Customer Reviews

Uncle Milton Uncle Milton Planet Frog

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(65)

 

 

My [kid] is beside himself with joy. After six very, very long months, one of our two tadpoles has finally become a froglet. The planet frog habitat itself is a good educational gift, but the instructions that accompany it are poor most of the time and incorrect on several key points. The company that provides that tadpoles leaves a lot to be desired. We ordered the tadpoles in July and received them in mid-October (the order form stated approximately 2 weeks for delivery). The instructions indicated the metamorphasis should start 3-4 weeks after arrival. November, December and January passed before I realized that something was wrong. The tadpoles were healthy and had grown, but no limbs or frog features were happening. Desperation set in in February, when I was guilted into buying two newts to make up for the lackluster tadpoles. When I checked the other Amazon reviews, I saw with dread that 16 out of 17 people never got frogs. So we did some research on our own (the tadpole company' s website is useless). I guessed that some critical environmental trigger was missing to start the transformation to a froglet. So, we tried all of the following: adding a tiny bit of reptile vitamin powder once a week, allowing the water to get a little cloudy for 3-4 days before a water change, and adding frozen bloodworms once or twice a week. I don't know which actually helped, but it is now mid-May and we have the cutest little frog. The other tadpole has grown a lot and is showing signs of limbs. My two boys are tremendously excited about the change; they rush home to check the frogs' progress each day. This toy teaches about animals, the environment and care of living things. But most of all, it teaches patience. I don't recommend this to anyone with an actual life that can't be modified to revolve around the needs of small pond creatures. but for those of us who only dream of freedom, it's worth the wait.

The trick is to have your own source of tadpoles. I live in Florida and we always seem to have some in an abandoned old hot tub that's sitting out in the back yard. (Ditches and small ponds are great sources too.) The advantage of this is that you can release the froggy when you're done, back into his native envrionment. We ordered the tadpoles, but they both died the night we received them. We called the company and requested a replacement, but got the "it's too hot to mail them" response and haven't heard anything back YET.

However, our "backyard" tadpoles (we had three) did better. One died pretty quickly, one lived until he had legs and then mysteriously croaked, and the last one turned into a full-fledged hopper. He was released back into the yard from whence he came. Another thing we did was to not use spring water. We used the water out of the old hot tub. (It was a little green, but it was what they were used to and it worked wonderfully.)

The habitat is a little flimsy...but it's fairly easy to clean. The lid seems to get lost because little fingers are constantly removing to look at the tadpoles from the top of the habitat because the plastic "glass" isn't very transparent. The amount of food included is pretty good, but we supplemented with some algae frog & bottom feeder food from Wal-Mart. (Mashed into tiny little pieces.) All in all, we've had lots of fun with it and plan to start some more tadpoles soon.

I got my planet frog for a birthday gift in December in the mid west. I received my tadpoles on the 8th of January and they still have not changed into frogs. They are still alive and look exactly the same from when I got them. The tank is very easy to change the water in, they are easy to take care of, but they won't change into frogs. I would be really dissapointed if I was a child but we all laugh about it here at work, how I got 2 dudds. The book says that it takes about 6 weeks for them to change and I am going on 9 months really soon. I have thought about putting them in with my turtles but I think they would be an appitizer for them :) I wouldn't suggest this for a child....they would be really dissapointed....

I bought this for my daughter and I was very disappointed. The habitat is very flimsy think plastic and although we followed the directions exactly as they were printed the tadpole died. I have a friend that bought one and the same thing happened. I called the company and they said they would send us a new tadpole, that was 6 months ago. The last I heard they had problems with the tadpoles they were breeding and they were sending us one in September. It's now October, so buyer beware on this item. I have another friend who looked up how to make a habitat and she bought a tadpole for about $1 at a pet store, I would suggest that route over this one.

I have read many of the previous reviews and simply want to mention that as with any new addition to the family, one should take the time to do his/her research. For example, when one decides on buying a cat or dog, there is often some reading and research involved, right? What do they eat? How often do we feed them? Does this particular breed require constant exercise and attention? The same should hold true for when one decides to buy something such as an educational habitat.

We, as a family, read up on the frog lifecycle before deciding to purchase this habitat. We thought about creating our own habitat from scratch but in the long run, decided this one would be ideal for our younger children and our busy schedules. It was! It provided just about everything we needed.

