How can I help my Pacman?

[AaronC]

I apologize if this is redundant from other threads, but I just got my frog four days ago, and he (or she, I'll just refer to it as he) hasn't eaten anything yet and stays buried completely all day.
The details:

• He's just under 2" long, give or take. He's bigger than a quarter.
• The substrate is coconut fiber, it's about 2-3 inches deep.
• His tank is 10 gallons with a shallow water dish, a live plant and a half log.
• There is a heating pad attached the side with the water dish and plant
• The temperatures stay pretty well in the target range, but I'm struggling to maintain humidity. The Zilla analog hygrometer typically reads around 70% humidity after I mist heavily, but it drops to around 50% when I'm at work. I probably mist about four times a day. I've got a damp hand towel that mostly covers the top of the tank to help keep the moisture in, but nothing seems to be working. I use distilled water for everything.
• I've tried feeing him meal worms, earth worms and dead crickets. I even dropped an earthworm directly in front of him, and he didn't flinch.
• He's been burying himself in the corner nearest to the heating pad.

I think that just about covers it. Let me know if you need any further information, and thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it!

[arielgasca420]

im just going to put my personal opinion in there but mine is one of many and I am not an expert. It sounds like your frog may not be eating because it is about to go into astevation. this happens when the conditions are unfavorable, most likely because of the dry air. if you can afford it, get a mister, fogger, or cool humidifier and put it on a timer to run a few times while you are away. im about to do this for my frogs since I am starting school soon and wont be home often enough to mist. in fact, I need to order mine now. the humidifier I will be purchasing (if you are interested) is Crane

[GrifTheGreat]

I apologize if this is redundant from other threads, but I just got my frog four days ago, and he (or she, I'll just refer to it as he) hasn't eaten anything yet and stays buried completely all day.
The details:

• He's just under 2" long, give or take. He's bigger than a quarter.
• The substrate is coconut fiber, it's about 2-3 inches deep.
• His tank is 10 gallons with a shallow water dish, a live plant and a half log.
• There is a heating pad attached the side with the water dish and plant
• The temperatures stay pretty well in the target range, but I'm struggling to maintain humidity. The Zilla analog hygrometer typically reads around 70% humidity after I mist heavily, but it drops to around 50% when I'm at work. I probably mist about four times a day. I've got a damp hand towel that mostly covers the top of the tank to help keep the moisture in, but nothing seems to be working. I use distilled water for everything.
• I've tried feeing him meal worms, earth worms and dead crickets. I even dropped an earthworm directly in front of him, and he didn't flinch.
• He's been burying himself in the corner nearest to the heating pad.

I think that just about covers it. Let me know if you need any further information, and thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it!

Distilled water can only be used for misting or fog machines. It lacks vital minerals and slats needed to assist the frog in hydration. Switch to tap water treated with a de-chlorinating agent that you must go buy. Prime and Zoo Med ReptiSafe are good ones to choose.

They are nocturnal and therefore are active at night which is also when you should be feeding him. Uncover just his head so he can see and place food in with him and leave him be.

keep us posted.

[JIvoryII]

Also use saran wrap over 2/3 s of the lid and the drape the towel over that.. the damp towel will suck humidity out of the cage as it dries.... the saran wrap will hold it in.. and the towel will help buffer heat loss....

[dpcsquid]

Pacman frogs like to hunt. Dead crickets don't provide any "game" so if you're going to give him those, make sure they're live. Also, earthworms aren't that "exciting" and are often out of the frog's line of sight on the ground. Pick the worm up (or a piece of one; he's small enough you might have to cut it up) and wiggle it by his mouth. JIvory has a thread on here called "Tong Feeding" that's helped us all a lot.

Also, avoid mealworms. Their shells can cause the frog's digestive system to get...clogged up.

[MichaelCo]

Distilled water can only be used for misting or fog machines. It lacks vital minerals and slats needed to assist the frog in hydration. Switch to tap water treated with a de-chlorinating agent that you must go buy. Prime and Zoo Med ReptiSafe are good ones to choose.

