Still not eating...

[Bruce]

Alright, I've had my little guy for a week now, and he is still showing no interest what-so-ever in eating... he seems healthy though, he had buried himself for the past few days, but i dug him, up a bit to see is he was still OK. he went in his water dish, (which is when i tried to feed him), but he seemed to ignore it and actually look defensive when the dubia got near him. Then he just buried himself again.

Temps are around 80 during the day, 75 at night, humidity is around 50%-70%, give or take 10% at certain times.

I think it may have to do with what I've been trying to feed him maybe. He was bought from a local pet store and was obviously fed crickets. I have dubias. Do you think this transition in food could be the issue?

Any kind of help at this point would be helpful, I'm starting to get worried...

[AlbinoFroggy]

From my understanding, these frogs take time to settle in. When I got my pacman it wasnt until just over a week before he ate something, ive heard of some frogs taking longer, though you also need to check he is healthy. My advise to to carry on as you are, but still try to feed him then the options there, and when he feels comfortable enough, he will take it Also if he burrows, he probably just settling in, if he burrows he will come out on his own accord. Mine usually comes out for food, then after a day or so, burrow a day or two to poop then he's back out for food.

good luck

[keith123toad]

Hi Bruce
I have a pacman named harold that is not a very good eater ? before I purchased him I assumed that he would eat daily and consume anything that moves.
This has been my observation of my pacmans habits over a 6 month period.Harold took more than 2weeks to settle in and eat! I first fed him on crickets and now locust.He will eat a large locust then either sit in his small pond for days and sometimes poop or partially bury himself for days and then go in to his small shallow pond.He eats every week or two and seems to be ok.I have worried on many occasions but he carries on in his own way.My day time temperature is the upper eigthies and low eighties at night.I use damp coco fibre and the humidity is about 60.I spray twice a day,before and after work.
I am sure that in the wild these lazy ambush frogs only eat as and when food comes by and not on a daily basis,I have whites tree frogs that eat like pigs!!!. Just give the frog some time and I am sure he or she will settle in to a pattern of life that suits.
regards keith

[Bruce]

Keith, thank you for that info! I do feel a lot better now, I guess I'm just over thinking it. I have a pyxie frog soni guess I'm also used to how much and ferociously she eats. I guess I'll just give him some more time

[spencerburgo]

Keith, thank you for that info! I do feel a lot better now, I guess I'm just over thinking it. I have a pyxie frog soni guess I'm also used to how much and ferociously she eats. I guess I'll just give him some more time

depends on there age as to how often they will feed, as rule the younger they are the more they should be eating, remember with most frogs when there growing they are in need of vitamins and nutriants if there not eating much there not getting enough vitamins and with all frogs there is a chance of mbd, i have pixies and pacman frogs and there is no comparison when it comes to feed time, i thought my horned frogs were good eaters until i got 3 young adsperus they make my horned frogs look boleemic, lol

ceers spencer............

[Bruce]

He is young, maybe a bit bigger than a quarter. He just has no interest, and I've tried everything...

[Greg M]

My pacmans took some time to transition to Dubia from crickets. The Cranwell's actually would spit them out. Now they love them, so try crickets, if you haven't already. Although it is a matter of personal preference, I liked using paper towels during the juvenile period - easy to clean, no impaction risk, and you don't have to keep digging them (the frogs) up. You can just toss in a cricket or two, and leave them for a bit (although leaving them in for extended periods of time is obviously not the best). My ornate would not initially eat in front of people, but now he'll eat whatever, whenever...

[corralup]

Can I chime in? Though not very active on this forum lately I came across this thread and it sounded like what I went through with my White's Tree Frog when I first got him. Pretty much the same issue.
Not realizing my frog was severely underweight compared to another one I had bought the same week I knew I had a problem. The underweight one is actually in my avatar picture.
He looks totally different now. So what I did was instead of putting the crickets in the terrarium I kept the container he was bought in. I would place him in the container along with three crickets every other day. Well, being the container is small the crickets would eventually walk in front of the frog. This really helped when he was in a small container like this otherwise the frog would go hide or crawl to the top of the terrarium where the crickets weren't located at. I did this for about an hour each day or every other day until I got him to eat on his own. I did this for about 6 months. He doesn't need the help of the container anymore. As a matter a fact he is bypassing the other White's frog in weight and size.
Also I gut feed my crickets so my frogs get the nutrients they need. Every once in a while I'll feed pinkies to them.
Good luck with yours. I'm sure it's the transition he is going through.
Going on almost a year now owning two frogs. I still think they are the coolest!

[John]

Pacman frogs are finicky that way. Here's what I suggest. Get him a shallow water bowl, make it take up most of the terrarium space. A good idea is a plant saucer (you know those plastic things that go under plant pots). Put him in it for a few hours. Now dangle half a nightcrawler in front of him on some tweezers. Don't wave it at him, just let it squirm. If he doesn't go for it in a minute or so, drop it in the water bowl with him. The squirming action is great for getting these guys to eat. If you try this, let us know how he gets on.

As has been stated earlier, they don't take to Dubia roaches easily. I had problems doing this with small pacman frogs.

[LouEmbling]

Hi all. The book I brought is good but regarding feeding it's no where near as helpful as just reading this forum thread so thanks. Kermit my horned frog came home with me on Sunday, ate three medium crickets in calci powder and the same yesterday. Today he is burrowing . From this thread I take it I just leave him today burrowed and he should come out for food when he is ready? I was a bit worried as I wanted to clean up his burrow if he's been to the loo bit didn't want him to be unsettled by me moving him? Random question but will I easily see his "output"- is it large and visible to the naked eye? Also ive cleaned his water area daily even though he hasnt used it- is that normal? Ive sprayed the tank twice daily at the same time as i spray my other pets.Thx in advance for any feedback . Lou

[Bruce]

Well, he hasn't come up since my last post... Check him and he's still alive. Should i just keep waiting?

[quinten]

wat geef je hem dan te eten ik heb ook een jonge pacman die at de eerste dag niet en daarna wel en hoe geef je hem dan te eten je kunt dit proberen zo at die van mij ook je neemt een plasticbakje zo'n leeg krekelbakje en daar doe je de kikker in met een paar krekels dan wacht je even en dan kijkje of die gegeten heeft maar je weet wel dat je de krekels moet bepoederen met kalk toch en heb je al getest of die gezond is

[Greg M]

The "output" from pacman frogs is pretty obvious! Mine go potty about every three days, depending in "input", and the output is huge - maybe 25% of the size of the frog. Usually, they will poop in the water dish or on the surface - mine never go in their burrows, so you don't need to disturb the frog if no waste is in evidence.

[Bruce]

He passes stool right when i got him and he went in his water dish. he has not eaten since so im not too worried about that

[Bruce]

Ok, so I got him to eat one small cricket tonight! I suppose it's better than nothing...
I guess all I can do at this point is let him adjust to him new environment and eat on his own accord. He does appear to be very healthy still

[MeTree]

Great to hear that he is showing imporvement!

Keep us posted!

[Bruce]

Well yesterday he emerged from his burrow on his own, and today he has a much better feeding response, ate 4 crickets! Thought I would let all of you know he has shown some improvement

[keith123toad]

Hi Bruce
Good news ! Now your frog as eaten you need to monitor the rest of the body functions.
Mine sometimes poops in the water and sometimes on the substrate.As I mentioned before my frog is an erratic feeder but is doing ok.
Keith