Just a little update on how the tadpoles (Poles) are doing...
They are roughly 9 weeks old, Ive had them for 8 weeks and they were born roughly a week or two before that, so that's roughly how old they are!
They've doubled in size since I last documented them for the blog, but I'm still waiting for the legs to start growing, which hopefully isn't long now.....
They have fully formed mouths and you can see in some of the pictures their little eyes are more obvious. They are still eating fish food, but I've also been collecting little dead insects and slugs and leaving a few out for them to try too.
Just in case you were wandering, the little thing at the start of his tail unfortunately isn't a leg, that's his erm, bodily waste.. I always get excited thinking they're legs, but they disappear again and I realise I was mistaken.
At this age they still have gills, and their lungs for breathing outside the water are pretty poor, so they still have to remain in the water until the lungs are fully developed. I only took this chap out for a few seconds to photograph, then he was put straight back into the water.
Tadpoles like to eat algae and plants, but they also like to use the pond plants to cling onto and rest on. Eventually when their legs start to develop I will have to include slanting rocks and more plants so they can start to climb out of the water, which I'm really excited for!
I like the curly plant here, it reminds me a bit of lamb's lettuce.
I think their skin is so pretty. It's lightly transparent and at different angles you can see some of their insides developing. I especially like the almost golden speckles they have on their skin at the moment.
This picture is just to highlight the difference in size between the tadpoles. Although they were all laid at the same time, some tadpoles hatch and develop faster than others, I guess that's the same with humans and other animals too, but it's fascinating to watch it through a first hand account! They live in the same conditions, eat the same food etc, yet some are significantly larger and stronger.
This guy has a very beady eye.
They are still eating fish food flakes, and getting through a heck of a lot too! I will keep you updated with their progress :)
No comments:
Post a Comment