Should crickets be dead for frog?

[Ishka]

I have been dangling live crickets who have been eating gut load and have been dusted in a little calcium power, but my spotted marsh isn't eating it. I put 3 live ones in their tank yesterday and they seem to have disappeared but I'm not sure if they have been eaten. Should I shake the crickets to death before feeding?

[Sunshine]

As far as I know frogs will only eat live moving food. They might need a little time to adjust to their new home before they start eating again.

[FriedrichsFrogs]

Sherrys right, a frogs eye sight is akin to T-Rex's in Jurassic Park (not entirely that far apart on the evolution scale), at least i know that rings tru as far as American toads + FBTs are concerned. Ive seen pet stores sell bottled dead mealworm feed for frogs + its a complete waste of time + money. Frogs wont bother with still prey unless you bought a vibrating food dish to put dead food in

[FriedrichsFrogs]

thats also why frogs tend to dive at eachother during feeding time, theyr just darting at the largest moving object nearest to them

[Heatheranne]

Yep, the movement of their food is what triggers that "hunt" instinct.

[JMDaniels]

I'm not a frog expert by any means, but if you put crickets in your frog's tank and they disappear, I think you can safely assume that the frog ate them. If the frog wasn't eating when you dangled crickets in front of it, it most likely just doesn't want to eat from your hand or whatever. Like everyone else mentioned, don't kill the crickets because frogs definitely want live, moving food to chase. If you wanna be sure, you can always put a cricket in and then watch for a while if you have time.

[Ishka]

He isn't eating at all... I don't think he has eaten since last Saturday at the pet store. I have put 2 crickets in every 2 days but they just end up dead. I have a heat lamp over the cage all day with 2-3 hour in breaks, and his water is about 13 degrees Celsius. I mist twice daily to keep up a good humidity. He just spends all day and night underneath a fake plant.

[Striped marsh]

Try picking him up and moving him into a more open area of the enclosure to see if he is interested if not, try and see a vet.

[JeffreH]

Hey Ishka,

Could you provide us with some information on your husbandry? Sometimes very simple changes can greatly influence an herp's behavior and feeding response, and with some additional information we may be able to use some deductive reasoning to find a solution to the problem. Some species, and even particular individiduals, can be more sensitive to adapting to new captive environments.

I'm not very well versed in my frog knowledge, particularly for that of a spotted marsh frog, but hopefully someone else can use your husbandry information to see if any changes need to be made:

1) What size enclosure are you keeping the frog in?
2) What substrate are you lining the bottom of the enclosure with?
3) Are you measuring temperatures with a digital thermometer or tempgun? (Analog "stick-on" thermometers and aquarium thermometers can be quite inaccurate)
4) What temperatures are you reading throughout the enclosure?
5) What is the day/night cycle like? I noticed you said you provide 2-3hr breaks, can you elaborate on this? Most herps are typically given heat or light for ~12hr day cycles and ~12hr night cycles as would occur in the outside world.
6) How frequently do you handle the frog or interact with it? It the enclosure in a high traffic area of the house?
7) Can you provide us with any other relevant information about your husbandry and the frog's behavior or appearence?

Some animals can take a couple of weeks to adjust to a new home before they begin feeding, so it may just be a waiting game until he is hungry or comfortable enough. If we can address your husbandry directly and ensure everything is spot-on, then we can rule out stress from husbandry errors.

It may also be useful to try to bowl feed your crickets, and/or provide them with some kind of sustenance in the enclosure like a piece of carrot or some other vegetable. This will help you better monitor feeding frequency and will potentially keep your crickets alive a bit longer (and potentially prevent any nibbling by crickets on the frog).

Again - I am a reptile and invert guy, so I'm hoping to leave this one as a setup for the phib experts.

Best of luck!

[Heatheranne]

Great post Jeff!

Yes, if you can answer some of these questions we may be able to help. If you can catch your baby shedding you can sneak a cricket in. I'll keep a look out for your answers.

[Ishka]

1)Its a 40 by 40 terrarium with about a height of 50.
2) I am using natural gravel.
3) I am measuring temperature with a digital thermometer
4) About 20 in the enclosure and water 15 in the gravel.
5) I have a lamp but the glob heats up fast and h=gets very hot so i have to turn it off so it can cool down. Are light globes like this: Infrared Heat Globe 75w ES ReptileOne Melbourne's cleanest and healthiest pet and supplies shop fire hazards if left on for 12 hours?
6) Frog is in bedroom and 3 walls of its enclosure are coverd.
7) Frog looks skinny, but has a normal color. I mist twice a day to keep her hydrated.

[Ishka]

Frog is now eating

[Heatheranne]

Yay!!!

I would change the light to a 50watt bulb and would remove any exposed gravel. If the gravel is only in the water area and is under the water it should be fine. Any exposed rocks should be larger than the frog can accidentally swallow.

It sounds as though he just needed some time to settle in.

Any photos for us?