These Tiny Frogs Shouldn’t Exist (200 Days of Life)

The last time I raised a tadpole into a frog was over 17 years ago! I've been wanting to do it again for years and finally gave it another try when an opportunity arose. I did not expect this journey to be as emotional as it was, but I stand by what I said in the video. Trial and hardship tend to make good things better - introducing Mango and Kiwi (and Mark)!
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[@SerpaDesign]

Introducing Mango and Kiwi (and Mark)! It took was longer than expected and I’m so happy to finally share it, even though thinks did not happen as expected. Loving these little frogs and can't wait to see them grow. More from them in the future. Have a great weekend SerpaSquad!

[@alternateaquatics]

Such an amazing video! Frogs are incredible creatures! Your channel and my love for animals has inspired me to build my own and grow my own channel. It’s been over a year now and I’ve got 3 fully balanced little ecosystems! Hats off to you sir. You are the GOAT

[@TotallyNo_One]

hello serpadesign

[@ialrakis5173]

Super emotional but also very beautiful video. Since I have my 2 nanotanks and a cat I've even stopped using fragrant candles and incense.

[@ejsickler]

So sorry you lost those little guys in the beginning but it’s such a good video. What an emotional ride. Thanks for sharing, Tanner.

[@hamstreak5591]

Guess what my favorite is?

[@yeoldegunporn]

Hey, Tanner. A tip from someone who bred frogs of several species for like 15 years, the tadpoles like the poop. Because they eat meat as adults but other things as juveniles, they actually will eat the poop over and over because it is not fully digested the first time around. You will see better numbers in success and they will grow faster that way. 👍

[@thanos8914]

Ah just like my ex wife

[@zsigmondfeher4624]

@@thanos8914 wtf

[@Finkeldinken]

That is so helpful!

[@southerndime333]

@@thanos8914 bwahaha

[@alspaughstaci]

❤

[@spkyby]

dude this made me tear up a bit. it must have been awful to realize what happened with the rest, but these two little guys are so precious!! such is life, after all 🐸

[@florians9949]

Yeah, when dealing with fish and amohibians you have to be extremelly carefull when doing anything involving chemicals. One of my uncles use to have tropical fishes in an acuarium and repaint a different room. The next day all of his fishes were dead, the vapours of the paint got them.

[@judymckerrow6720]

I ordered some water planted for my pond NEVER thinking that they would arrive with tree frog eggs attached. One day I saw some little swimmers swimming around my small pond and I was so excited ! I watched them grow and develop into little frogs, I was the proud parent of baby tree frogs ! Of course eventually they had to leave the nest but when I would hear them singing throughout the summer it brought me sooooo much joy ! I really wish that I could experience that again ! 💐💚🙃

[@mmoolloo]

My man, I just wanted to say that I'm truly sorry for your loss. I hand-reared a parrot (amazonia albifrons), and I loved that boy to bits. I saw him grow from a featherless weirdo into a majestic bird that could say many words, sing, and dance. He would bite everyone except me. He waited for me every day, perched on a ladder that overlooked the street, and he greeted me when I got back from school. One day, my dad decided to spray paint something in the patio where he lived (he was a free-roaming bird), and when I got home, he was gone. I had him for about five years, and two decades later, I still miss him.

[@No.Good.Nickname]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[@sharim]

I am very sorry you lost your friend. So many creatures like birds and frogs are just so incredibly sensitive to minute amounts of toxins in the environment.

[@mellie4174]

@@sharim my goodness that is scary! what irresponsable thing to do to spray paint with an animal in the room! i have insects and i am SUPER particular about what i clean with now. I won't even use baby powder in the same room as them!

[@Newtist]

As a newt breeder, I know well the devastation of losing a bunch of larvae to mysterious circumstances. It just happens sometimes. Good job getting your two to froghood.

[@Sparrowsfeatheredfables]

People keep newts? That's cool I never knew that

[@anacsadder]

I'd never thought about what newt larvae look like, but having been inspired to google it, they are so cute.

[@tylociraptor8131]

@@Sparrowsfeatheredfables A lot of aquarium stores even sell them! You can p much keep most amphibians. they're not terribly hard to care for with the proper setup and attention, and they're super cool to watch

[@Sparrowsfeatheredfables]

@@tylociraptor8131 WOW! I never knew that! I’d love two try keep them in the future now- thanks for telling m3!

[@nina150]

I've dealt with at least 4 baby frogs now and upon loosing two, to unknown circumstances I can say without a doubt that loosing them never gets easy, people say that's why they make so many it's because the success rate of them reaching adulthood just isn't great even in the most ideal circumstances. It's so heartbreaking though because you do all you can.

