horned frog advice please!

[boa10jeh]

Hello, I've just joined the forum because I have a problem with my horned frog and was hoping someone could offer me some advice! I bought a baby (about 2 inches across) ahbout 3-4 weeks ago and I'm struggling to get him to feed. He's currently in a flat faunarium with about 2 inches of eco earth, cork bark as a hide, moss and a water bowl. The temperature is in the mid-high 70s provided by a heat mat underneath, and I spray in there every day. When I first got him, I was leaving 3 or 4 crickets in there each day thinking he would eat normally, but I always found all of them again the next day. When he started looking a bit thin, I started trying to feed him crickets and mealworms with tongs. Its not just that he ignores it, but he hops away, and is generally really active for a horned frog! I have got him to eat, but only by picking him up, opening his mouth with my finger, and popping a cricket in. He's eaten like this for the last few days, but I don't want to have to stress him out like this everytime he needs feeding! Today when I tried to feed him like this, he just held his mouth open until the cricket ran away again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks very much!

[GrifTheGreat]

Hello, I've just joined the forum because I have a problem with my horned frog and was hoping someone could offer me some advice! I bought a baby (about 2 inches across) ahbout 3-4 weeks ago and I'm struggling to get him to feed. He's currently in a flat faunarium with about 2 inches of eco earth, cork bark as a hide, moss and a water bowl. The temperature is in the mid-high 70s provided by a heat mat underneath, and I spray in there every day. When I first got him, I was leaving 3 or 4 crickets in there each day thinking he would eat normally, but I always found all of them again the next day. When he started looking a bit thin, I started trying to feed him crickets and mealworms with tongs. Its not just that he ignores it, but he hops away, and is generally really active for a horned frog! I have got him to eat, but only by picking him up, opening his mouth with my finger, and popping a cricket in. He's eaten like this for the last few days, but I don't want to have to stress him out like this everytime he needs feeding! Today when I tried to feed him like this, he just held his mouth open until the cricket ran away again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks very much!

Your babys temps are too low. He needs 80 to 82 during the day and 75 to 79 at night. If this type of enclosure you have is glass cover 3 sides of it with some sort of background so that your frog feels more secure. Your UTH(UnderTank Heater) should be on the side of the tank opposite the water dish not on the bottom. These are burrowing frogs and can be burned on the glass if they burrow over the UTH.

What are your frogs humidity levels? He need a consistant 70 to 80% humidity. Get rid of the moss. If your frog accidentally eats the moss he will become impacted(sever constipation) and possibly die.

Do you de-chlorinate your frogs water or use spring water?

Do you expand or saturate your frogs substrate with de-chlorinated water or spring water?

What size crickets are you feeding him?

Answer these questions and keep me posted.

Welcome to Frog Forum.

[boa10jeh]

Thanks for the advice. I ordered a bigger heat mat last week, so it should be arriving any day now, which will hopefully bring the temperature up, and I keep the tank in the corner of a shelf so he can only see out one side. The humidity levels are between 70 and 80% all the time, and I de-chlorinate both his water and the water I use to spray using the exo terra conditioner. I'm giving him 4th size crickets, which are about the size of the space between his eyes. I will get rid of the moss, but I have found lots of poop in there so he's definitely passing what he is eating. I would just like him to be eating normally. I'm quite confused about it to be honest, my boyfriend bought one from the same place at the same time as I did, and keeps it exactly the same way, and his won't stop eating!

[GrifTheGreat]

Thanks for the advice. I ordered a bigger heat mat last week, so it should be arriving any day now, which will hopefully bring the temperature up, and I keep the tank in the corner of a shelf so he can only see out one side. The humidity levels are between 70 and 80% all the time, and I de-chlorinate both his water and the water I use to spray using the exo terra conditioner. I'm giving him 4th size crickets, which are about the size of the space between his eyes. I will get rid of the moss, but I have found lots of poop in there so he's definitely passing what he is eating. I would just like him to be eating normally. I'm quite confused about it to be honest, my boyfriend bought one from the same place at the same time as I did, and keeps it exactly the same way, and his won't stop eating!

Every frog is different. The way you are force feeding is more stressful than the standard method.

The standard way usually involves 2 people. One to place their hands behind the frog to keep it from backing away or jumping and the other to force feed using a small credit card or shopper card to openthe frogs mouth and have the food item ready in the other hand close to the frogs mouth so once he opens up you can quickly and carefully place the food in the frogs mouth.

Using just your hands and fingers to do so is unsanitary for both you and the frog. Also way more stressful on the frog. Using a card to pry his mouth open with gentle pressure is not quite as bad. I would assume that he is scared to death while you use your fingers to pry open his mouth.

Babies are extremely sensitive to their environment so he will need correct climate to to help him adjust to his home. Many things can attribute to loss of appetite iclueding stress/improper environment involving humidity,temps,substrate moisture level,no 12 hour day/night cycle/disease/ and parasites. I believe yours is stressed due to conditions not being correct and force feeding, but at this point you need to force feed. Be sure you dust your frogs food woth a calcium supplement every other feeding and once a week with a multivitamin, but don't dust with both at the same time in the same feeding.

Keep us posted.

[boa10jeh]

Thank you, I'll give that a go, and let you know in a few days

[GrifTheGreat]

Thank you, I'll give that a go, and let you know in a few days

You're welcome

[Heatheranne]

Hi! I agree. Getting your temps up will boost his metabolism and make him hungry .

They definitely have different personalities. Be patient and he should come around.

I'd maybe give him a chance to try and eat on his own again once he's of good size.

Keep us posted and good luck .

[boa10jeh]

Hi guys,
Thanks very much for all the advice. I took it all on board and he now has a bigger heat mat, so the temperature is up to standard. I also took out all the moss, so it looks a bit simpler now, and blocked off the side that was exposed to the room. Hes now eating really well completely normally, so I have no need to feed him by hand at all, he ambushes any livefood i put in there so theres nothing left the next day! Thanks again!

[Heatheranne]

That's awesome! It sure makes it enjoyable to watch them thrive, doesn't it? Congrats!!!

[GrifTheGreat]

Glad we all could help. Keep us updated on your little guy's progress. Especially with pics

[boa10jeh]

yeah definitely! ive been keeping animals for a number of years now, but I always had reptiles, never amphibians, so when I went to uni, and realised how they can be be kept with much lower energy bills I got much more into keeping frogs, but I'm only really just starting out. The horned frog that i posted about was my first, and now I've done a big rainforest set up with some red eyed tree frogs in....they're so cool!

[Heatheranne]

I have retf's too