I'm new and having issues!

[BG]

Ivory my frog was on his death bed. What got him back on his feet was fuzzy injected with liquid calcium,and vitamin. I hat to put it between his teeth. it took him a half an hour to swallow it, thats how weak he was, I was so embarrassed to take pics of him cause he was disgusting skinny. He is living proof.

@Ivory Yeah, but wouldn't you agree that if a frog has had excessive weight loss and needs a large whole meal to get them back up and strong again - a mouse would be appropriate. Plus, pinkies also don't have fur or developed a backbone so you're only worrying about the mammalian proteins and fat tissue that they're made up of. Excessive over feeding is one thing, but a frog that hasn't had food for awhile can eat it.

[Sublime]

Ivory my frog was on his death bed. What got him back on his feet was fuzzy injected with liquid calcium,and vitamin. I hat to put it between his teeth. it took him a half an hour to swallow it, thats how weak he was, I was so embarrassed to take pics of him cause he was disgusting skinny. He is living proof.

Well were all glad he pulled through and your efforts to get him back up and healthy. That's a great testimonial of your first hand experience and backs up my statement.

[BG]

He was so weak that if i took him to the vet .Who knows if the meds could of killed him. We dont have good vets around here who specializes in amphibians. It would of been tricky. I had no stool sample causes he hasn't pooped for a long time. He was deteriorating faster then anything. Just fading away and thats what they do.

Well were all glad he pulled through and your efforts to get him back up and healthy. That's a great testimonial of your first hand experience and backs up my statement.

[Sublime]

Man I would be so nervous and stressed out if I were in that situation. Did you stay calm or were you kind of stressing out?

[vivalabam]

The worms coming from a reptile food website is fine. Pinkie mice can be fed sparingly once every couple of months. He or she is pretty small to start eating mice; I would hold off mice until you get him feeding on healthier diets. Fishing and tackle shops are a lot cheaper though than earthworms being sold as reptile or amphibian food on sites or at a shop. Just have to be more precautionary with the guy that is selling them at a fishing shop. Let me know how it goes.

If he or she was in an emergency situation where he or she hadn't eaten in weeks, then I would force feed a pinkie mouse.

Right ok, that's good then, I'm not keen on the idea of feeding mice. None of mine have ever been fed on mice, it's just different inverts! I'll order some of the huge worms today then, try and get her feeding on those, I hope they wiggle!

If you have to force feed the frog, a pinkie is NOT the food item to use. Mammalian proteins are difficult for them to digest at best, so a starving frog won't handle it well.
Please don't feed mealworms or superworms tot he frog. The carapace is too hard and non-digestible & could cause impactions in a healthy frog, much less a sickly one.
I didn't notice an answer to the question about the water. Please use de-chlorinated water for misting & soaking.
You could add a drop of liquid calcium to the soaking bowl once a week to allow the frog to absorb it instead of dusting (we do this with some of ours because they are picky and refuse dusted food items).
Remember also that over use of the supplements is just as bad as not enough. We usually use a powder that has everything in it or mix the calcium & vitamins together and then dust.
The larger earthworms should be fine, but cut it into appropriate sized chunks for the frog.

Good Luck!

I don't think it has got to the force feeding stage, I mean she is eating, around 1-2 crickets a night. Then some days she won't touch food, then she will be back to eating. It's not a massive amount, but it's better than when she didn't eat for about 3 weeks, then I got her on wax worms, then she started eating no problem, then I stopped, now she is eating the odd cricket. The main problem is she isn't growing. :P

She hasn't ever had a meal worm, she wasn't interested.

I do use de-chlorinated water, always have.

She hasn't gone in her water bowl for a very long time, weird as she always used to, I may change it back to the old one, same kind of depth, but this one is a little smaller and less weird shaped.

Ah ok will do thanks!

Also these frogs are nacturnal. You do feed them at night right? I agree with Jessica about the pinky. When Grif was starving I didn't force feed pinkies until after a month of force feeding. Use easy to digest food items like soft bodied crickets/red wigglers/and chunks of night crawler. You don't want to constipate him/her if he/she is weak. Go buy some Flukers Repta-Aid. Its a emergency food supplement for malnurished and dehydrated reptiles and amphibians. Its very good to have on hand just incase. Also it comes with a seringe that makes it easy to get the mixture in the frogs mouth. You can use it while you force feed the other food items I mentioned. Don't force feed unless you absolutely have to.

I do indeed. I don't plan on force feeding, the idea is just horrible to me.

im having that same problem to but i think mine is just boated but it really hasnt grew much the temps are in the 75 to 80 but he pooped today and striked at a crix today i think i got mine around the same time

Yeah mine hasn't pooped in a long time, not sure if that has anything to do with it. Although she is still eating so maybe not, I put a light on her the other day to find a cricket hanging from her mouth, so very cute!

[GrifTheGreat]

If she is still eating regularly, then you should be ok. Their appetites can vary greatly from frog to frog. They can also vary from night to night. Sometimes mine will eat a lot for a couple nights in a row and then eat very little for the next night or two. It is ok as long as she is still eating good over all and is healthy. As mentioned before, she may have been stunted due to conditions when she was younger or she may have simply inherited small genes.

She will obviously have fewer bowel movements if she is eating less, but it is something you want to keep an eye on. Impaction is very dangerous for them. A five minute soak in some lukewarm de-chlorinated water will often help them go. Keep us updated!