[@tylociraptor8131]

You can literally hear this man's voice breaking over the death of a frog and a few tadpoles. ;_; Rip little guys.

[@ashutoshprabhakar885]

That shiver in your voice. 😢

[@UnicornsExist17]

I lost my three firebellied toads a few years back to chemical exposure. It’s devastating. I’m sorry for your loss, but am happy for Kiwi and Mango! I also appreciated your reverence for the lost lives and sustainability by laying the deceased to rest in houseplants. ❤

[@morneschaap2944]

What a sad and happy story. The two little survivors are super cute. Looking forward to seeing them again.

[@gem9535]

When I heard your voice crack, I went “Oh honey” on instinct. I’m so sorry for your losses, but I’m happy for the two little miracles that were gained. You’re an inspiration, with both the quality of care and how much you care.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I have a frog that moved into my greenhouse, yesterday i realized he has two friends! Im up to three now. The one just watches me as i water plants. Sometimes i dont see it for nearly a week, but hes been in there since last year. He takes care of some of my flying friends lol

[@Heterogeneity]

Yayy! Your greenhouse has an ecosystem developing!

[@ditch6389]

Many years ago I was vacationing in FL. during the winter months. Cleaning the camping gear after our return I found a little green tree frog. He rolled out of our camping mat like a rolling quarter. It was below freezing where we live. I first thought he or she was a goner. Then I remembered. I held it in my hands and slowly breathed on it. Its little legs began to extend ever so slowly. Long story short I made him a little home to winter over until my return to FL. in the spring.

[@annepettit3855]

When we moved to SE PA we had tree frogs and toads everywhere. I had to fish toads and green frogs out of our pool on the regular. Five years later, I saw one toad all last summer. No tree frogs at all and just a small population of green frogs in our pond. No spring orgies anymore. Way fewer bugs too. They are all so very sensitive and I’m sorry that what seemed like just a smell killed so many of yours. To a long life for Kiwi and Mango!

[@gianoverchill5266]

The pain in his Voice when the little ones died

[@TheSeptemberRose]

The sign of a truly sensitive soul.

[@shauncomper1304]

Looking forward to following Mango and Kiwi’s progress along with how they get on when they move in with Mark. Definitely wait a while to stop Mark mistaking them for a snack. We have a Cuban tree frog here in the UK who escaped persecution in Florida and jumped onto a plane with some airfreight, she’s named Gloria Estafrog, Cuban heritage hailing from Floria. Looking forward to seeing how you house yours.

[@mxgeeTV]

I have to commend you on that amazing name.

[@rk9atx]

Tanner, your talk about how the frog died is so moving.

[@menardgibb5644]

Finally frog content pls do more

[@Ellie0427]

I cannot help but think highly of someone who cares so much about all creatures great and small. Sorry for the way the journey went - we can kick ourselves with hindsight, "I should have done-" "I could have realized-" but at the end of the day, we're human and things happen outside the realm of our expectation sometimes..which doesn't make it any easier when it does. Kiwi and Mango are very cute (I did not realize the colour on the young ones was so much brighter than in the adults?) and I look forward to their future endeavours with you 🐸

[@cathrinesancrant9274]

You can hear the devestation in Tanners voice about losing his little friends. The love he has for his animals is amazing! ❤ Keep doing what youre doing. And im so happy you got 2 to adulthood!!

[@Amy-oh8qb]

Mango and Kiwi are awesome names for such cuties! 🥰 I adore frogs, my heart crashed when your tone changed 😔 Those poor babies, it just goes to show how *incredibly* sensitive they are! Such fragile creatures 🥺

[@ProfJCsCritters]

Tiny frogs with full tummies make me happy. Thank you for sharing.

[@alternateaquatics]

I love frogs so much! Almost as much as your videos! It’s actually my love of frogs and your channel that inspired me to build my own poison dart frog ecosystems and make videos about it! Of course I’ll never be as good as the GOAT / Bob Ross of terrarium building Serpa design!

[@lappleton7151]

Hey i actually watched your poison dart frog build video! I thought it was solid work!

[@alternateaquatics]

@@lappleton7151 hey thanks I appreciate that 🙏🏻😊😊

[@Heterogeneity]

🤯 Tanner Serpa is the Bob Ross of enclosure builders.

[@zero_nochi6881]

That was a rolllercoster of emotions, frogs are one of the most rewarding animals to work with. Cant wait to see mango and kiwi all grown up

[@EvaZimney]

Sorry for your loss Tanner. I’m so glad Mango and Kiwi thrived!

