Out in their habitat, I had a hundred of them (yes, I counted). But why was I not seeing any of them grow to their full size and change into froglets? Not only that, their numbers seemed to be diminishing. Was I imagining it? Nope, I wasn’t. If they were growing to full tad size and sprouting legs and arms, I might conclude that they were becoming froglets and sneaking out into the world when I wasn’t looking. But that was extremely unlikely, since I was looking constantly. My eyes are highly frog-trained. Out of a hundred, I would see the froglets if they were there.
What I can’t see is the floor of the outdoor tank where they live, which is covered with a layer of foliage and slime and other stuff that tadpoles love. Tadpoles sink when they die, they don’t float to the top like goldfish. So if they were lying there dead on the tank floor, there was no way I could see them. And if they were dead, what was killing them? And if they weren’t dead, where were they?
I was so confused — and still am.
I moved fifteen of them to a five-and-a-half gallon tank inside my house, so I could observe them closely.
I don’t like to keep wild animals indoors. But this is an emergency, and besides it’s temporary, and it’s for their own good. They’re in ICU. At least they’re getting real air (the cover is an open mesh), and some afternoon sun.
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