Leopard frog wont eat - food ideas

[stseas]

I have posted yesterday. My daughter's leopard frog wont eat. He does eat house flies when we can get them. Someone mentioned dubia roaches - I have no idea where to purchase that. Another mentioned earthworms - ours are big - do you cut it up? The local pet store suggested blood worms? We have tried crickets and now meal worms. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.

[SethD]

If he will eat house flies he should probably be able to to eat the smaller size of crickets carried at places like petsmart. He also probably would enjoy appropriate sized moths that can be caught around lights at this time of year. That said though leopard frogs are not the best choice for a first frog, they tend to be easily startled which can result in jumping into the walls of their enclosure hard enough to hurt themselves.

[stseas]

With that said, it was a christmas gift given to my daughter. He wont eat the small crickets? Petsmart stated that bloodworms are good? Any thought on that?

[SethD]

With that said, it was a christmas gift given to my daughter. He wont eat the small crickets? Petsmart stated that bloodworms are good? Any thought on that?

I don't think blood worms would work out very well as a main part of the diet for this type of frog, you would be more likely to have luck with earthworms than bloodworms.. He might eat a few though, who knows. If you have had him since christmas though what have you been feeding him in the mean time?

[stseas]

I don't think blood worms would work out very well as a main part of the diet for this type of frog, you would be more likely to have luck with earthworms than bloodworms.. He might eat a few though, who knows. If you have had him since christmas though what have you been feeding him in the mean time?

We got him in Feb and he changed into a frog around April. He was eating crickets - alot of them - until around late June and he has stopped eating. I am lucky to get a few flies for him to eat. We had tried fruit flies with no luck. I think he is sick, but yesterday I found a fly and put it in the tank and he ate it. He still has a small cricket in the tank and meal worms. I'm at a loss. As mentioned before, do I cut up the earthworm? The ones I have access to are long...TY again for your comments/help.

[Deku]

With that said, it was a christmas gift given to my daughter. He wont eat the small crickets? Petsmart stated that bloodworms are good? Any thought on that?

Blood worms are aquatic for the most part a leopard frog is semi-terrestrial. It finds its food OUT of the water. Also your worms are big why not try going to a bait shop? Ask for "red wrigglers" they are earthworms but just a smaller variety. They are healthy for them. Dubia roaches can be ordered online. Moths can be caught outside as well or you can buy a ton of wax worms and wait untill they morph into moths. Do not attempt to feed the frog a butterfly. Butterflies alot of them contain toxins in their wings which may harm your frog. Especially avoid the monarchs. If your backyard is absolutely pesticide free you could try to go out and catch grasshoppers. I did that once my toad prefers them over crickets. But again your frog is fixiated on a food which is no good.
If all else goes wrong try feeding meal worms. They are not the best food in my opinion because of their exoskelleton but for the time being its better than nothing.
Oh to answer your question. No you cannot chop the worms up. Frogs and toads eat by a feeding response which tends to be by movement and color(mainly movement). Only pacmans and african bullfrogs would eat anything dead(probably) since Ived seen some do it. Also cane toads but in captivity thats low. In any case your frog wont adapt to dead foods. There are many other things you can try feeding it as well. Theres:
Roaches
Worms(alot of different worms)
Moths
Grasshoppers
Crickets

Iam sure there are other foods out there.
Good luck.

[SethD]

We got him in Feb and he changed into a frog around April. He was eating crickets - alot of them - until around late June and he has stopped eating. I am lucky to get a few flies for him to eat. We had tried fruit flies with no luck. I think he is sick, but yesterday I found a fly and put it in the tank and he ate it. He still has a small cricket in the tank and meal worms. I'm at a loss. As mentioned before, do I cut up the earthworm? The ones I have access to are long...TY again for your comments/help.

Well if he was eating crickets and then started refusing them your right, it does sound like there is a problem somewhere. As far as the worms, yes you can cut them up. You don't want to cut them to small though or the pieces won't wiggle much and the frog will not be interested. Try cutting them into pieces about the length of the frog and dropping them in front of him moving carefully to avoid startling him if possible.

[bshmerlie]

I agree with Seth, there really shouldn't be any reason for him to not eat the crickets. There could definately be another problem. If you wanted you can order live flies and raise them. They are available at www.carolina.com

[stseas]

Thank you all for your responses. When I last went to the bait shop, the worms were HUGE. I will look again (forgot about that place). I did not know that wax worms turn into moths, another good idea. Also, farming of flies, cool. I knew about butterflies, since we grow them, but are able to set them free. As for the grasshoppers, we tried the little green ones and the frog wont go for them. Thank you all again and "Spots" thanks you. Will keep everyone posted.

[mikebannon]

could the other problem be some sort of internal parasite?.

[stseas]

could the other problem be some sort of internal parasite?.

IDK what is going on. We have tried alot of things. I came home tonight from work and he looks horrible. I located a store that sold red wigglers and bought them. He will not eat them. I even dangled it in front of him. Is it possible that he had a problem from the beginning? It was from some place called "Uncle Miltons". I'm so sad for the little thing. My daughter will be crushed if he doesn't make it.