Why do they disappear

[Firebellyman]

Hi all I have a small problem my frog haven't come out on his own for a very long time (near half a year) I dug him up about 3 months ago but he went right back down I try not to disturb him when changing fiber but I'm wondering if it's something I'm doing or if it is just natural I have a light on a timer but I turned it off thinking it may be the problem he is in a 20 long with coconut fiber and a porcelain water dish thanks for any posts

[monster]

What are your temps and humidity in the enclosure. Some people will put theres through a estivation period and some people don't and sometimes they will just do it on there own like mine did even though everything is the same in the enclosure. But I'm thinking if this is the case he should of woke up by now. What kind of bulb are you using for the light? And yes your right that when they do this you try not to bug them. Have you tried putting him in nice warm bath? This helps wake them after estivation sometimes if this is the case. If you could fill these questions out the best you can it will help determine if there is something wrong.


1. Size of enclosure

2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences

3. Humidity

4. Temperature

5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish

6. Materials used for substrate

7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.

8. Main food source

9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)

10. Lighting

11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure

12. When is the last time he/she ate

13. Have you found poop lately

14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)

15. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.

16. How old is the frog

17. How long have you owned him/her

18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred

19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats

20. How often the frog is handled

21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area

22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

[Firebellyman]

What are your temps and humidity in the enclosure. Some people will put theres through a estivation period and some people don't and sometimes they will just do it on there own like mine did even though everything is the same in the enclosure. But I'm thinking if this is the case he should of woke up by now. What kind of bulb are you using for the light? And yes your right that when they do this you try not to bug them. Have you tried putting him in nice warm bath? This helps wake them after estivation sometimes if this is the case. If you could fill these questions out the best you can it will help determine if there is something wrong.


1. Size of enclosure

2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences

3. Humidity

4. Temperature

5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish

6. Materials used for substrate

7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.

8. Main food source

9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)

10. Lighting

11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure

12. When is the last time he/she ate

13. Have you found poop lately

14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)

15. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.

16. How old is the frog

17. How long have you owned him/her

18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred

19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats

20. How often the frog is handled

21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area

22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

1 20 gallon long
2. Just him
3. Hygrometers broken (buying new one )
4.about 70 exact
5 pure spring water treated by me and distilled treated by me
6 plain old Eco earth
7. Where to start multiple live plants a water dish replaced / cleaned weekly and always one roach in case he comes out
8.dubia roaches
9. Calcium every other feeding with the calcium I mix in a rep ashy vitamin mix
10.one long bulb it was on a timer but I turned it off to see if he liked it better
11.light but I'm in Texas so it's easy for me
12 not really sure I left some roaches in but I'm not sure if he ate or they escaped
13.no
15.no symptoms just buried and I don't see him during the day there seem to be multiple holes though so I'm wondering if he comes out at night for food and water
16 he can't be too old I got him really small maybe a year ago
17.a year no problems till now he's been gone for a while
18.captive bred petsmart
19.i got butter worms to try to coax my geckos to eat more calcium but he LOVED them so last few feelings I would give like two roaches and one worm
20.as little as possible and when I do I wear gloves
21.low traffic no one is allowed in except me in the evenings I spend some quiet time handling my geckos
22.i try to replace Eco earth every 3 months some times more often



thanks for your help I dug him up today he is ok and as soon as I stopped he ate right away so I hope he's ok he had a little slime on him but before recently the light was on from about 8 to 7 so maybe I stressed him out with that
all around he is a great frog I'm not so much worried I mean he ate right as I dug him up I'm mostly just curious they are amazing frogs and I hope he gets bigger and healthier as I go

[hasunnyson]

Your temp might be too low, I have read that they like it around 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit

[monster]

You really need to get your temps up to around 82f or even 80f if that's all you can get. And yes they will bury during the day and come out at night so that's why theres holes, he is moving and comeing up at night. Do you feed during the day? If so you have to wait and do it at night. Also I don't know if you do it by your answers but at night you have to have the temps drop a couple degrees and this is what triggers them to come out. If its always the same temp it could throw him off. Glad to hear he came up but I would fix your temps for sure, costant low temps can make him ill.

[Pyru]

I see a couple of things. Number one is temp you need to bring that up asap. Looking at your temp a bet your humidity is off as well. That long light is probably too bright as well.

Get your temp around 80f day/78f night, get your humidity up around 78, and make sure your substrate is moist.

I use a 50w red night bulb for heat and a 40w energy efficient bulb on a dimmer for daytime cycle along with a little extra heat. Humidity wise I grabbed a cool mist home humidifier and converted it to a fogger. In a tank similar to yours with a screen top that had aluminum foil covering all but just were my lights set it kept my conditions on point. You have to play with how much to fog and how much to dim the lights. After that your good.

Note: I highly highly recommend a zoomed hygrotherm to save yourself a huge burden.

[monster]

Yes, if you can get ahold of the hygrotherm Pyru is right it will save you a lot of headaches with temps and humidity. I would look on amazon you can find them on there for a lot cheaper then in store, I have them for all my pacmans tanks and I love them. One more thing is I would only use the distilled water for misting even if treated, when they sit in it for long periods of time it leaches vital minerals and nutrients out of the frog.

[Firebellyman]

Yes, if you can get ahold of the hygrotherm Pyru is right it will save you a lot of headaches with temps and humidity. I would look on amazon you can find them on there for a lot cheaper then in store, I have them for all my pacmans tanks and I love them. One more thing is I would only use the distilled water for misting even if treated, when they sit in it for long periods of time it leaches vital minerals and nutrients out of the frog.

I have an an old heating mat can I pu this higher up on the tank about 2 inches above the soil to bring up,the heat if not what would you suggest like I said I turned his light off and that was what I was relying on for heat so it's probably lower than usual is it ok if I leave the light on during the day

[hasunnyson]

I would place the heat mat on the sides of the tank. And as for lighting, you should be okay with leaving the light on during the day as long as you have a few hiding spots for the frog.

Do you have a pic of your enclosure??

[jasonm96]

Heat mats are contact heaters so the animal has to be on top of it to benefit from the heat they produce, meaning putting it on the wall does nothing, which in it's own way is more dangerous than putting a mat on the bottom. Use a heat lamp if concerned about placing the mat on the bottom and then just mist a little more

[Pyru]

Heat pads are useless unless on the bottom but that's bad for an animal that burrows to cool off.

BEFORE I used hygrotherms I used dimmers in combination with a 40w energy saving bulb and a 50w red night bulb connected to home depot style lamps (cheaper). I had to tweak them until I figured out what kept my daytime temp and the adjusted manually to night temps. Hygrotherm connected to a fogger and lights is about the only way to heat a display aquarium type setup without being a total pia. Its a little pricey but is just about mandatory for maintaining this setup unless your at home 24/7 monitoring everything.

If your strapped the best way to keep a frog like this is a plastic tub with vent holes, false bottom with a little water, and a infrared night light raised above the top.