Sleeping in the Water Dish?

[Bolisnide]

Thanks for the reply. I've only had him a couple days so I'm not entirely sure on some stuff but I can fill out the trouble in the enclosure. It should also be noted that he has a 15 day guarantee and the place I bought him will pay if he needs to be taken to their vet.


1-size of enclosure: 10 gallon tank (the plan is to get an exo terra 18x18x24 in a couple months)
2-# on inhabitants - specifically ( if there is another frog ---size differences ?): Just him!
3-humidity: 30-50 during the day 80 at night
4-temp: 78 ish at night and 85 during the day
5-water - type - for both misting and soaking dish: de-chlorinated tap water for both.
6-materials used for substrate: Just coco fiber
7-enclosure set up i.e. plants( live or artificial) wood, bark etc -how were things prepared prior to being put into the viv: I have a pothos that's been sanitized prior to being put in (soil changed allowed to grow out chemicals etc.). There are also some artificial plastic plants that were rinsed in hot water and a climbing vine bought specifically for reptiles and amphibians.
8-main food source: As of right now, crickets but I also plan on feeding night crawlers and dubia roaches.
9-vitamins and calcium ? ( how often ): None yet since he hasn't really eaten since I got him (adjusting) but I have a vitamin/calcium combo supplement that I plan on using. I'm thinking 2-3 times a week?
10-lighting: a fluorescent bulb and an incandescent for "basking" (both low wattages)
11-what is, specifically, being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure: UTH and the bulb.
12-when is the last time he ate: I put three crickets in when I got him three days ago. I only have seen one scurrying around so I assume he's had a couple. I plan on being more aggressive with feeding tonight or tomorrow once I feel he's adjusted.
13-have you found poop lately: He pooped in the bag when I brought him home.
14-a pic would be great ( including the frog ) any little cell phone pic is fine: I have included a pretty crappy cell phone pic. Don't mind the country crock pot used for the pothos LOL
15- how old is the frog: I'm not entirely sure. He's about 2 inches long if that helps?
16-how long have you owned him: Three days
17- is the frog wild caught or captive bred: Well the sign said captive bred. I'll assume it's accurate.
18- frog food- how often and if its diverse what other feeders are used as treats: I pretty much already covered that.
19- about how often the frog is handled: Minimally. When I put him in the tank and I took him out of the water dish because I was worried about him getting too cold.
20-is the enclosure is kept in a high or low traffic area: Pretty low traffic. It's in the bedroom so really the only time there's anyone in there is briefly during the day and then when I'm getting ready for bed there's some "traffic".

My guess would be the temp is a bit too high, as previously stated...causing the enclosure to dry out.
Be careful with the incandescent heat lamps (even low wattage) on a 10 gallon long. They can pose a big problem with drying out the enclosure.
Can you put it on a dimmer? This way you can dim the light keeping the daytime temp about 80. Turn it off at night and only use your UTH (on the side of the tank). Keep night temp no higher than 75, about 70 is preferable.
My guess is he is/was thirsty and soaking up the water...
A vet is a good idea, without doubt.
Goodluck

My white's didn't poop nor did he eat for an entire week after I brought him home.
I think, the best thing you can do right now is keep his enclosure temps and humidity right on, cover 3 or all sides of his enclosure (not the top) to help him feel more secure, and relax, give him time to settle in. He is probably quite stressed out. I would also recommend you not handle him, unless it seems quite obvious he needs a soak. But if it were me, and my new frog, I would just let him settle in while providing the best environment control.

[Sasha]

I'm not sure either about what a regular poop cycle is. Shrek, pooped on Thursday after a very traumatic visit to the vet and I haven't seen anything since.

[HerpDerp]

Well it definitely makes me feel better knowing that it can take a while for them to poop. And I can monitor temps and might not have to use the incandescent light at all. I have a florescent bulb so I could just use that. I did find that covering half the top in plastic wrap helped the humidity quite a bit. I didn't know the temps could drop so low at night. Should I just put the lighting and heater all on a timer so it all turns off at night? I have a bird too so I never let my apartment drop below 70 degrees so room temp stays pretty high all year round for me.

He's actually eating just fine. I put a deep tupperware container in the tank and fed him in that and he ate three in the blink of an eye. It all seems that he ate the three that were in the tank too so his appetite is great. I don't have the sides covered yet but that should be happening soon. None of the pet stores around here had what I was looking for so I went online and ordered a bunch of those plants that suction to the back of the tank so I can create a natural looking background. I also ordered a digital thermometer/hydrometer so I can get some more accurate readings. I should have that by the end of the week.

[Sasha]

Glad to hear he's doing better! Sounds like he just needed some time to adjust.

[KingCam]

It sounds like you got it all figured out, but I wanted to bring up a point for anyone else reading this post in hopes of helping their frog. Frogs will retreat to water bowls also if their tank is infested with mites. Getting in the water will get the annoying, and possibly dangerous mites off. If your frog is sitting in the water bowl all the time look closely. Are there little colored dots moving around all over your frog? All over the substrate? They are probably mites if they are round! (if they are longer in shape they may be springtails. Springtails will go shooting away from you when you get your finger close to them. Mites do not jump)

[HerpDerp]

Well I've always seemed to have a problem with little fly looking things in the substrate. I use eco earth and I always thought it was just fungus gnats that sometimes get on plants. Is there a link or something that shows what these mites look like? It's entirely possible that the pothos that I put in the tank has mites since it was in with my pacman before he died. Although it's important to note that I've never actually seen them on the frog. These flies are TINY though like smaller than a fruit fly so I don't know if I would see them on him. He got in the water again this morning after his light was already on (he was awake this time) so I'm a bit concerned about the mite thing. But another weird thing is that the only time he ever stays in his water dish for any amount of time is in the morning. He doesn't really hang out there at night. I just want to make sure everything is perfect for him after what happened to my pacman frog . That was so difficult and sad.

[KingCam]

Well I've always seemed to have a problem with little fly looking things in the substrate. I use eco earth and I always thought it was just fungus gnats that sometimes get on plants. Is there a link or something that shows what these mites look like? It's entirely possible that the pothos that I put in the tank has mites since it was in with my pacman before he died. Although it's important to note that I've never actually seen them on the frog. These flies are TINY though like smaller than a fruit fly so I don't know if I would see them on him. He got in the water again this morning after his light was already on (he was awake this time) so I'm a bit concerned about the mite thing. But another weird thing is that the only time he ever stays in his water dish for any amount of time is in the morning. He doesn't really hang out there at night. I just want to make sure everything is perfect for him after what happened to my pacman frog . That was so difficult and sad.

Mites do not turn into flies, so no worries there. I am sure you're dealing with fungus gnats, and they just kinda come with the territory. Hard to get rid of and keep gone.

If you have a mite infestation you will see them crawling around all over the substrate and probably all over your frog. Run your finger through the substrate and then watch closely with a magnifying glass. If there are mites you will see them. They look like minature spiders with big round butts.