Force feeding?

[WakaWaka]

Hey guys, just wondering what your guys thoughts are on force feeding. I have a pacman that hasn't ate in a long time now (he is still alive) and i'm thinking i may need to start force feeding this little bugger. I have never done this before therefore i have no idea how, so if there are any good videos or tutorials on how to do this, i would appreciate if you posted the link. He won't eat anything that i put infront of him. I've tried in and out of the enclosure and still he will not eat. He doesn't come out of his hole anymore even if i don't feed him for a long period of time (i know because i was hoping he would come out when he is hungry). Hes starting to lose weight and i'm getting really worried about him. I did find a vet to take him to but I have to pay a fortune just to get him in the room.

[DVirginiana]

This procedure is incredibly stressful to the frog, so should only be done in dire circumstances. First off, can we get a pic of the frog? Have you tried rubbing the food against his mouth to get him to get annoyed and snap at it? How long has he been without eating? When was the last time he pooped, and if it's been awhile, is there a lump on the frog's right side?
If you answer those questions, that'll help determine whether you should try an assist-feed or not. I'm going to go ahead and give you the procedure for an assist-feed, but I'd like to see the answer to those questions before you try to force-feed.

It sounds like it may be time to think about force-feeding. When mine was very sick several years ago I had to do several assist-feeds for her. This works better if you have another person around to help out. You'll want to set out paper towels or something to put the frog on while you do this. If you have another person, get them to put one hand directly behind the frog and one over top (to keep it sitting still). Then use a credit card (washed off beforehand) and put a nightcrawler on it. Use the edge of the credit card to kind of wedge into the frog's mouth. When he gets angry and snaps (or when you have enough space to) put the end of the worm in his mouth. Once it's got the worm, remove the card. They'll usually continue to eat the worm once it's in their mouth.

[Tongue Flicker]

I agree with the intense stress part. A struggling frog could get their sensitive skin injured by just slipping off. Try bathing him in warm pedialyte or warm honey water to see if it makes him poop and hungry.

Try raising temps in his enclosure by a couple of degrees as well

[Thevacantface]

I have a fantasy frog that has been a very difficult eater. He used to be good, but then stopped, wasn't growing and started looking skinny and losing weight. I finally force fed after 2 months, and have found that the easiest way is to kind of pin my hand around him so he can't back or turn away, then take a dubia roach and press it's thin side shell between his lips. Then when he opens his mouth a little push it in just a bit, at that point he realizes it's food and gobbles it down. After the first one I can do a couple more just by timing his mouth openings and popping one in a bit when he opens his mouth. I also found a good, and slightly less stressful way was to simply watch for the frog to molt and pop bugs in when he opens his mouth. Every once in a while he takes to eating on his own again but it's usually short lived.

[StickyFrogfeet]

The credit card thing is just bad when the frog is sick i am going to take the forums advice and invest in one of the cake decorating spatulas they come in different sizes, for my next frog emergency.I dont know how it works for pacmans but it was so hard to do with a tree frog.I rather just give the pedialyte baths.. so stressful, i cried one time cause the frog was getting so upset =(

[DVirginiana]

The 'credit card thing' is actually one of the most well known methods of force-feeding. It's the exact same as using a cake spatula, but buy whatever you want.

[Snow]

Figured I'd put in my two cents on this. It's a shame that your frog is having this issue right now. One of mine is doing the same thing but I think just because it's winter he's trying to hibernate. But he's stying nice and chunky so for now he will be fine. For me the best method that I have used involves 2 people. the first person just gently puts their hand behind the frog so it will not jump away and with the other hand gently rub the frogs lips. For me it usually only takes maybe 2 or 3 touches and the frog opens his mouth and have the second person gently put a piece (whatever you might be feeding) in and the frog usually eats the rest. no instruments needed and of course gloves are to be worn.