African Bullfrog Unable to Catch Food

[Nevfalath]

About 5 years ago my boyfriend surprised me with a young African Bullfrog (not knowing how big they got) as a gift. He has been doing great and growing big since then.

He seemed to outgrow large crickets so with advice from a pet store associate I started buying him superworms. Well recently I read those are bad as a staple diet because they cause obesity. So now I am going with redworms and earthworms.

I just tried feeding him the other day and I noticed he was not able to catch anything (and they are definitely not fast worms). He sits there and sticks his tongue out a little ways, but does not reach anything. He just keeps doing this until he gives up. I even tried handing them to him, but he still couldn't get them in his mouth. He just kind of licked them.

I read an article about weakened bones in obese frogs and not being able to catch prey being a symptom. Now I'm worried he has that because of all of the superworms. (Last time I listen to a store associate). Is there any other reason why he might not be able to catch food anymore? He used to be so lively and get so excited. Now he just sits there like a lump and put no effort in.

[GrifTheGreat]

About 5 years ago my boyfriend surprised me with a young African Bullfrog (not knowing how big they got) as a gift. He has been doing great and growing big since then.

He seemed to outgrow large crickets so with advice from a pet store associate I started buying him superworms. Well recently I read those are bad as a staple diet because they cause obesity. So now I am going with redworms and earthworms.

I just tried feeding him the other day and I noticed he was not able to catch anything (and they are definitely not fast worms). He sits there and sticks his tongue out a little ways, but does not reach anything. He just keeps doing this until he gives up. I even tried handing them to him, but he still couldn't get them in his mouth. He just kind of licked them.

I read an article about weakened bones in obese frogs and not being able to catch prey being a symptom. Now I'm worried he has that because of all of the superworms. (Last time I listen to a store associate). Is there any other reason why he might not be able to catch food anymore? He used to be so lively and get so excited. Now he just sits there like a lump and put no effort in.

Do you use a calcium supplement or Multivitamin to dust his food? Not being able to catch food with their tongue is a sign of a Vitamin A deficiency. He needs vitamins and calcium.

Superworms don't cause obesity, but they can cause an impaction(severe constipation) if Fed too often.

You should buy a set of rubber tipped tongs and try feeding him the worms that way. Be sure to dust his food with a multivitamin like Herptivite and dust with it once a week. Use a calcium powder like Fluker's Calcium Powder with Vitamin D3. Dust with the calcium every other feeding..

Try this and see if he improved.

[habeeb]

i think ur frog is just so used to catching food with his tongue..... which is easy to do with super worms but not with earthworms....mine tried to lick the earth worms at first but couldnt so it learned that it had to grab/bite the worm instead of licking it....good luck with ur frog

[Nevfalath]

I picked up some Fluker's Reptile Vitamin with Beta Carotene. It says it has all the essential vitamins and calcium in it. Is this a good choice?

A strange thing happened though. When I dipped an earthworm in it, it started freaking out. A few seconds later, it started to seep a lot of blood through its skin. Is that normal?? Why would the powder hurt it like that?? I felt so bad for it!

My frog managed to eat one earthworm with assistance, but after that he turned his nose up at them.

[GrifTheGreat]

I picked up some Fluker's Reptile Vitamin with Beta Carotene. It says it has all the essential vitamins and calcium in it. Is this a good choice?

A strange thing happened though. When I dipped an earthworm in it, it started freaking out. A few seconds later, it started to seep a lot of blood through its skin. Is that normal?? Why would the powder hurt it like that?? I felt so bad for it!

My frog managed to eat one earthworm with assistance, but after that he turned his nose up at them.

For some reason the vitamin powders burn the worms. I believe its due to one of the vitamins irritating the worms skin. this will happen pretty much every time, but the calcium powder doesn't harm them at all.

Your frog probably doesn't care fir the taste of the vitamins. This will happen depending on the frog. Some don't mind and others hate the vitamins, but they are usually a must to provide certain vitamins that they always seem to be lacking in their diet even with a varied one.

Try dusting the worms very lightly so their isn't as much vitamin taste on them.

[Nevfalath]

Should I switch to a calcium powder and not use the vitamin powder at all? However, if my frog needs vitamins and has a vitamin deficiency, then I would think the vitamin powder would be best... ugh, I don't know!

I feel so bad for the poor worms. They look like they are in so much pain.

[arielgasca420]

my frog has a hard time with earthworms as well because they are so heavy for him to pick up. I would cut them up smaller, dip them in the vitamin powder, and tong feed. I find that tong feeding is best and it gives you more interaction with your froggy friend.