Cornuta lacks appaetite---What to do?

[Namio]

I just bought a Cornuta from South Central Herpetology. It's about 2 1/2-3inches SVL and apparently it lacks appetite based on what I was told by the previous owner. From the pictures you can see it's underweight and I tried force feeding with a thawed frozen mouse and it would just spit it back out completely. What should I do? I believe this was a wild-caught animal so perhaps it's more skittish with my presence. I guess the next thing I'll do is to feed it with a live mouse while blocking out line-of-sight from me to the frog so that the Cornuta is more relaxed and hopefully more willing to hunt.
I also attached a picture if my current Cranwelli.

[cyris69]

Stunningly beautiful frog you have there! I would mind hearing some answers about this as one of mine barely eats and I don't want to force feed. Wish they showed interest in worms.

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[GrifTheGreat]

You definitely want to get him/her feeling secure. Plant a pathos. in with it. if this Cornuta is indeed W/C. then you will need to provide a more natural looking environment. PM Jessica or JIvoryII. from Ivory Reptiles or Mike from Mike's Phat. Phibs (Mikesfrogs) They all three have these frogs and succeeded in getting them settled fast and eating well.

Good luck.

[cyris69]

How do you plant and care for a pathos in coconut fiber. Don't you need to use plant food and such out special lighting

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[mikesfrogs]

You need to forcefeed earth worms. Use a pop sickle stick to open its mouth. Hold the frog with its nose pointing up. When it opens its mouth drop the worm in. Set the frog down and push on its lower back to get it to jump. It will swallow the food then.

[coastal20]

Have you tried crickets yet? Mine have been eating a couple a night.

[Namio]

Yeah I tried large adult crickets, but crickets are kinda too small and it won't eat it. When I was checking out its beauty it tried to bite my face off (super lightning fast speed) and good thing I was looking it in from outside of the terrarium. Its mouth was huge, too.

[Namio]

Hi Mike thanks for the great advise. I know you're an expert on this species so I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. I just tried force feed it with half of a thawed mouse and once I get the mouse pass its tongue it wouldn't spit it back out. I also found out these Cornuta eats amphibians, reptiles, and fish in its native habitat, but gold fish is full of parasites and diseases. I really don't want to catch local herps just to feed my pet frog plus chances are local amphibians have chytrid fungus. So, is it possible to have mice as its staple diet?

Much appreciated,

[Namio]

thank you, GrifTheGreat!

[mikesfrogs]

I would stick with the earthworms and put calcium powder on the worms. You want to gain as much weight on them as possible. Try pinky mice also.

You can use a blender a make a "shake" out of the pinkys and use a syringe and a small airline tube and direct feed to the stomach. USE AS LAST RESORT

[cyris69]

Not to intrude but what would be the method to force feed a baby pacman who wont eat? Since a Popsicle stick would be to large. He has no interest at all in food and I know he needs to eat.

[Zamboni]

Is it a female?? I noticed my female refused a lil extra food this week, as we got a rain storm, might have trigger the ol girl

you should leave alone for a day or two, then at night time offer a live hopper mouse(eyes just opened& has to be able to crawl yet not old enough to bite) and leave the room ......

plus for now, you might want to blacken/paper his side of tank... as he's not used to sitting out in the open.....

**the key is to leave it be for a few days, every time you check' on it to make sure it's ok it adds stress to your frog......

I got 4 wc and didn't need to force feed any, I left them in quarantine room and let them be...now they all feed on mice & horn worms and even got 'Hara' to eat goo food from chopstix

Im sure after a yr or so ill have them doing double back flips

[EricIvins]

You just recieved this Frog yesterday. It is no where near under weight, and is actually quite plump for a wild caught Cornuta, which was stated in the add. You need to let the animal settle in, then attempt to feed in a week or two. That animal also needs alot more cover than that, and alot of water. I actually keep mine 100% aquatic and they do very well that way. Once you establish the animal in your care, you can move it to a sparse set-up, but not at this point.

[IvoryReptiles]

Okay, as for the feeder fish, try some Platty's or Mollies. Try a live pinky or hopper aged as suggested in one of the replies.....eyes just opened and able to stumble about but not able to bite.
Feed at night. leave the room or at least place a cloth over the tank so it has some privacy. The wild caught usually are reluctant to eat in captivity, but with some patience & effort, they will do well.