I'm scared to force feed my pac man frog

[LIZZIE82]

Dumb question: should I wait for him to swallow the booster and then give him crickets? Crickets one at a time or all together? And, where exactly is his tooth?

[IvoryReptiles]

Dumb question: should I wait for him to swallow the booster and then give him crickets? Crickets one at a time or all together? And, where exactly is his tooth?

Let him swallow the booster then feed the crickets one at a time. You could also try a spritz of liquid calcium in his water. He is soaking to re-hydrate and de-toxify. It will take time to bounce back and I'm sure he will grow, but he may not be as large as he should have been in the end.

The "Fangs" are on the top jaw in the very middle......the teeth are all along both top & bottom jaws, they are tiny and extremely sharp!

Pics are in this post :
http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frogs/11109-teeth.html

[LIZZIE82]

Yikes! I feel totally comfortable messing with his mouth to force feed him after seeing those pics! ;-)

[GrifTheGreat]

They have some chompers on them huh Lol! Don't worry as long as your frog isn't very aggressive and you're gentle with him/her you won't be bitten unless by accident.

[flybyferns]

I'm just going to follow 'Grif' around the forum and learn as much as possible !

I don't keep Pacs but this is really great information.
Thanks everyone.

[GrifTheGreat]

I'm just going to follow 'Grif' around the forum and learn as much as possible !

I don't keep Pacs but this is really great information.
Thanks everyone.

Lol! Thanks. I don't know whether to be flattered or stalked I'm no expert I have experience in this situation and others. I try to get as much info as possible and use my knowlege to help others if I can.

[IvoryReptiles]

Yikes! I feel totally comfortable messing with his mouth to force feed him after seeing those pics! ;-)

Aaaawww.....anything that has a mouth can bite....even if it's gumming! LOL
So far we have only been nailed by females (they tend to be easily ticked off!)
The most damage either of us has gotten is some scraped skin, nothing horrifically gouged or bleeding profusely.
Your frog will get used to being handled too, so the danger of being bitten hard diminishes with time.
I'm sure you will do fine!

[LIZZIE82]

Day 3 of the booster: Pocket (I did not name him!) ate a meal worm!! I had my tongs out and got a meal worm, I showed him and he opened his mouth, I shoved it in there and he ate! I then gave him the booster but I was kind of going in from the side and he has a BIG mouth, lol and a lot came out of the side. I opened him up and gave him 1/2 another dose. I tried with another meal worm and he spit it out and thrashed around... I tried one more time....he kept it in his mouth, spit it out, threw another fit and I decided that I needed to leave him alone.I gave him fresh water, upped his temperature and covered up the viv so he can de-stress again. He's currently sitting in his fresh water. If I look in there he turns around, lol. Tomorrow, I'm going to give him some crickets and the booster. I'm going to try to post some pics of him that I took before he ate today. He still doesn't look so hot. :-(

[LIZZIE82]

Meet Pocket!

[GrifTheGreat]

Awe, what a little cutie!! He is definitely undersized for his age. But it sounds like he packs quite the attitude in that little body! It can take them a long time to recover and rebuild their fat stores. A fat cell will never completely go away once it has been developed, but if it has been depleted it takes awhile to build it back up. When Grif was sick and we had to force feed her it was over two months before she looked "healthy" again (which in pacman terms means chubby). It can be hard to tell exactly how much of a frog's mass is fat and how much is water. Most of the time when you see a pac bloated looking it is due to water weight. Keep up what you are doing. Get those calories and vitamins in him. He needs the nourishment. Keep a close eye on him, but it sounds like he will be fine. Again, he is adorable!

[LIZZIE82]

Yes, he has an attitude! I fed him 1.5 doses of the booster this evening. I gave him three wax worms and I was thinking he was eating them.... then, He opened his mouth and spit them all out! SIGH. I ended up getting him to eat 1.5 and left him alone. I came back a few hours and got him to eat one more. I also switched around around his bowls and gave him one that might let him get in and out easier. He has a lot more energy. He has started to push my tongs and syringe away.... with his front arms and back legs! His eyes look brighter I'm hopeful. I'm still having problems keeping his temperature up. When I moved him from his feeding bowl to soaking bowl I used my bare hands since I was out of gloves and he was cold to the touch. I have a sticky heater on the side and I have put a heating pad on the bottom and side and wrapped it in a towl to insulate. Any other ideas to help with the humidity and heat? Also, he has not pooped yet. He doesn't leave his bowl so I would know if he did... I started to force feed 4 days ago and he had a few solids yesterday and today. I should see that soon, right?

Thanks again for all the help!