Pacman feeding trouble, is he okay

[newb14]

Hi, ive had my pacman for about 1 1/2 months and he's only eaten 5 crickets and 2 goldfish. The goldfish he ate instantly, he's only eaten one cricket from tongs, the other 5 have gone MIA in his tank( i got frustrated he wasnt eating and left them in there) i suspect he ate them and he only will at night or when im not around even when they're right by his mouth. his appetite seems low. He hasnt pooped but it might be the lack of food, he has peed though. The store i got him from only mentioned feeding him fish and mice. Any advice, im thinking of trying earthworms, also can you recommend any fish that could be fed as a staple. Thanks

[GrifTheGreat]

Hi, ive had my pacman for about 1 1/2 months and he's only eaten 5 crickets and 2 goldfish. The goldfish he ate instantly, he's only eaten one cricket from tongs, the other 5 have gone MIA in his tank( i got frustrated he wasnt eating and left them in there) i suspect he ate them and he only will at night or when im not around even when they're right by his mouth. his appetite seems low. He hasnt pooped but it might be the lack of food, he has peed though. The store i got him from only mentioned feeding him fish and mice. Any advice, im thinking of trying earthworms, also can you recommend any fish that could be fed as a staple. Thanks

Fish cannot be fed as a staple. The chemical Thiaminase found in most fish causes a Vitamin B1 deficiency which is bad.

Try Night Crawlers. Answer these questions and repost the answers here.
http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...enclosure.html

[newb14]

1. ten gallon tank
2.1
3. 80%
4. 75-80 degrees
5.RO
6.Eco Earth
7.Plastic Aztec Head, i have plastic plants by took them out
8.He might have been fed fish and mice as a staple before i got him
9.every other feeding
10.Daylight lamp
11. Side mounted Heating pad
12.Just now, 1 of 3 crickets, the one placed just by his nose
13.Nope
14.
15.Unsure
16. 1 1/2 months
17. Not specified, probably captive
18. sporadically, tried fish(ate) mealworms(avoided, ate only 2 at 10 feedings), crickets (eaten five)
19.Only for honey baths
20. In room, low traffic if door closed, (have cats and dogs)
21. Replaced substrate 2 Weeks ago

[Lija]

ok first of all - temps, in your other thread you said you don't have a measuring tool and you can just guess, so that you need to change, you need to know exact temps.
then water- change your water to treated tap water asap. you can use special water conditioners for frogs or any dechorinating products would do. I'm using Prime right now.
pic of the frog and it's enclosure would be helpful, are 3 sides covered? sometimes they feel stressed out being in open, some plants/hides would be useful.

how big is a frog?

[newb14]

okay i get a themometer, also i think it might be red leg, he hops and jumps normally, but in his feet it looks like hes got blood in them, but not on the skin. And some red speckles near his hindquarters. RO water is reverse osmosis isnt that good enough. Ill put in my plants if that will help.

[Lija]

read this regarding water http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...hing-else.html
and change it to treated.
take a pic of his legs, it might be also normal coloration. and at this point i really would like to see pic of the frog too.

[DVirginiana]

If you think the frog might have red leg, then post a picture immediately. Get one of the frog sitting normally, and one that shows the underside and legs. If it is red leg it needs to be treated ASAP.

Silversides do not contain thiaminase (I raise garter snakes, which are more sensitive to thiaminase than most reptiles so I'm super paranoid about it). You can find them f/t in most petstores. They still aren't a good staple food though, only as a treat.

It sounds like he wasn't being fed right at the store. Too many fish/mice can lead to impaction especially in young frogs. Gently feel the frog's right side and see if you can feel a hard lump. 1 1/2 months is a very long time for a young frog not to have used the bathroom.
My guess is that your temps are off. If they are too low, the frog will have trouble digesting food already in its system and will refuse to eat.

[newb14]

Here are the pics

[GrifTheGreat]

Looks ok to me, but we can't really see his legs well enough to see any signs of Red leg.

[DVirginiana]

I agree. Doesn't really look like red leg, but the underside pic is too dark to tell.

Do those back legs look weird to anyone else? Not necessarily bad weird, just different. Most pacs seem to get much darker toward the back legs, but this guy looks like he has almost no pigment back there compared to the rest of the body.

