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Hello folks!
I have some questions about people's experience with red-eared sliders and American bullfrogs.
I'm hoping that many of the users of this forum will be able to give their input since both of these species are quite common in backyard ponds worldwide.
We currently own a female red-eared slider named Teresa or "Terry" who's a little over 12 years old. We've had her for that long, and we suspect she could live many more years.
She's a cherished pet that we had opportunities to give up on multiple times, we but never did. (This species is very commonly dumped in waterways.)
However, she's currently living in an undersized indoor tub, and we had thought about moving her to a much larger outdoor enclosure.
The drive to the nearest Petco is longer than an hour, but we still manage to go almost monthly to pick up pet supplies, including feeder minnows.
We noticed many mosquitofish swimming in a tank of feeder goldfish. After talking with one of the workers, she said that they sometimes get unexpected animals in with the shipments of feeder, including bullfrog tadpoles. After looking this up, I have discovered that bullfrog tadpoles are often brought to Petco and PetSmart stores accidentally (although I was already aware of the fact).
I would love to adopt and raise a tadpole, but like red-eared sliders, bullfrogs get much harder to care for when they grow older and larger and as a result are often similarly dumped in waterways. Although they are native here, I would not want to release a bullfrog to prevent the spread of the chytrid fungus.
However, it had occurred to me that the pond that we had thought about moving "Terry" into would be an ideal location to relocate the frog when it matures.
It would have to be an enclosed pond with a net covering it to keep raccoons out. This would also prevent the frog from escaping.
However, there is another predator that I had considered that might be inside the enclosure. Teresa.
Bullfrogs grow very large when mature, and Teresa is only 8 inches in shell length, but I have learned not to underestimate the red-eared slider.
However, I imagine that it would be easier to prevent a red-eared slider from turning on the other residents in a large pond, compared to a small aquarium.
Most notably, I'd imagine that as long as the frog has a place to retreat to during the day, it could come out at night without having to worry about Teresa when she sleeps. I picture in my mind some kind of land area with another, smaller pool or puddle within it for the frog to rest in.
Even if it does work, I think I would avoid naming the frog just in case Teresa decides that it's too delicious to share the pond with.
If not, then I would have to avoid making a foolish decision in taking in a tadpole that I could not care for as an adult.
Does anyone have any suggestions concerning this idea? Any input, especially from experience, would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
I have some questions about people's experience with red-eared sliders and American bullfrogs.
I'm hoping that many of the users of this forum will be able to give their input since both of these species are quite common in backyard ponds worldwide.
We currently own a female red-eared slider named Teresa or "Terry" who's a little over 12 years old. We've had her for that long, and we suspect she could live many more years.
She's a cherished pet that we had opportunities to give up on multiple times, we but never did. (This species is very commonly dumped in waterways.)
However, she's currently living in an undersized indoor tub, and we had thought about moving her to a much larger outdoor enclosure.
The drive to the nearest Petco is longer than an hour, but we still manage to go almost monthly to pick up pet supplies, including feeder minnows.
We noticed many mosquitofish swimming in a tank of feeder goldfish. After talking with one of the workers, she said that they sometimes get unexpected animals in with the shipments of feeder, including bullfrog tadpoles. After looking this up, I have discovered that bullfrog tadpoles are often brought to Petco and PetSmart stores accidentally (although I was already aware of the fact).
I would love to adopt and raise a tadpole, but like red-eared sliders, bullfrogs get much harder to care for when they grow older and larger and as a result are often similarly dumped in waterways. Although they are native here, I would not want to release a bullfrog to prevent the spread of the chytrid fungus.
However, it had occurred to me that the pond that we had thought about moving "Terry" into would be an ideal location to relocate the frog when it matures.
It would have to be an enclosed pond with a net covering it to keep raccoons out. This would also prevent the frog from escaping.
However, there is another predator that I had considered that might be inside the enclosure. Teresa.
Bullfrogs grow very large when mature, and Teresa is only 8 inches in shell length, but I have learned not to underestimate the red-eared slider.
However, I imagine that it would be easier to prevent a red-eared slider from turning on the other residents in a large pond, compared to a small aquarium.
Most notably, I'd imagine that as long as the frog has a place to retreat to during the day, it could come out at night without having to worry about Teresa when she sleeps. I picture in my mind some kind of land area with another, smaller pool or puddle within it for the frog to rest in.
Even if it does work, I think I would avoid naming the frog just in case Teresa decides that it's too delicious to share the pond with.
If not, then I would have to avoid making a foolish decision in taking in a tadpole that I could not care for as an adult.
Does anyone have any suggestions concerning this idea? Any input, especially from experience, would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!