[vivalabam]

If she is still eating regularly, then you should be ok. Their appetites can vary greatly from frog to frog. They can also vary from night to night. Sometimes mine will eat a lot for a couple nights in a row and then eat very little for the next night or two. It is ok as long as she is still eating good over all and is healthy. As mentioned before, she may have been stunted due to conditions when she was younger or she may have simply inherited small genes.

She will obviously have fewer bowel movements if she is eating less, but it is something you want to keep an eye on. Impaction is very dangerous for them. A five minute soak in some lukewarm de-chlorinated water will often help them go. Keep us updated!

She didn't seem to eat anything last night, could I be putting too much food in? I have put a fair few crickets in the last few nights, they don't seem to move a lot...

Oh right, I may do that next weekend, although I can't see what would make her like that, she doesn't have any moss or anything in there, or it just something that happens?

[vivalabam]

Also I just measured her and she is 2 inches, I guess I underestimated her size!

I've also ordered some of them giant lob worms, hopefully she will eat it chopped up, she did like the wax worms...

[GrifTheGreat]

Also I just measured her and she is 2 inches, I guess I underestimated her size!

I've also ordered some of them giant lob worms, hopefully she will eat it chopped up, she did like the wax worms...

She could be slightly constipated due to the wax worms. How long ago did you feed them to her? I've seen the skins of wax worms undigested. They look like you let the air out of a balloon. Long and flat. Could easily block the intestines. Feel her right side if it feels hard then she needs to poop. A nice soak in some luke warm de-chlorinated water definetly helps. Also if she isn't to skiddish you can very gently massage the hard spot on her side. This will also help her poop. I hope she's healthy and just stunted. There is another person on this forum that has a stunted Pacman abouth the same size as yours. Dwarf Pacmans.

[oddball]

Im have concerns with my Pacman Marvin, i bought two large mice to get started and was fed when i picked him up, ive had him two weeks and still he dosen't even look interested in eating I tried feeding him last night but again he ignored it tried for 20mins dangling above his nose but no joy
I found him in his bowl this morning shedding a skin and he seems a little more lively but has reburied himself in the substrate
His temp and humidity are 74.8 at the coolest end of the heat matt and 80% Humidity I did go back to the shop last week to say he wasnt interested in eating and said maybe should i buy some crickets or locust and they said he could just be getting used to his new surroundings but now another weeks gone by and im worried hes not going to eat and starve any ideas? Haydn

[GrifTheGreat]

Im have concerns with my Pacman Marvin, i bought two large mice to get started and was fed when i picked him up, ive had him two weeks and still he dosen't even look interested in eating I tried feeding him last night but again he ignored it tried for 20mins dangling above his nose but no joy
I found him in his bowl this morning shedding a skin and he seems a little more lively but has reburied himself in the substrate
His temp and humidity are 74.8 at the coolest end of the heat matt and 80% Humidity I did go back to the shop last week to say he wasnt interested in eating and said maybe should i buy some crickets or locust and they said he could just be getting used to his new surroundings but now another weeks gone by and im worried hes not going to eat and starve any ideas? Haydn

Ok, a few things: First, are you using de-chlorinated water? Read the Pacman Care Sheet under the Care Articles section. It is full of vital information!

Second, how large is your frog? The general rule is to not feed mice to frogs under 2 inches long and then it is best to start out with pinkies. You said he ate a large mouse?? Are they live mice or frozen? If he did eat a mouse, he could still be digesting it. Mammalian proteins are harder for them to digest. Feeding too many mice can cause impaction. They are also very fatty and can lead to obesity and blindness. Most people recommend using mice only as a treat, once a month at most. However, if your frog hasn't eaten anything in two weeks then you should definitely be concerned. They do often take time to get used to their surroundings but usually only 2-3 days. You need to offer other food as a staple diet: crickets, nightcrawlers, and locusts. Make sure there isn't anything stressing him out. Incorrect set-up, too much light or noise, too many visual distractions, too much handling can all cause them to become stressed and stop eating.

Third, the temp should be warmer, 80-85 during the day. Can we have some more details about his set-up? What size tank is he in? What substrate are you using? Heat source?

Finally, not to seem nit-picky, but it is always best to start a new thread. It makes it easier to answer people's questions. Welcome to the forum!

[GrifTheGreat]

Ivory my frog was on his death bed. What got him back on his feet was fuzzy injected with liquid calcium,and vitamin. I hat to put it between his teeth. it took him a half an hour to swallow it, thats how weak he was, I was so embarrassed to take pics of him cause he was disgusting skinny. He is living proof.

I think that it becomes a case by case issue. It is going to depend on the different factors: what caused the frog to stop eating, how long it has been since it ate, the age and size of the frog, etc. In general, I will recommend starting with softer foods. Or if for instance, the sick frog was too small to be fed a pinkie. But I can't fault what you did George. You obviously saved your pac's life. I have been through that situation and I know how hard it is. I remember when Grif was not eating. She looked so skinny even when she was bloated with water; then she would pee and her skin would hang off her bones... it broke my heart every time. I didn't take any pictures of her like that because it was just too horrible. @ Sublime, it is very stressful, but I tried to be as calm as possible. I believe that any animal will pick up on your stress and it just would have made the situation worse. But we pulled through and now Grif is a healthy eating machine and over four inches stv!