It’s back-to-school time again, a time when teachers may be planning their life science classes. What better way to illustrate an animal’s life cycle than by teaching kids about the remarkable transformation of a tadpole into a frog?  Unfortunately teachers may decide to use grow-a-frog kits to teach children about metamorphosis.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about advising teachers not to raise live amphibians in the classroom. As a child, my love of animals was fostered by the various animals I kept at home, including fish and turtles. I probably would have enjoyed having a live frog in the classroom.

But the authors of an article in the Herpetological Review, “Considerations and Recommendations for Raising Live Amphibians in Classrooms,” remind us that the world is no longer a simple place: innocent acts like catching tadpoles and releasing them later into local ponds are much more complicated than they used to be.

Releasing live  frogs “grown” in the classroom into the wild can potentially harm native amphibians (even if the animals are native to the area) by possibly spreading infectious diseases, such as the deadly chytrid fungus, a disease that has wiped out entire frog populations. It may also introduce species (such as bullfrogs) that might become invasive and disrupt local amphibians.

After we wrote a few posts discouraging people from buying the Frog-o-Sphere kits, quite a few readers who owned the kits were distressed and emailed us, asking  if they should “let the frogs go.” We wrote back immediately, telling them not to release the frogs into the wild. Instead we referred them to frog care sites and books. If you’ve already purchased a frog kit, it is your responsibility to take care of the frog. Releasing it into the wild helps neither the frog nor the environment.

The problems with the classroom grow-a-frog kits are similar. After the tadpole grows into a frog, the children may become bored with it and the teacher may decide to release it into a local pond. Or at the end of the school year, the teacher may give it to a family, who then releases it somewhere in the neighborhood.  As advised in the article above: “This should never be done, and in fact, it is illegal in several states. No amphibian purchased or received from any commercial or informal (e.g., a neighbor) source may be released into the wild. This recommendation applies whether the species is technically ‘native’ to the region of release, or not.”

If you decide to purchase a grow-a-frog kit (which we hope you don’t), you will be making a commitment to take care of the frog for its natural lifespan.

How can teachers and parents teach children about the life cycle of frogs without raising live frogs? We would suggest contacting a local nature center and setting up a field trip in the spring, where the children can see eggs and tadpoles in the wild.  This past spring while hiking I frequently saw frog egg clusters in ponds and swamps, and it’s fairly easy to see tadpoles as well. A local naturalist will know where to look.

To prepare the children for what they might see in the spring, here are some resources:

The Amphibian Project : Classroom curricula, field projects and hands-on activities, fundraising ideas for students, and links.

Amphibians. 35 min. (Eyewitness DVD) Describes amphibian life cycle and anatomy; behaviors and adaptations; and amphibian characteristics. Grades 5-12

Two frog life cycle plastic sets:

In previous posts we’ve blogged about why we were against this product. Others have protested against the kits as well, most notably PETA, which organized thousands of calls and e-mails to Brooksone, as well as appearances of a giant frog outside the Brookstone headquarters to protest the kits. After 18 months of protests, Brookstone has decided to discontinue the Frog-O-Sphere kit.

Photo courtesy of PETA

Brookstone joins Magic Beans, Target, and other retailers that have stopped selling these kits, but according to PETA, Coach House Gifts is still selling frogs in “EcoAquariums.”

Why did we think these kits were so bad? Unfortunately, the promise of a true ecosystem was their selling point, but this promise was overstated. The kit was meant to more or less take care of itself, the snail eating the algae, and so on. But the snails frequently died so a key part of the “ecosystem” fell apart. As with any pet, it takes more than a simple gimmick, and usually a lot of work, to keep the pet healthy and flourishing. In many cases these frog kits were bought as decorations for offices or as spontaneous gifts for a child. Once the novelty wore off, the frogs languished. Of course, this can happen with any pet, but because the frogs were not bought in pet stores, buyers did not receive instructions on the proper care of the frogs. In addition, many frogs died on the store shelves or while being shipped across the country.

We haven’t kept frogs as pets and generally don’t recommend it. In some cases, the frogs may be collected from wild populations (not the case with African Dwarf frogs). Pet frogs, especially from these types of kits, may be “let free,” which often happens at the end of a school year for a classroom frog grown from a kit,  or when a child gets bored with it. These ”free” frogs can wreak havoc on native frog populations by spreading disease.

If you purchased a Frog-O-Sphere, we highly recommend you learn about how to take care of your frog properly. We’ve included some links below. If you are experienced in the care of African dwarf frogs, please help us out by sharing tips in the comments.

Care of African Dwarf Frogs

Keeping African Clawed frogs and African Dwarf frogs

African Dwarf Frogs Housing and Feeding

Frog World: African Dwarf Frog

Book from Amazon: Your Happy Healthy Pet: Frogs and Toads