The froglet in the last post was set free later that evening. It had glued itself to the glass above the water line, up near the top, clearly wanting nothing more than to leave. Its nutrition-filled tail was shrinking by the hour. When I reached in, the froglet practically jumped right into my net, as if it knew I was offering a path to freedom. I put it into a plastic food box with a little water, foliage, and some algae, put the lid on, and carried the box outside to the Big Tank.
Dusk was falling and I hoped it would be a time of increased bug activity. I didn’t see any, but tiny froglets need miniscule bugs, and my eyes aren’t that small. But the froglets must have bugs! And there must be LOTS of them! because once they’ve tasted bugs, there’s no going back to salad. They’re not going to go back into the water for an algae snack if they can’t find any bugs. They go from vegetarian tadpoles to carnivore froglets almost overnight.
That’s why the right timing of their transfer to the outdoors is crucial. Once they lose interest in algae, they could starve to death without bugs to replace it. And as I pointed out, I live in a bug-free home. Fortunately they get nutrients from the gradual absorption of their tails (no, they do not fall off) while they’re honing their hunting skills. They have only a few days to learn, and their parents haven’t stuck around to teach them.
I floated the box on the surface of the water and watched for a bit. The froglet stayed in the box even though I took the lid off. After watching a while, I went inside to bed. In the morning the froglet was nowhere to be found – and I really looked, both in the water and out.
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