[@pencilpauli9442]

Warning: This video contains images of severe cuteness. Viewers may be overcome by high levels of adorable.

[@charlie_moorcroft]

lol

[@philcarlino6942]

Kiwi is a little slow...He is now my favorite frog ever. Thank you for documenting this, Tanner!

[@MariaFrancavilla]

My husband left the house briefly to grab Dutch Bros for us but had his account on the TV, so I saw your video and thought hey Serpa does those relaxing videos, that’ll be nice while I wait for him to return and we keep watching things together. I had to call him when this video took an abrupt turn to cry about random tadpoles and a frog dying, and I can hear in your voice and your much closer bond in those 100 days how it shook you too. Thank goodness for Mango and Kiwi’s resilience ❤️ Good luck to our little survivors and I can’t wait for future updates.

[@mossydreamz]

i feel you on not wanting to make unfortunate turns into content, HOWEVER, i think that when it's an inevitable part of the hobby, covering things like that could be really helpful for folks who are losing an animal for the first time, or perhaps newer to the hobby and feel like they did something wrong, so, hopefully it's smooth sailing from here, but just putting my two pence in that i think that kind of content is still helpful and useful

[@mxgeeTV]

I interpreted that less as he was choosing not to record, but more that he was so concerned about monitoring the survivors/feeling bad about what happened that he didn't immediately think to record.

[@Aqua_M963]

omg mango and kiwi are so cuteee R.I,P the 1st frog though :C

[@specteractual1]

I've seen accounts of people saying they had tadpoles that stayed that way for over a year before finally turning into frogs when other tadpoles from the same bunch grew normally

[@ShrimpMania]

I love this type of video when you share your experience and journey to success with some obstacles on the way. Good job!

[@themesteryphantom]

Damn, this is so interesting. At the moment I have a small aquarium in my kitchen where I keep about a dusin locally collected tadpoles (rana esculenta I believe), and some of them have grown really big, most of them have got their back legs by now - but a couple of them are still super tiny and look like the others did two and a half weeks ago. I have no idea why this happens - intuition tells me that the ones that grow big and develops quickly are the strongest and most vital individuals, but hey, it seems you've proved my theory wrong. So interesting that these slow little guys have been the ones most resistant to what is essentially pollution, I guess. Great video - well done for holding on for this footage for so long !

[@winwynwin]

Was not expecting to almost cry during a 10 minute video. Mango and Kiwi are so cute it's upsetting, and I am so invested now!

[@jaded_gerManic]

Thank you for sharing. 💚🐸💚 Frogs are my favorite too! I raised a few aquatic frogs many years ago and loved to listen to their tiny chirps responding to the raucous chorus in the frog pond nearby. 😌

[@montialarson]

I'm so sorry you lost some of them. I feel like you love these amazing creatures so much, like most people love their cats and dogs. Thank you for sharing this story, it must have been hard to experience plus having to edit and watch back. You are an amazing pet parent. I love watching your channel. Also, I love that you put the ones that have passed away into house plants. It gives them a second life to be nutrients for the plants. 😊

[@sokahthehusky8614]

I really enjoyed this video. It is just so wholesome to hear the story of mango and kiwi. They are absolutely adorable! I love everytime the camera focused on thier little faces haha ❤ Hearing the part of what happened to the others is just so sad!! I'm so thankful mango and kiwi made it 🙌 🙏 they are so precious 😭 Wonderful video! I can't wait to see mango and kiwis journey!

[@Heterogeneity]

I lost several Pacific Chorus froglets and a few nearly emergent tadpoles this spring, it was heartbreaking. I am so sorry you also went through it. My dad reminded me at the time that every adult frog is a miracle of sheer survival, this video confirms it.

[@falcolf]

Mango and Kiwi are so cute! Good luck baby froggies!❤❤❤

[@morganw.4711]

I’m so sorry about the loss of so many of your babies. You’re such a kind soul, you give your animals the best possible lives. And the two that made it are living in froggy paradise!

[@abee5723]

Awe Tanner, that's truly so sad. You care so much about these beautiful creatures. RIP little friends. Hooray for the two little buddies!

[@ms.opinion8470]

im sorry for your loss Tanner. Much love!

[@-beee-]

Those cute little survivor froggies! Thank you for sharing their story and your learnings for the rest of us.

[@artsyapple6509]

Theres just something so satisfying about videos documenting the frog growth cycle! I enjoy it a lot.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I love Saturdays for this reason right here. ❤

[@charlie_moorcroft]

Yes!!!

