ACF LOOKS like she is not eating but must be...

[Sharra13]

A little history: A few years back my husband and I happened upon a great local pet shop in Indiana and found two adorable albino ACFs (or maybe ADFs...not sure) and adoptoed them. They were happy little guys for the two years we owned them--in their won 10 gallon with a filter and a sucker fish friend. We fed them frozen blood worms every evening since the day they got home, since that is what the pet shop recommended. They LOVED them and went crazy for them. We ended up moving to Texas and I didn't think they would survive the trip, so we sold them back to the pet-shop.

I have missed having auquatic frogs ever since then, so when I happened upon a grow-a-frog kit in a toy store a couple of months ago, I jumped on it. The tadpole arrive healthy and happy and I nursed her into a cute froggy. She has officially been a frog for several weeks now, and I followed the instructions carefully on her new food...she gets one pellet each morning and night. As a tadpole, she absorbed food through the water, so I am wondering how she is supposed to figure out the whole "eating" thing with her mouth. She never eats in front of me and it really looks like all her food is still there and decaying the next day. I remembered how much my other frogs loved bloodworms, so I tried getting some dried ones and tempting her with that, but they just sat there decaying and made the tank gross, so I went back to pellets.

She seems happy and healthy (still growing and plump), but I can't imagine where she is getting her sustenance! A friend for her will be arriving very soon, so I am kind of wondering what I should do abot feeding him/her when they arrive.

[Sharra13]

Sorry...I think she is actually an ADF, but I wasn't sure before. She is pretty small, and so were my last two. I just saw a picture of another poster's ACF and it was huge compared to my little girl!

[Jenste]

Sorry...I think she is actually an ADF, but I wasn't sure before. She is pretty small, and so were my last two. I just saw a picture of another poster's ACF and it was huge compared to my little girl!

this does not mean you have an ADF - - ACF stunt and need to be ONE frog in a 10 gallon minimum with out tank mates - and no more "sucker fish". These are plecos and a) need a much bigger tank than 10 gallons...most plec species grow 12-18 inches long! They also contribute a LOT of waste. 2)your frog is probably still a baby if you only bought it and it morphed a couple months ago - they don't hatch at 5 inches!

Really check your frog over - - especially the hands and feet. Is there webbing on the front and back feet or only the back feet?
You should always make sure you know what you have so you can care for them properly - -

As far as diet. Bloodworms is not suitable as the staple of their diet....you need to look into HBH frog and tadpole bites and later on Reptomin stick. Both found in the reptile area of petstores.

If all you have been feeding them is bloodworms then its going to take a bit to train them to eat properly. Stop feeding bloodworm all together, fast for a few days and then start giving them little bits of the pelleted food until they eat it well.

[Sharra13]

Jenna: I think you read my post incorrectly. The two frogs I had years ago were fed frozen blood worms daily, NOT my new frog. They really lived them and were very healthy, happy little guys. They were supposedly full-grown when I got them and I was told I only needed a very small tank, but I "spoiled" them with a 10 gallon with lots of hiding places and such. They were really happy! Croaking and swimming around a lot. They also got along great with the sucker fish, who kept their home very clean. They must have been ADFs, since they never grew any bigger, even after moving them from a tiny tiny habitat to the 10g. I had them for over 2yrs.

Anywho, that's way in the past! I think you are right about my current baby frog--she has no webbing on her front feet/hands.

I have been feeding her a pellet every morning and night--the special healthy stuff made specifically for auquatic frogs. It just seems like she isn't eating them. Very recently she has been acting kind of excited when I put the food in, but still nothing. I did try dried bloodworns twice to see if that got her attention better, but it didn't have any more luck. She doesn't look unhealthy or anything, but I still worry! She has been officially a "frog" and in her larger tank for about a month....seems like longer but I just did the math!

I'll definately make sure to upgrade her tank again in a little while if she is an ACF. So far, her habitat looks pretty big for her size. She has way more than enough room to swim around and hide and gang out. She especially likes to hold onto the plant and watch us when we are nearby.

[Sharra13]

Update: I got a little dish and a turkey baster to try to put the pellets in one place. I did that for the first time last night, and she was the most active I have seen her. Poor little thing was obviously VERY excited that I put food in the tank, but she just couldn't FIND it. So frustrating! She rooted around over an over again and kept looking for it, but no luck. She just couldn't figure out the dish. Maybe after a few times in a row she will stumble upon it. I feel bad for her, but I can't do much else at this point...suggestions? I had the biggest urge to grab her and put her in the bowl so she would find it, but didn't want to traumatize her.

[kellym5505]

try buying frozen blood worm pellets, you can melt them in water then with your fingers grab a small amount. when you see your frog release the worm above it. the frog should notice them and grab them. i have a young ACF that is what i do and i have had no issues, seems to find the worms that fall to the bottom fairly easy. just make sure you do not drop to many in or the frog could over eat and get a big belly. if that happens try not feeding for a day or until belly returns to normal.