[GrifTheGreat]

I agree. Doesn't really look like red leg, but the underside pic is too dark to tell.

Do those back legs look weird to anyone else? Not necessarily bad weird, just different. Most pacs seem to get much darker toward the back legs, but this guy looks like he has almost no pigment back there compared to the rest of the body.

Honestly it looke like a special morph. Almost like half Albino half brown cranwelli.

[GrifTheGreat]

Has alot of green though!!

[Lija]

haven;t seen anything like that, it is like mix of albino and green and brown, can it be some kind of mutant?
at any rate you for sure have one very special pacman that looks healthy to me.

[newb14]

Hmm...interesting what you guys are saying about my frog, i got it at a local petshop is it unique? I ordered 250 super red worms and they will be here next week. Also i feel no hardlumps on his belly. I got a general thermometer which goes in 5 degree intervals and it is 75-80 degrees is that warm enough?

Thank god he is healthy, i was worried something was wrong.

Also is feeding issues, do you think he is just "picky"?

[DVirginiana]

Hmm...interesting what you guys are saying about my frog, i got it at a local petshop is it unique? I ordered 250 super red worms and they will be here next week. Also i feel no hardlumps on his belly. I got a general thermometer which goes in 5 degree intervals and it is 75-80 degrees is that warm enough?

Thank god he is healthy, i was worried something was wrong.

Also is feeding issues, do you think he is just "picky"?

He looks like a mutant; usually people have to work pretty hard to get those (I think anyway, not really up on the breeding aspect of pacs).

75-80 is warm enough (it can get up to 85 during the day and go down to 75 at night), but if your thermometer only goes in five degree intervals it's probably pretty far off. Even the petstore thermometers that have 1 degree intervals aren't really good, but that's the 'minimum' quality thermometer that might work. A digital or infrared thermometer is ideal, but you at least need one that has 1 degree intervals. The less specific the thermometer is, the more it is probably off (I had a recent experience with one that was misreading by almost 10 degrees). His temps are probably still off. This could be why he isn't eating.

What do you mean by super red worms? Is that superworms (similar to meal worms) or red wigglers (like what people use as fish bait)? Neither of these are really good. Superworms have high chitin content and shouldn't be fed because they can lead to impaction. Red wigglers aren't necessarily that bad, but they emit a smelly goo that is toxic to some reptiles. Not toxic to pacs, but it tastes horrible and most pacs won't take them well. If your guy is picky, these probably won't get him started eating.

Go by your local walmart and pick up a pack of DMF brand nightcrawlers if you want to try worms. Also, most frogs like Dubia roaches (Blaptica Dubia) which can be ordered online. The roaches seem to work well for picky eaters.

[newb14]

oh they are just big earthworms, their just named that for showmanship

[Lija]

Hmm...interesting what you guys are saying about my frog, i got it at a local petshop is it unique? I ordered 250 super red worms and they will be here next week. Also i feel no hardlumps on his belly. I got a general thermometer which goes in 5 degree intervals and it is 75-80 degrees is that warm enough?

Thank god he is healthy, i was worried something was wrong.

Also is feeding issues, do you think he is just "picky"?

you for sure got a very good deal on the frog, I'm sure some people would pay big $ to get something as special hope Mike will chime in, he is a pro on morphs

now for temps - you want to keep 80-82 during day and 76-78 at night, so if your temp is 80 - it is good, but 75 too low, i would agree your temps can be way off, you need a good thermometer, - I feel that is a reason for not eating. but some frogs are just picky make sure you have day/night temps and feed him after lights are off.
also where did you place your thermometer? it has to be on a level a frog lives, about 1" above the substrate preferable in the middle of back wall.

[DVirginiana]

oh they are just big earthworms, their just named that for showmanship

Do they have any dyes added to them? Just make sure before you feed them. A lot of companies add dyes to make their worms look more appealing, but it's bad for frogs.

[newb14]

dont think so it isnt a bait store, hes a worm farmer and uses them for composting. Here is the site 250 Super Red Worms | Live Worms | Uncle Jims Worm Farm

[newb14]

Thanks for the advice I will check the replies everyday after school so please if anyone has more advice chime in. 17yr old noob signing off