New Pacman stress relief?

[pacman90]

Hello, i recently purchased a sub-adult or adult Fantasy Pacman, 3 days ago that is, he hasn't eaten for me yet, and i think its because of the environment change, the pet shop caretaker said he wasn't a picky eater and ate every time food was in his face so i know he don't have a problem eating, plus he's a pretty decent size. How can i tell if he's too stressed, or just plain old stressed, will his color change to a darker shade if he is? what kind of remedies are useful to help with the stress, and whats the "average" time before they get comfortable? I have him kinda isolated upstairs (i read somewhere that it can help make him more comfortable quicker) where there's a lot less human traffic than anywhere else in the house, i need to move him into another tank as soon as i can because the one he is in doesn't hold the moisture too well (as you can tell in the picture,his temporary home is a screen cage) which may also be a problem since i have to keep spraying the cage about every 2 hours or it will drop to 60-70% humidity, BUT I want him to eat 1rst before i move him so i don't double his stress time (if that makes sense). ANY help or advice/info is greatly appreciated.

[GrifTheGreat]

Hello, i recently purchased a sub-adult or adult Fantasy Pacman, 3 days ago that is, he hasn't eaten for me yet, and i think its because of the environment change, the pet shop caretaker said he wasn't a picky eater and ate every time food was in his face so i know he don't have a problem eating, plus he's a pretty decent size. How can i tell if he's too stressed, or just plain old stressed, will his color change to a darker shade if he is? what kind of remedies are useful to help with the stress, and whats the "average" time before they get comfortable? I have him kinda isolated upstairs (i read somewhere that it can help make him more comfortable quicker) where there's a lot less human traffic than anywhere else in the house, i need to move him into another tank as soon as i can because the one he is in doesn't hold the moisture too well (as you can tell in the picture,his temporary home is a screen cage) which may also be a problem since i have to keep spraying the cage about every 2 hours or it will drop to 60-70% humidity, BUT I want him to eat 1rst before i move him so i don't double his stress time (if that makes sense). ANY help or advice/info is greatly appreciated.

A quick fix for this I believe. I noticed that you don't have 3 sides of the enclosure covered with some sort of background. Cover 3 sides with a background and let him calm down then try to feed.

[KingCam]

Cover 3 sides with a background and let him calm down then try to feed.

Darn you beat me to it XD

Also, if you do some searches you will find good threads about how to keep the humidity up without having to mist constantly. Try covering like 75-80% of the lid with saran wrap or tin foil to keep more moisture in. Don't cover it all the way because ventilation is also important.

[Sheldon92024]

Hi PacMan90,

I have a screen cage I used to feed my water dragon in before he outgrew it. I hung towels around three sides and just used a box of crackers or a book or something to hold them in place at the top. It worked great! Also, misting constantly will stress your frog. He needs to be left alone to acclimate. When you do transfer to another cage, keep three sides covered, they really like it better that way. Good luck!

[pacman90]

thanx for all the info, i do have the sides, back and 1/2 of the top covered with saran wrap, but just no luck it just keeps goin into the 60%-70% range, every now and then i can get it to 80% but thats without the light on, its only a 60w uva i had left over from my iguanas and the cage is roughly 24" tall so its about 75-80 at the substrate i do use a 50w moonlight at nite and it helps somewhat, hopefully in the tank itll progress better i just dont wanna cause too much stress on him

[KingCam]

thanx for all the info, i do have the sides, back and 1/2 of the top covered with saran wrap, but just no luck it just keeps goin into the 60%-70% range, every now and then i can get it to 80% but thats without the light on, its only a 60w uva i had left over from my iguanas and the cage is roughly 24" tall so its about 75-80 at the substrate i do use a 50w moonlight at nite and it helps somewhat, hopefully in the tank itll progress better i just dont wanna cause too much stress on him

I can't really comment on the humidity because I don't know how important it is, but it sounds like you're doing everything else correctly to me, just in general for low stress amphibian keeping. Sometimes it just takes animals a while to settle in and feel secure. Once he realizes he's safe and secure I'm sure he'll eat for you.

Animals don't eat when they feel vulnerable for survival. They don't wanna have a meal halfway down when something comes to eat them. They need to be able to get away. Maybe once he realizes you're not going to eat him things might get better lol

[GrifTheGreat]

80% Is the ideal level and is very important. Low humidity can stress the frog and cause it not to eat. Some do take longer than others to acclimate to a new home. Anywhere from 1 hour to an entire week to get used to its new surroundings. This is not uncommon.

Edit; Add a piece of driftwood that has a fake plant attached to it. Be sure it has large broad leaves to add shade and security. This will help reduce stress.

[pacman90]

ok thanx *sigh* i just found out my sister's idiotic driving broke my only tank i had so the tank is gunna have to wait a few days, i have a small piece of wood in there for him thinkin it'd give him a nice little place to dig under since it arches up a bit but no he just hops behind it and bigs between that and the cage lol i checked the humidity last night after i got home and it was about 60% :O so i misted the substrate and got a little bit on him to help moisten him up, poor little fella :/ i gotta get a tank asap to help this problem, he has a water dish that i was expecting to see him in when i got home but he just didnt wanna move from his little dug out lol oh and he let out 2 croaks last night while i was downstairs lol sounded like a duck! haha

[GrifTheGreat]

ok thanx *sigh* i just found out my sister's idiotic driving broke my only tank i had so the tank is gunna have to wait a few days, i have a small piece of wood in there for him thinkin it'd give him a nice little place to dig under since it arches up a bit but no he just hops behind it and bigs between that and the cage lol i checked the humidity last night after i got home and it was about 60% :O so i misted the substrate and got a little bit on him to help moisten him up, poor little fella :/ i gotta get a tank asap to help this problem, he has a water dish that i was expecting to see him in when i got home but he just didnt wanna move from his little dug out lol oh and he let out 2 croaks last night while i was downstairs lol sounded like a duck! haha

Hearing them call is one of my favorite things about keeping them. Each individual frog and species sound different.

[pacman90]

lol yea, just found out 2day that the toads i found are an Eastern American, and i found a Fowler in Delaware which i thought was a Eastern American until i looked at em 2day, and good news i found an extra tank at my other house, cleaned it up and got Nom-Nom in it now he seems to like it morei just put the substrate in and it was lareadsy reading 85% humid. was at 60% until i got i done then i put him in and checked it and it was excellent, i misted the sides a tiny bit tho, im thinkin about continuing the background along the sides also, its the static cling type that goes on the outside so i wont have to disturb him while im doin it