Darwin seems sick, he hasnt eaten in over a month now, and the last week he's just laying on his belly with his eyes closed. He doesnt take worms like he normally eats, and also no crickets or even a pinky. First I just thought he was molting, but he molted and theres no difference. He doesnt look constipated but he seems so lethargic, didnt even pee on me when I moved him a little to have a good look at him. Im worried that he's slowly dying and I dont know what to do!
Answer these questions and post the answers here. http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...enclosure.html
Does he move at all when you touch him? Does he ever open his eyes?
Put him in some luke warm water, but he's still got one eye almost closed..
1. Size of enclosure
- 5 gallon tank
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
- only him
3. Humidity
-around 80-85%
4. Temperature
-around 80F
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
-dechlorinated
6. Materials used for substrate
-eco earth
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
-soaking dish, no plants etc
8. Main food source
- worms, sometimes gut loaded crickets
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
- every other feeding (he used to eat ca twice a week)
10. Lighting
- daylight (indirect)
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
- nothing now in summer
12. When is the last time he/she ate
- over a month ago, ca 5 weeks
13. Have you found poop lately
- no
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
- see previous post
15. How old is the frog
- a little over a year
16. How long have you owned him/her
- about a year
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
- captive bred
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
- mainly earthworms, sometimes gut loaded crickets, had a pinky 3 times in the year Ive had him
19. How often the frog is handled
- not
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
-low
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)
- daily water changes
I can tell already that he is much to small for his age. Stunted for some reason. If he was getting plenty of calcium and the climate was kept appropriately then he should have been at least 3.5" to 3.75" if actually male and anywhere from 4.25" to 5" if female.
Something is wrong with the setup and from your answers I'm not sure what it may be. How cool does it get there at night and do you have the AC blasting?
No, I dont have AC and Im pretty well insulated, so it doesnt cool off much during the night, certainly not under 75F. I keep the windows closed during the day so it doesnt get too hot. It does get a lot more humid sometimes after a thunderstorm, but I didnt think that was a problem?
He's always been a super difficult and picky eater, but he actually seemed to develop a liking for earthworms recently. He never aestivated, although he has had periods of several weeks of no eating before, and constipation once right after I got him, but a water bath fixed that
I am not sure whats wrong, but I'm going to suggest a Pedialyte bath. Go out and buybsome UNFLAVORED Pedialyte. Prepare a bath with a solution at a 1 to 10 ratio. So for every 10 ounces of dechlorinated water add 1 ounce unflavored Pedialyte. The water must be luke warm and no deeper than up to the frog's chin. Add 2 drops of honey to the solution and dissolve it.
Once the bath is ready soak the frog for 20 minutes of until the bath begins to cool. After time is up or the water cools prepare a second bath of just dechlorinated water. Same temp and depth. Soak the frog for another 20 minutes or until the water cools.
After this second bath place luke warm dechlorinated water in the frog's water dish and return the frog home but place him in his water dish. Then let him be.
There is no guarantee that this will work, but it is worth a try.
Keep me posted.
Maybe a fecal test would be in order as well for OP.
Thanks, I'll get pedialyte and honey first thing in the morning. How long after the baths until I should try feeding?
How do you feed? If he's been off food for so long and always a poor eater, you may want to start doing 'aggravated feedings'. Basically, you touch the frog's mouth and feet with the food until it gets mad and bites. Yes, it is somewhat stressful, but nowhere near as much as force-feeding, and this guy looks like he needs nutrients right away.
Not sure how long after the pedialyte bath you need to wait, if at all. I'd wait at least several hours just because being taken out and put in a bath will probably stress him, and they're less likely to eat after something stressful.
I feed earthworms using tongs and I always had to rub them on his lips. Now he jest backs away when I try that, he never opens his mouth or bites at all
Good idea, how deep should the water be for this?
Hello Madelon! The soaking water should be frog's chin depth. What amount (no. and size) of worms and or crickets did it consume daily while it was eating?
How long is frog snout to vent (SVL) actually? Based on thread information and last pic it does appear stunted as Colleen/Jerrod stated. Only things can think of is either a genetic anomaly, or a chronic case of parasites keeping frog small. If frog is not pooping can't do a fecal test. Can you get some Fluker's ReptiBoost? Thank you !
Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog !
Aestivation is extremely stressful and in most cases results in death of very young frogs. In the wild they do aestivate well before reaching adulthood, but in captivity it can be difficult to replicate the necessary conditions and if the conditions are not right the either dies or suffers some kind of trauma. Almost like the frog is in a perminant state between aestivation and being awake. Very sluggish behavior and almost no appetite.
That is not the case here. I'm afraid that this may be a case of the frog being unable to thrive, but I've seen some runts or stunted frogs live decent lives. 1 year for a very stunted frog is actually good. I just cannot pinpoint what the problem may be so I offered a bath to provide energy, hydration, and nutrients to try and give the frog and energy boost so that it may start to eat again.
Madelon while you're out you may want to pick up some Fluker's Repta Boost(as Carlos has already suggested) from a pet store. This is a medicated supplement for sick and malnourished reptiles and amphibians. You may have to force feed your little guy.
We all can walk you through the process of force feeding. It can be stressful for you as well as the frog.
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