Not eating much

[Ribbits]

I always use dechlorinated (treated with flukers) tap water for expanding the substrate. I have a good amount of the tank covered with plants with room underneath for him to get shade from the uvb light. Is the infrared a night time light? My condo gets down to 70 degrees at times, the heat pads are on dimmers so I can control the temp with them and the ceramic is a back up in case one of the stops working (it is on a auto temp switch, so it only comes on if the temp drops below 77. I have always been confused as to where to measure the temp at. It seems warmer towards the top and middle of the tank, but the substrate always seems very cold. I have been tempted to heat the substrate with an undertank heater, but hear that this is bad because the frog will burrow to cool itself. I figured I will try to keep the air temp a little above 80 and let the frog regulate its temp by burrowing or moving to cooler parts of the tank. Is this the correct philosophy?

Updates to status: I am concerned that he might have toxicity issues since I was changing his substrate at the worng interval. I am not sure what signs to look for. Sorry I have not been helpful with the bloating. He usually is partiallly barried, and if I try to bring him above ground he puffs up right away, so it is hard to tell. He burrowed halfway last night. Took a bite at a nightcrawler but missed. This morning I decided to force feed him one since it has been so long. Once I touched his mouth with the card he got very aggressive and started snapping at the card and tongs. I felt relieved that he had that much energy in him. He ate the worm once it was placed in his mouth. I am thinking my next coarse of action will be to give him another pedialite mix soak tonight and try to feed him again. I am thinking I will continue to force feed him for a day or two if necessary. Any thoughts on this course of action. I will take him to the vet in a couple days if things do not improve. If I take him to the vet, how do you guys transport them and keep their temp proper? Thanks for the help. I feel a bit relieved that he has a good size worm in him for the time being. Also he seems to get a bit of coco fiber whenever he chomps for the worm. He really does not appear to care for it. Should I put him in an empty tank to feed him, or bring him all the way above ground? Thanks for the help

[GrifTheGreat]

A small amount of coco fiber wont harm the frog. Its the safest substrate if accidentally ingested. Of course you want to minimize that as much as possible.

It is best to measure the temp and humidity levels near the substrate. About 1" to 1.5" above the substrate. Abient air temp and humidity are what you want to go by as well. It is good to have a temp gradient in th enclosure though. Most of mine burrow on the warm side even if the average ambient air temp is 84°. They pick their favorite spots and dig in. In a 10 gallon you'll want to get an average reading of the temp and humidity in the enclosure by haveing the gauges beside each other in the center of the back wall of the tank 1" to 1.5" above the substrate. This provides a good average reading.

Do not place a UTH on the bottom. Since they burrow to cool off the frog may burrow over the UTH and over heat itself because it will try to burrow deeper not understanding why it cannot cool itself. You can actually wrap a towel around the bottom of the tank to help insulate. I'd perform the soaks and keep a close eye on him. Probably go out and buy some Fluker's Repta-Boost just incase. Don't force feed him too much too often. Keep stress low.