[@stampinturtles]

Just think what those chemicals do to us. So glad two made it. Praying they continue to grow and thrive. They obviously are the strongest of the bunch. And they are so cute. ❤ Thanks for the simple set up ideas too. I recently cleaned out my pantry and have tons of containers. Maybe I need to go frog hunting tonight. lol. Have a blessed day.

[@VVilde36]

Thank you for sharing you struggles and successes with us! I used to work in a animal care depot and tbh we could not participate in the tadpole program because they were so hard to get to a stable stage (esp after shipping) - So what seemed easy to 10 years ago you was just as hard then, you just got less lucky this time

[@cherylmartin9994]

They're adorable😍I'm so sorry for your loss of the other babies. Such delicate and sensitive creatures but they can also be tough as evidenced by Mango and Kiwi. Way to go guys!!

[@RavenQ5]

I love your enthusiasm and I felt your pain when the little ones died. Keep up the good work. I love this channel ❤

[@cerisekappes580]

That was a bit of a roller coaster! Beautiful that the two made it!!! Looking forward to updates in the future 😊

[@rebeccaampuero2347]

Mango and Kiwi are absolutely precious! I love the itty-bitty habitats. ❤❤

[@INGIE32]

They are so adorable! I love them. I could also tell you really loved them and were really hurt. I could hear it in your voice as you were telling about it.

[@MsLeenite]

I'm so glad Mango and Kiwi made it! They're very cute. I know you'll give them good environments and care as their needs change.

[@SMG9-Animates_569]

Kiwi and mango are amazingly tiny :3

[@luxurypetscz]

Mango and Kiwi are the two cutest things I've seen in my life and I've raised kittens. I love them. Please let us see them sooner than in a year

[@Xaviercarter1874]

That last shot of one of them is just the BEST!! They're sooo cute

[@k_perry]

I can hear the pain in your voice, Man. Best wishes to you!

[@rosedubiskas4862]

genuinely touched by your channel

[@marykalter13]

i'm sorry for your losses and unfortunately i know how it is. you do the best you can and we all see that ❤

[@asiakai9955]

Thank you for taking care of all the animals

[@SamTheRogue]

Sorry about your tadpoles, Tanner! Good luck with Mango and Kiwi!

[@cherrywinterberry]

I love frogs too! Great video Mango and Kiwi are the cutest little buddies

[@paisleykitty7]

Omigosh loves them! I have kept multiple species of frogs over the years. Such a satisfying thing when you successfully rear some from tadpoles.

[@miniscenesgb]

The most adorable little frogs. Well done Tanner, could so easily have lost them all.

[@Dragontardigrade]

I’m sorry Tanner. Praying for you and may Godbless you.

[@whoppingliar5100]

Thanks for sharing your loss off tadpools. I lost two baby (pseudemys peninsularis) turtles last year and I was gutted. I created an environment that I thaught was perfect for the and dispite my care and attention they just wouldn't eat. I learn't alot from that loss and thanks to your video I'm ready to try again!

[@seeing8spots]

Oh mango and kiwi are so cute! And i like their simple little enclosure

[@nathanshelton8735]

I love frogs too, can’t wait to do my first dart frog tank

[@LifeinJars]

They're so cute!

[@kiuakakirstine8257]

They are so cute 🐸🥭🥝 So sorry that you lost nine of your frogs ❤‍🩹 My daughter wasn't a "typical" girly girl, when she grew up. Both she and our son, loved catching frogs by ponds, lakes, and in the woods and they always handled them with care. They turned over rocks in our small garden (300 square meters) to watch centipedes, worms and insects. They buried a dead mouse (I think our cat killed the tiny mouse) and a few weeks later, the mouse was exhumed just to see how it looked - but the smell caught them off guard 😂 I always send them links to your videos and we have made a few terrarium, using your methods. Thanks! PS I recieved my SerpaDesign T-shirt and I love it. One thing that really pi'**ed me off, was a notice from the taxman. I hadn't declared the full price, so I owed them 1,70 danish kroner (approx. 0.23$) in import taxes, but with administrative fees the bill was 23$ or else they would return the parcel. Talk about being petty 😳

[@mikec3820]

i had a tank full of tadpoles whe i was younger. its so cool to see them change. wonder if 82/85f temp would have sped it up the growth. great video as always. ty

[@chrisweiss9787]

I recently had a very similar journey with pacific tree frog tadpoles that I rescued from a swiftly drying puddle after some heavy rains in March. Fortunately, all of them survived and are thriving little frogs now.

