issue with pacman frog

[MandM]

have had a pacman frog for about one year now, have not had issues with her up until i recently added coconut substrate to her tank (there had already been an inch or so of another substrate in the tank and i just added the coconut substrate on top of that.) altogether the soil level probably amounts to four or five inches. she loves to burrow in completely, but the issue i have been having lately is that she will stay under until i fish her out. she does eat, but i've noticed her body mass and weight go down after these naps of hers. is this natural? it is just coming out of winter here right now and still cold, so i wonder if this has anything to do with hibernation. i'm guilty of rarely misting, so if that has anything to do with this i'd be interested in knowing of a schedule to stick to.
also, just been feeding her crickets as of late and i'm interesting in another food source to help her pack on weight/grow into her adult size. she was accepting superworms for a while, but no longer. tried putting a mouse in with her, it just freaked her out.
thanks in advance.

[Namio]

Hi M&M welcome to frog forum! Please answer "trouble in the closure" to the best you can via the link below, then paste the answers on this thread so that members on here can help you!

http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frogs/14721-trouble-enclosure.html

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Answering the questions will help with some of your questions.

As far as other food items.
You say that you have had your frog for a year now.
Is it safe to say it is over 2.5 inches snout to vent. or nose to but LOL

If it is you can offer pinky mice once a month.
You can also include night crawlers. ones without and dyes or scents added. Do not feed red wrigglers. they produce a bad tasting mucus when bitten. PLECH!!

You can also feed dubia roach nymphs. they are really easy to culture and keep much easer than crickets and way less stinky.
also you need to start a supplement dusting schedule with you crickets and roaches.
There is a guide to a good regimen for this some where here I am sure that one of the mods will post it.

As long as you keep the temperature and humidity correct and have a slight drop at night there is no problem
with you baby staying buried.
when you are going to feed ( at night) just uncover her head and offer food.
Don't leave crickets roaming the enclosure as this will stress out your baby and possibly bite her!

My pepito will stay buried for a solid week if I didn't dig him up for feeding. and a soak.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Here is an excellent article discussing proper Pacman frog care: Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding. Also, below are the questions Namio linked and which will allow us to better understand the issue.

Louis already gave you good advice on additional food sources. The night crawlers (not dyed from Walmart or local bait shop) are the most nutritious food you could offer your frog. Food supplements are very important, here are some sample schedules to follow: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html. Good luck !

“Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”

The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.

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)

by Lynn(Flybyferns) and GrifTheGreat.

[WorldClassFrogCoddler]

You didn't mention any multi-vitamin dust, or calcium d3 dust. If you haven't given the frog any of that for this long, it could be experiencing some serious problems.. Do you use these products?

[MandM]

no, i haven't. money has been tight and i didn't think it absolutely necessary since i had been gutloading the crickets with carrots and potatoes.

[MandM]

snout to vent, she's probably a little more than four inches. know where i would be able to get these nightcrawlers?
i am on a budget, also.

[katon]

I get mine at walmart. 18 nightcrawlers per container. Open the container and make sure they are alive before you buy them.

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk

[Namio]

no, i haven't. money has been tight and i didn't think it absolutely necessary since i had been gutloading the crickets with carrots and potatoes.

Id suggest you get a thing of repti-Cal. They are not expensive and will last you a long long time. Calcium is essential to the frog's bone growth, so you need to provide your frog with Calcium supplement. Vitamin is also essential for the frog's health and without it, Calcium cannot be digested and absorbed by the frog. Like repti-cal, you will find multivitamin that is reasonably priced, and will last you for ages.

[Namio]

I forgot to mention that you can gut load your crickets orange slices for vitamin. Good luck!