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Thread: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

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    Default Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    We have have a wild caught grey tree frog for about a year. We got him when he was really, really little. Everything was good for a long while, he has his hiding spots ate every one or two days, consistently in his water.


    Then this winter he went for a disappearing act. Over night he went from being out and about most of the time to 100% hiding inside one of the decorations/frog toys we have in there. With this came an immediate perceived loss of appetite. He went from a meal every day or two to a week between meals. Even then a meal was only one cricket and then he was gone for a week. He showed no signs of being in his water during these week long "hibernations". He was in a low/medium traffic area that was kept at a consistent 66-68 degrees.

    After 3 months of this low eating his eating suddenly 100% stopped for 2.5 weeks. We grew more and more concerned as every day went by. Eventually he showed himself in his water dish and we removed the item he would hide in to make his food more visible to him. Furthermore, we moved him to a much less trafficked area but this came with the trade off of it being about 6-8 degrees colder at a consistent temperature of 60 degrees. Since this move a week has gone by. He is much much much more active leaving his hiding spot behind his ledge almost every night, and most nights going into his water. The only problem is he still hasn't eaten and it has been 3 weeks.

    We have tried feeding him crickets and wax worms, two things he has gone for in the past. He has never accepted food from tweezers, despite trying multiple times. He has a very large food dish about 7 inches long by 4 inches wide and a short lip that has plenty of room for his food to move around and be seen. Should we try some sort of heat lamp to raise the temperature and possibly trigger feeding? If so what type of bulb? HOW CAN WE HELP HIM EAT!

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    100+ Post Member elly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    You should warm the tank up. Find a care sheet for the gray tree frog to see recommended temperatures.
    Sometimes wild caught animals hibernate on their own, but it's good to avoid inducing hibernation with cold temperatures. Even in the wild hibernation can be risky for animals. Good luck getting it to eat!

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    100+ Post Member Bynny Ribbit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    It concerns me that he was wild caught. Wild caught frogs can harbor an assortment of pathogens and parasites. If they are healthy with a good immune system, these things won't affect them. However, if they get stressed in some way (ie the temp being too cold), this gives the bad stuff an opportunity to cause problems. When was the last time he pooped? Was it runny or smell particularly bad?

    For heat, a 40 watt red heat bulb in a 5.5" dome light should do the trick. You can get a clamp or light stand to control the temperature better, but you can also just set it on top of the screen on one end of the tank just as long as it doesn't make it too hot.

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    Default Re: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    Thanks for the replies. We had no intention to induce hibernation and were disappointed when this seemed to be the coarse he took. The room was kept at around a 67 degree average which we felt was plenty warm to not have him hibernate. I do not know if he hibernated or not, it was purely speculation since he would disappear for what appeared weeks at a time.

    I have read that the ideal temperature for him is around 76 degrees however above 80 can be dangerous. This leads me to feel that being able to adjust the light we get him will be necessary (plus the top of his tank contains some plastic that I would not want a direct heat source to touch). I put a space heater in the room for now to bump up the temperature at least a little bit. I will get him his red heat bulb ASAP. Can you think of anything else to help this little guy out?

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    100+ Post Member elly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    I find a good thermometer/hygrometer helps with the whole keeping a temperature steady. After a little practice and having a few different heating options it's a lot easier to keep the temp in a steady range.

    I'm a little confused about the "above 80 is dangerous" thing. I live in an area where these frogs are native and it often reaches into the high 90F's/ low 100's in the summer. True, in the whole outdoors there are probably a lot more cool places to hide than in one small tank.

    Also it may be that temperature extremes can be disruptive to frogs and just because they can survive in high temps doesn't mean they won't get stressed. Stress can be bad especially for wild-caught frogs.

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    100+ Post Member Animallover3541's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    This has happened to all my wild caught temperate frogs. Most of the time they end up snapping out of it and be fine. I have only had issues with toads never eating again and dying. If it is the same issue i have, it should eat fine next winter.
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    100+ Post Member Animallover3541's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grey Tree Frog won't eat for weeks!!!!!

    It will eat over the summer too if its the same thing.
    "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."
    - James Herriot
    The first step towards fixing your flaws is recognizing that they exist.
    FFA & Livestock Judging
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    1.0.0 A. fowleri (R.I.P 1/13/21, I miss you Herbie)

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