They are nocturnal and therefore are active at night which is also when you should be feeding him. Uncover just his head so he can see and place food in with him and leave him be.

keep us posted.

so you cant use a humidifier if you dont use distilled water? because i was planning on getting one

[Wizzlewuzzle]

Could you post a pic of the frog's enclosure? Sometimes actually seeing the setup will allow people to notice stuff that you wouldn't have thought to tell us and we wouldn't have thought to ask about.

[AaronC]

Hey all, thanks for your input. The saran wrap really helps keep the moisture in. He kept his eyes above the substrate during the day for the first time (as opposed to totally buried). I hope that's a good sign. I replaced the distilled water with dechlorinated tap water, and he appears to have at least gone in the water briefly. After a bit of gentle coercion, I was able to tong feed him just one cricket, but it's a start. The tong feeding video was really helpful. Perhaps with the consistency of humidity, he'll be more comfortable and gluttonous.

I will post a photo of the enclosure tomorrow morning when it's light again, and I'll keep you all posted if/when his appetite normalizes.

[AaronC]

This is the enclosure

[GrifTheGreat]

Looks good Aaron. You can cover three sides of the tank with some sort of background to minimize stress. You may want to eventually look into a digital gauge. The ananlog ones are not always acurate. But overall you have a good setup. :-)

Yes, it is a good sign that he kept his eyes above the substrate. They still will bury completely from time to time, but having the proper temps and humidity should help spark his appetite. Offer nightcrawler pieces and crickets as his staple diet. If you let the crickets loose in the tank, then break the hind legs off so it is easier for your frog to catch them. And be sure to take any uneaten crickets out each morning. Keep us posted.

[AaronC]

I offered live crickets, and he ate them voraciously, so I guess it was mostly a matter of finding the food he likes best. Thanks all for your help!

[morgan]

Distilled is fine/perfect for foggers and humidifiers. Aged tap should be available in his dish. Purchasing dechlorinaters is unneccesary...just age your tap H2O for 24 hours (chlorine will evaporate off surface).

[trkyhntr]

Distilled is fine/perfect for foggers and humidifiers. Aged tap should be available in his dish. Purchasing dechlorinaters is unneccesary...just age your tap H2O for 24 hours (chlorine will evaporate off surface).

aging water is NOT enough....I was told that while chlorine will evaporate chloramine does not evaporate and water isn't safe without a conditioner added

[StickyFrogfeet]

Yeah chloramines and heavy metals will still remain in the tap water. get tetra fauna aqua safe in the reptile and frog area its like 3$ it treats 100 gallons. i use an empty 1 gallon water jug fill it with tap water and use 10 drops and your good to go to fill his soaking dish.

[morgan]

Wonder why my frogs over the past 30 years haven't croaked then.
I had a Pyxie that lived 19 years, all in aged tap.
Buy more products if you want to, I'm done posting here. You can't even share an opinion/experience on this forum without someone yelling NO! There are many ways to ensure water parameters.

[GrifTheGreat]

Wonder why my frogs over the past 30 years haven't croaked then.
I had a Pyxie that lived 19 years, all in aged tap.
Buy more products if you want to, I'm done posting here. You can't even share an opinion/experience on this forum without someone yelling NO! There are many ways to ensure water parameters.

There is a difference between giving your opinion and telling someone to do something just because you have gotten lucky and haven't had a frog Tox out from your aged untreated tap water. It is common frog knowledge that chemicals and heavy metals within tap water are poison to not only fish, but frogs as well. Aging tap water now a days is not enough and as was stated above Chlormines and heavy metals do not evaporate like chlorine does. They remain behind and WILL poison the frog causing Toxing Out Syndrom which leads to death. Maybe it was fine 30 years ago, but not anymore.

Better safe than sorry.

PS, Nobody yelled at you. You voiced your opinion and they voiced theirs. Perhaps you should be less confrontational just because someone else's opinion differed from yours. Don't take this as an attack because its not. Its me pointing out the obvious.