Some have whined about having to order the tadpoles. Are you kidding? The package clearly states that there is an enclosed coupon for the tadpoles and all you have to pay for is shipping which I felt was fair. It makes sense to me - what if you get your habitat in the dead of winter? Do you really want to have tadpoles sent then? What if you don't find the time to start your habitat? Isn't it nice to have the option of when to order them? We thought so.

Additionally, if one does any research, one would find that tadpoles can stay tadpoles for months! They can almost go into a growth stunt or hibernation stage (though not truly hibernation) in which they will not fully develop until the weather turns warmer. This makes sense too! Why would they fully develop into frogs in the dead of winter? Ever see frogs hopping around when it is below 40 degrees outside? I haven't. They have an internal clock so whether they are inside or not, their bodies know when to kick in with the development.

We loved this item and would recommend it for a first timer and someone not intending to keep the frogs as pets. We released our's after they had grown. The habitat isn't intended to house frogs - it is intended to be a place to watch the development of tadpoles into frogs, therefore, it isn't all that sturdy but it serves its purpose. (...) what are these people expecting?

In closing, I would like to say once again, those who wish to bring animals into your home, have a responsiblity to do their research. Everyone will benefit from it in the end.

Like most everyone else, our Arizona tadpoles have taken some time to become frogs. We ordered them in late Nov 03 and they arrived in January. We were diligent about feeding them once daily, not overfeeding, and making sure they were cared for during travel. It's now late April and we're finally seeing some legs...now that they're near a warm window.

We have one larger (I suspect a female) and one smaller (a male, or undernourished?) and the larger budded legs first. You can't imagine the excitement my 9-year old expressed when he discovered their legs. I didn't buy this gift, but the cost in time and money was surely worth his joy at the discovery. We got out a flashlight and searched high and low to explore those legs (such tiny feet!). His smile was a mile wide. It took awhile, but most things worthwhile do.

I admit, however, that I remember gathering tadpoles in my neighborhood in Nebraska as a youth, and they were much cheaper and easier to maintain (and eventually release). We just put them in a big plastic swimming pool with rocks! With this product, the plastic is flimsy, and a small aquarium from your local pet store works as well, but the effect is nice.

For a short burst of joy, this is 5 stars. For long term maintenance (you'll probably run out of food before they're frogs), it's about 1-2 stars. It's kinda cool, but you're probably better off with the butterflies...I've never had a problem with them transforming and it's fun to let them go and speculate how many days they'll live and how many babies they'll have.

I ordered a tadpole/frog kit in December of 2002 for my son. We recieved the tadpole in the begining of March and set up his home. It was a great experience for the first few months. Today is the 11th of October 2003 and it is still a tadpole, exactly the same as when it arrived. My son is starting to believe it isn't a tadpole at all, but a kind of fish that looks like a tadpole. We are running out of food for it and fear for it's life if we cannot find someplace to buy more.

Sounded like a really cute, educational project. So I went for it. The flimsy plastic container was delivered with a coupon to send to Uncle Milton for the tadpoles/frogs. I mailed in my check. The check was received and cashed. I received a postcard advising that the weather was too hot to send the live animals. Two weeks later I received a card saying that it was too cold to send the live animals. I think this might be a scam and I'm sending both cards AND my cancelled check to the Better Business Bureau in California. The plastic container would have been more sturdy if they had built it out of 2 liter coke bottles. A really good idea done so badly. Very disappointed and want my money back.

I think this has been great fun for my 8 year old niece to learn about the life cycle of frogs. However the unit itself is kind of flimsey plastic and the cover could use more air holes for air once the tadpoles turn into frogs. But as long as you are careful with it and don't move it around too much, it can be good fun for a child (or Adult)to learn about nature. I got it on sale. The normal price is quite high for the product you get. I recommend if you are going to get this, do buy it on sale. It would also be good for teachers to get for Kindergarten through 3rd grade because it teaches children how to care for animals.

My son got this as a birthday gift in October, 2002. We sent in the card with our payment to get two tadpoles. We fed them regularly and kept waiting for them to change. Sometime around February, one of the tadpoles died. So, we figured the other one would eat better and eventually change into a frog. Well, it is now the first day of summer (2003) and I found the second tadpole floating belly up. My son cried when each of these tadpoles died and he never got to see either one turn into a frog. This "toy" is horrible. It's cruel for the tadpoles to be stuck in that phase for so many months (perhaps a bigger habitat is needed for the metamorphosis to happen?) and it's cruel for the humans who have to care for them, watch them suffer and die. Don't buy this awful "product".