Switching from crickets to worms, and tongs

[morgan2341]

Allright we adopted a new Pacman! His name is Gus, his owner was unable to take care of him properly anymore so our vet told us about him. He is very healthy and eating well. I will post a picture tonight when we clean his cage and soak him. The only problem is he has been eating crickets and we want to switch him to nightcrawlers and using tongs. Is there somewhere on the Frog Forum where it is explained on how to switch them? Thanks again everybody!!

[MatthewM1]

The method most people use for feeding worms is with feeding tongs. Just rub the worm against the frogs lips and jiggle it around in front of its face and after a minute it will snap at it. If he doesn't seem to want to go for it at first try offering crickets with the tongs to see if that is helps him adjust to tong feedings. If it starts turning away from the tongs or hoping away give it a break for the night, and try again the next. I you don't want to stress him out too much as moving homes is already stressful.

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[DeeDub]

Great advice Matt!

You can tell when they get real stressed. He should transition well. All of mine know the worms when I bring em in and they feed most voraciously on worms. None of mine were on worms when I got em and all have transitioned well. One little Cornuta takes more coaxing with tong feeding but has gotten the hang of it for the most part. I don't stop tapping and rubbing the frog until it jumps away twice. I will also move the worm to the side it is turning toward so as to provoke a bite. If i tap or rub on the front of the mouth and the frog turns to the left, I move the worm/food to the left and it will either bite it or turn back the other way.

[unkempt1]

If i tap or rub on the front of the mouth and the frog turns to the left, I move the worm/food to the left and it will either bite it or turn back the other way.

I've noticed this with my Jimmy as well! It's like they flip out with sudden movement like that hehe. Another thing I do to gauge interest is to wiggle the cricket just slightly to his left or right. If he puffs up a bit and turns to it after a few seconds, I know he's very interested and I just need to be patient until he finds a good time to strike.

In regards to tong training them, it really jut takes time and patience. Once they get hungry enough, they will strike (sometimes at the tongs themselves).

[Lija]

Great advice Matt!

You can tell when they get real stressed. He should transition well. All of mine know the worms when I bring em in and they feed most voraciously on worms. None of mine were on worms when I got em and all have transitioned well. One little Cornuta takes more coaxing with tong feeding but has gotten the hang of it for the most part. I don't stop tapping and rubbing the frog until it jumps away twice. I will also move the worm to the side it is turning toward so as to provoke a bite. If i tap or rub on the front of the mouth and the frog turns to the left, I move the worm/food to the left and it will either bite it or turn back the other way.

that is a very good advice! just keep in mind you might need loads of patience and persistence to tong train your frog or he might be ok from a first try. it i depends on a age of your fog too, the older it is the harder it is to break habits, some frogs however don't care much about anything and as long something is moving in front of him he'll eat hope it is your case.
the other way is to slowly introduce him to tongs, you can try to drop cricket right in front his face, so he sees tongs, but don't have to eat from them, eventually when he'll make connection tongs=food, you can try to feed crickets from tongs and later introduce to worms.

[DeeDub]

After posting this last night I was feeding everyone some nightcrawlers and learned another lesson as to the risks of tong feeding (or maybe it is just a risk of working with these awesome frogs).

I was trying to feed my peppermint Crannie (Phil) and he turned and put his face in the corner (he does this often), I reached in to turn him back toward me and the little bugger spun and made a go at my finger just as I touched him...lol. He didn't get me because my finger was verticle so he couldn't get a good hold but as he grabbed at my finger and chomped down I could feel the power he had behind that bite. It surprised me because he's only about 2". He even got his little front foot hooked around my finger to pull it in...lol

The lesson is that they will associate anything hovering around, or touching them (if you use the tap and rub technique) as a potential meal opportunity. Id rather get bit by my Ackies or Timor monitor than my Horned frogs or Pyxie. Just be aware that they bite!!!! I can't believe I forgot....lol

[MatthewM1]

Luckily I've yet to get bitten or snapped at but I can feel the power these little guys have the couple times he's bitten onto the tongs. I can only imagine how much a pixie bite would hurt

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[GrifTheGreat]

Getting bit is a good learning experience. Once bitten you are less likely to be so surprised that you yank the frog out of it's tank and onto the floor. Been there done that. They do have very powerful jaws so it will hurt especially if they get you with their odontoids(the tusk like projections in the center of the lower jaw).

Just don't freak out and realize that eventually you will get bitten. Also when tong feedint never offer them food with the tips of the tongs pointed towards the frog. They can accidentally impale temselves on the tong and be seriously hurt or worse. Always point the tips away.

[Heatheranne]

Always be aware and alert. Both African bullfrogs and pacmans have strong jaws and a quick chomp. If ever you get bit just relax and try to distract the frog. Trust me, I learned the hard way and was bitten hard enough for my little guy to break skin, still not let go, and my fingertip actually went numb and stayed numb for an hour or so. They are tough little stinkers. Pulling away make him bite harder so I set him into his water bowl, which distracted him and he let go. No more finger feeding since .

They are awesome frogs! Just, respect the hunt and the power of those little jaws .