We, A, and her fat frog assistant, J, are having some rather signifigant tong feeding problems.
Now, to be entirely honest, the majority of our missives will be typed through J, but make no mistake, A is the brains behind the project. A is a she and J is a he.
Now, enough about us oily meatbags known as humans. The true star of the show, the sweety ookums responsible for this post, is the lovely Beelzebufo, A.K.A. Bubba, who needs your assistance and your knowledge!
For the longest time (meaning since September 2013 when we got him/her) we have been the care-takers of one (1) Bubba Frog, who has worried us by refusing to make poopsies and burrowing/estevating/hibernating/generally ignoring us.
We have discovered that much of this is normal behavior. After Bubba burrows and shelters in place for a few days, he/she/it surfaces, hungry for crickets and silently waiting, like a fat, underpaid security guard who always wanted to be a cop.
If I release some delicious crickets, Bubba will stuff it's little gob full, then burrow.
The problem is, crickets are not nutricious enough, even with gut-loading, to be the staple diet of gentle Bubba.
So, through great effort, we have obtained a local source of natural, non-dyed, free-range nightcrawlers, which Bubba couldnmt possibly ignore harder... I have listened diligently to the advice of breeders like Jessica Ivory, but Bubba simply acts comatose any time I produce the tongs...
He/she/it/they/them has never eaten ONE single thing from the tongs.
Force feeding is allways an option, and I'm aware of the helpful videos on YouTube, but I want force-feeding to be the last option I try. I want to raise a small batch of happy, healthy frogs. But we need your help!
Any advice will be thoughtfully considered, and if all else fails, we will go the force-feeding route.
Thanks guys, we really appreciate any advice you can give us!
A & J & Beelzebufo!
I had a similar problem with my albino Fergie. He attacked crickets with gusto, but ignored the tongs and anything the tongs might have been holding. It's taken several months of patience, irritation, more patience, and still more patience but I've finally gotten him tong trained.
I started out by removing Fergie from his enclosure to a feeding enclosure. After a few days letting him happily chase crickets around I began using the tongs to drop crickets in front of him. He didn't much care for the tongs and would back into a corner for a few minutes before going after the crickets.
Several weeks of repeating this each feeding and he began to snap up the crickets as soon as I dropped them from the tongs.
Another few weeks and he began taking crickets from the tongs. Once we hit that milestone I simply held up sections of worm about the same length as Fergie and he snapped them right out of the tongs. Occasionally he isn't as aggressive as that, but a quick rub of the worm on his lower lip and he bites.
Tong training is just like any other training. Baby steps until you get to a repeatable goal. Good luck!
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And just to be clear. After each feeding he went back into his regular enclosure
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Desertheat has the right idea. This is how I train mine minus the separate feeding tub.
Force feeding is very stressful and should only be used to save an emaciated animal. If frog refuses night crawlers dropped in front of mouth; you can also try feeding nutritious roaches. Good luck !
Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog !
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