, and yes my daughter is still wanting the green tree frog that was all we were going to have but in a space of 3 weeks we seem to have a whole lot more ( just as well I've always wanted to get a pet frog )

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## Ebony

Heres a photo of my Litoria ewingii Tadpoles

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## Kurt

> yes it does have a top but I removed it to give a clearer picture, I'm thinking the spotted marsh frog that we have will get a new home and then these guys can have it's tank as the marsh frogs tank is quite high because it was originally going to house a green tree frog, and yes my daughter is still wanting the green tree frog that was all we were going to have but in a space of 3 weeks we seem to have a whole lot more ( just as well I've always wanted to get a pet frog )


No matter what these tadpoles turn out be, you will have the more interesting and unsual frog, as everybody has at least one _Litoria caerulea_. I have two, but I do not have any _Litoria citropa_ or _ewingii_.

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## Leanne

This is probably the best I can do

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## Leanne

I know it's not allowed but if it was I'd love to be able to send them over to you

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## Ebony

The markings are similar but again the colouring is different. My Litoria ewingii tadpoles never had green in their colouring. As Kurt says, either way both frogs are awesome. Keep us updated as I'm interested to know which it will be. Thanks for the photo's.

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## John

> I know it's not allowed but if it was I'd love to be able to send them over to you


Kurt would chop off his arm for some but he might need that arm when he's in jail :P.

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## Kurt

Why would I be in jail?

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## Kurt

> This is probably the best I can do


I am still sticking to my _Litoria citropa_ ID.

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## Ebony

Cos your not aloud those frogs like I'm not aloud Whites and if you try to get them you would end up in jail but if you chopped off your arm to get them I would think you would end up in a mental asylum :Big Grin:

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## Kurt

Yeah but at least it would feel like home.

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## Ebony

OK :Confused:

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## Kurt

It was a joke, that apparently missed the mark.

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## Ebony

I'm sorry :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  and explaining it would ruin it :Big Grin:

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## Kurt

Maybe if I had said it this way it would've made more sense.




> if you chopped off your arm to get them I would think you would end up in a mental asylum


Yeah but at least it would feel like home. 

Get it now?

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## Ebony

So your home is like a Mental asylum??  :Big Grin:

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## Tom Highum

No hes crazy. But then you wouldn't have any pet frogs. Also I don't think it is illegal to have them just to export them.

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## Kurt

> So your home is like a Mental asylum??


Most of the time.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  :Frog Smile:

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## Leanne

Hi I apologize as I have yet another question, am I correct to not be feeding the froglets once all their limbs appear and for how long, until all of their tail as absorbed?

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## John

When the tail is completely gone you can feed them.

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## Kurt

Most frog species won't eat until the tail is absorbed.

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## Leanne

Hi, I thought I'd post some picture of froglet no.1 and froglet no.12 the lighter of the two is no.1 ( 4 days on from front limbs first appearing)

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## Tom Highum

They are awesome I like the light one

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## Ebony

Hi Leanne, They are looking great.  What size are they at the moment?

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## Kurt

Based on these latest pictures I am changing my ID to _Litoria ewingii_, the brown treefrog. The green in the last pictures was throwing me off, making me think it was _L. citropa_, which is in your range, but barely. Your whole area is engulfed by _L._ _ewingii_'s range, so it is the most likely canidate.

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## Tom Highum

Ebony don't you breed them?

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## Ebony

Yes, and if you look at my picture of the Froglets they do look very similar. It was the green that made me think otherwise as well Kurt. I still see green on one of these pictures. Again what size are they??

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## Leanne

their bodies vary but the 2 in the recent pictures are about a cm that doesn't include their tail, it maybe a bit hard to see in the photo but the lighter one has got I guess u'd call it a red tinge to it's hind legs ( I'm amazed at the color transformation in such a short time

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## Tom Highum

How big are the adults?

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## Ebony

Tom..Litoria ewingii Adults are 5cm at most. Those froglets are about the right size for young whistling tree frogs.

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## Tom Highum

I wish I could get them. :Frown:  Australia needs to let some things that are not threatened into the pet trade.

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## Leanne

Hi, I found this little fella hiding in the rock this morning I'm not sure if he's the same 1 I posted pictures of yesterday or not as I don't know how fast their tails absorb back it to their bodies it still seems to have green patches on it's back maybe they just vary a bit in color to the new zealand variety

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## Kurt

Stupid *green* patches! They are now making me rethink my ID again. They could be _L. citropa_, but I think that they are more likely to be _L. ewingii_. We may have to wate just a little bit longer to make a definite ID.

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## Leanne

Hi, I've moved the froglets into their new home, here are some photos of them, some have just about absorbed all of their tails but I'm noticing about 3 different colors in them is it possible that we have different species? there is a dark froglet with almost all of it's tail gone but I couldn't get a photo of it, it is similar to the dark 1 in the photos. What should I feed them small crickets, cricket hatchlings or is there something else they should have?

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## Leanne

here is a slightly clearer photo of a froglet with the green on it's back

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## Kurt

I think it is _ewingii_. Though the green is throwing me a bit. The brown patch on the dorsum is very distinctive of _L. ewingii_ and not _L. citropa_.

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## Ebony

Leanne, You have beautiful Froglets. I don't think they are Litoria ewingii as they are Green in areas and that they appear to have a distinct line down the back which Ive never seen in the Whistling tree frog. Unless your litoria ewingii frogs differ to NZ Litoria ewingii. :Confused:

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## Leanne

looks like we are all confused  :Confused:  Ebony what should I be feeding them while they are so small are they big enough to eat the small size crickets?

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## Ebony

Leanne, I fed mine Fruit fly, tiny meal worms, Aphids, Ants(NZ ants are harmless) & tiny newly hatched Locusts. You can also feed them tiny Slater's. I also would catch really tiny flies and take one wing off so the Froglets had more of a chance to get them. I would love you to keep us updated on their progress as I'm fascinated as to what the wee cuties are.

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## Leanne

thanks Ebony I'll see what I can get a hold of for them, I will certainly keep you updated as they progress and yes they are the cutest little creatures I've ever laid my eyes on, I'm in love with them( it's going to be hard to part with them), my partner has named me frog lady  :Big Grin:

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## Ebony

Hey Frog lady :Stick Out Tongue: ..I mean Leanne. I had to laugh that your partner calls you frog lady cos my Partner and friends call me Frog Lady as well. I love it as I think its a huge compliment. :Big Grin:

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## Tom Highum

They are great.

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## Leanne

Thanks Tom I think so too

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## AussieFrogKeeper

I know this is a very old thread, but i want to let you all know that, yes they are Litoria Ewingii, in Victoria they are know to have green patches on them, and sometimes they are fully green in colour! Surprisingly yes people do mistake them for Citropa but that is an incorrect identification.

Final Answer: Litoria Ewingii with green variation. Look at this site and look up Ewingii at Frogs. And more frogs. All at frogs.org.au. .

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## Kristen

> I know this is a very old thread


Only three years old ;P
And yep AussieFrogKeeper is right, my Litoria ewingii have green on them too.
Frogs of Australia > Litoria ewingi / Southern Brown Tree Frog
Here's a direct link to the Litoria ewingii page that Aussie Frog Keeper was talking about. Down the bottom of it you can see what he/she was talking about, with the completely green morphs.  :Smile:

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