It all started around “R”s birthday. He had received some birthday money and bought a Star Wars Science tadpole/frog habitat. We thought it would be neat to watch the tadpoles transition to frogs. We bought the habitat and eagerly sent away for two tadpoles. They said it would take about six weeks, and that is how long it took!
Every day, the boys would accompany me to the mailbox to see if the tadpoles came. It was brutal for them when my birthday came late April, and I was receiving presents in the mail.
Finally, FINALLY, the tadpoles came! We had studied all about how to care for them and what to expect. The boys had names picked out for a long time: ‘Luke Skywalker – XWing Pilot’, and ‘Luke Skywalker – Jedi Knight’. They were soooooo excited!!
Two days later, ‘R’ comes running into our bedroom, crying, and said that the tadpoles were dead. I went into the room, expecting them to be belly up, but was saddened to discover that the cat had dumped the habitat onto the floor and the two tadpoles were laying lifeless on the carpet. Both boys were very upset and crying, and I was hugging them and telling them how sad and sorry I felt. I placed the tadpoles on a paper towel and before throwing them out, I decided to place them in water, just in case.
Low and behold, they were both still ALIVE!! We continued on with our day, but upon returning home, we discovered they had both died. Still, this reprieve had lessened the trauma.
We have decided to hold off on any other little critters…