[@AlmightyThagomizer]

I spent the whole video wondering what kind of frogs these were, at one point I said "ok they must be some type of glass frog." When you showed Mark I was surprised, mature Cuban tree frogs are huge compared to Kiwi and Mango! Very excited to see them grow!

[@natha_ow]

Congrats! ❤ Love them 😍

[@rev7690]

Really enjoyed the video, So glad it worked out and they survived 🐸

[@AverageAustralian990]

Loving Mango n Kiwi the froggos! 💚

[@CutzMcOnions]

it amazes me how there's no mold in these enclosures. but i guess that's only an issue on my end cuz im in a tropical country. it's also always looks clean. also do frogs not need heat lamps?

[@KrivTheKraken]

He emphasizes air flow in every video so that probably does play a role in the lack of visible mold. I’m sure like every keeper he experiences mold but he knows how to quickly fix it. :)

[@CutzMcOnions]

@@KrivTheKraken youre probably right. they just looks so good in the vids it gets me envious.

[@HipyoTech]

Still patiently waiting for dart frogs

[@juliaizquierdo923]

I LOVE frogs and they're Soo cute! My condolences for the ones who didn't make it, I know it's hard. I can't wait to see how Mango and Kiwi grow😊

[@jeffstahley2176]

Glad to see the two adorable little ones made it! On a side note, what camera do you use to record your videos? The quality is superb!

[@samelmatos-gonzalez7865]

Such an awesome endearing video, thanks Tanner:-)

[@on.kars5]

we need glofish aquarium . I think that out of this world idea that you had for luminant crystal vivarium you had , would really go well with this idea .

[@meaganskinner8565]

I’ve had dart frogs (Bailey and Peyton) for about four years now, ever since I found your videos and learned how to make a vivarium for them! I love their little toes and pot bellies!

[@debbiethomas3687]

It's always sad to lose things you're raising, but these things happen and we can't foresee all eventualities. Congratulations on raising your two adorable froglets, and two out of eleven is a damned good average over their survival rate in the wild. I've never kept frogs, but love them and can't wait to see what plans you have for their new home and see them explore.

[@julierobertson148]

Despite the pain, what an enchanting experience! Who would have thought that successful development could be so extended? I assume from their size they're some species of tree frog, and they are so CUTE! Can't wait to see how they progress.

[@evilone543]

Frogs are too cool. I thought you were going to name the second one Mindy, but Mango and Kiwi makes sense. lol

[@Malboop]

oh my! when you took mango out of the aquarium he was so small! and kiwi too! they’re so cute c:

[@idealdirecthomeimprovement1639]

Amazing video! Thanks for sharing!

[@Vee-gm3rv]

Kiwi!! Love the name. I named my first English bulldog puppy Kiwi ❤ it brought back memories.

[@cyndifalk]

Saturday morning cartoons - erp - I mean Serpa Squad time! Look forward to it every week 🙂

[@AthensLhar]

I must be a huge bummer, but I really appreciate when you show mistakes and catastrophes. It must be tempting to cut them all out, but showing the whole process of the hobby, warts and all, helps me through my own discouraging experiences.

[@lordieshepherd]

We had about 150 eggs hatch after two days and 117 froglets with minimum tadpole deaths. Tadpoles turned to frogs within a month. Pretty good survival rate. And a heck of a lot of frogs. But our environment for our new green tree frogs is substantially larger than that and they eat like champs.

[@aurora_dawn123]

I'm excited to see what you do with these little cuties.

[@hchristineq4790]

As an elementary school teacher I started raising Pacific Tree Frogs in my classroom many years ago (with proper permissions) and each batch is different in how many develop and thrive. Sorry about the loss of your tadpoles the same happened to ours one year. They really are sensitive. I currently have one frog that could not be released due to it’s only having one eye. I didn’t want to add that genetic defect back into the wild. The students named her Pirate. Wish I could share her picture here.

[@boagron]

Great video as always! I might have missed it in the video but what species are they? Cheers

[@moonlace3216]

Almost teared up a bit hearing that most of the tadpoles didn't make it. I'm glad Mango and Kiwi did though, and I know they're loving their time with you now :)

[@trace_minerals]

Sorry you lost a friend. You seemed genuinely distraught. As an animal lover, I can only imagine how devastating that was. Glad you pressed on. Mango & Kiwi are adorable.

[@avery21026]

Another beautiful video. I love the names you chose.

[@punkvisser]

Nice video. Can't wait for the update over a year

[@britanica7539]

I am sure you already know this but just in case, when you do introduce the new frogs just make sure to keep an eye on them. I had tree frogs in the past become cannibals over night.