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.

[Nevfalath]

Are Phoenix Worms food for them, or are they too small? I'm looking for a good, healthy staple diet to feed him.

[arielgasca420]

although the phoenix worm seems to be better than the superworm, it still seems to have a hard exoskeleton, or chitin. this nutrition chart will help you...

Nutritional Value of Popular Feeder Insects
	Crickets: Gryllus	Crickets: Acheta	Mealworms	Superworms	Phoenix Worms
Protein %	20.05	17.53	19.7	22.28	17.3
Moisture %	68.76	76.31	66.07	59.67	N/A*
Fat %	5.64	4.79	9.79	17.1	9.4
Fiber %	3.75	1.4	2.6	2.1	N/A*
Ash %	1.87	1.28	1.55	1.15	N/A*
Vitamin D3 (IU/100g)	N/A*	318	276	171	N/A*
Calcium ppm	N/A*	345	133	124	8155
Phosphorous ppm	N/A*	4328	3345	2320	5355
Cal/Phos Ratio	0.25	0.08	0.04	0.05	1.52

[Nevfalath]

Thank you all for the information.

I am trying to completely restructure his feeding. All the articles I read say different things.

What does everyone think is the best staple food, and what does everyone feed their Pixies?

[GrifTheGreat]

Thank you all for the information.

I am trying to completely restructure his feeding. All the articles I read say different things.

What does everyone think is the best staple food, and what does everyone feed their Pixies?

Night Crawlers or Dubia Roaches.

[Jimifrog]

Nightcrawlers are a good staple. Phoenix worms are too tiny for a pixie. My pixies have the same issue with nightcrawlers. They have gotten lazy when it comes to catching their food. For my bigger pixies, I run the nightcrawlers over their forearms and they snatch them into their mouth.
Giant African Bullfrog Eating, Bugsy - YouTube

[Ra]

I would go for the Dubia, they might easier for it to grab onto. And they are good for them. Superworms aren't a staple food, but they dont need to be completely avoided, and the same can be said about Phoenix worms.
I saw that Phat Phibs were feeding theirs baby chickens, which Im sure they absolutely love on occasion.

[Nevfalath]

Thank you all so much for the help. He is doing much better now! I'm glad he is not sick. I was really worried for a while there!

[findiviglio]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your trouble; Vit A/Cal deficiency can cause what is now being called Short Tongue Syndrome; common in this species as they seem adapted to a diet high in frogs and other vertebrates. Please see this article and the one by Dr Wright linked under Further reading and let me know if you need more info.

Best, Frank

[flybyferns]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your trouble; Vit A/Cal deficiency can cause what is now being called Short Tongue Syndrome; common in this species as they seem adapted to a diet high in frogs and other vertebrates. Please see this article and the one by Dr Wright linked under Further reading and let me know if you need more info.

Best, Frank

I can't believe this post popped up.
Frank, I was just on your site reading this article on Short Tongue Syndrome.
The link to Dr. Wright’s research ( unless I missed something) does not go to his article?

Scary, I just put a sweet potatoe in the cricket bins.

[Nevfalath]

I definitely think he has a calcium deficiency... when I took him to the vet last week they said his bone density wasn't as good as it should be. So I bought him a better UVB light and calcium dust instead of vitamin dust. Hopefully this does the trick!

[GrifTheGreat]

I definitely think he has a calcium deficiency... when I took him to the vet last week they said his bone density wasn't as good as it should be. So I bought him a better UVB light and calcium dust instead of vitamin dust. Hopefully this does the trick!

You can also purchase calcium powder that contains Vitamin D3. This is why his bone density is low. They need Vitamin D3 to properly metabolize calcium to bone. A UVB light will help, but their range is only up to 12" most of the time and you don't want that kind of light too close to him. It will help greatly in the long run though.

I hope you get him back into good health soon

[Nevfalath]

The calcium powder I bought does have vitamin D3... hopefully it works.