Trying to feed these guys is effort in futility

[reptileszz]

OK, this is very frustrating. I am painstakingly dropping one sinking pellet at a time in front of these frogs in the hopes that they see it. If they dont see it the pellet sits there and no one touches it. Forget about floating pellets, they just float around all day until they finally sink, stick to something and start looking moldy or something. How on earth do you feed these things without making a huge mess? I am going to have to vacuum this tank every other day just to get the extra pellets.

I have even tried putting a reptomin stick on the end of tongs to no avail. This is just ridiculous. I have no idea how much, if anything they are eating. Very frustrated.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Carole

[mpmistr]

OK, this is very frustrating. I am painstakingly dropping one sinking pellet at a time in front of these frogs in the hopes that they see it. If they dont see it the pellet sits there and no one touches it. Forget about floating pellets, they just float around all day until they finally sink, stick to something and start looking moldy or something. How on earth do you feed these things without making a huge mess? I am going to have to vacuum this tank every other day just to get the extra pellets.

I have even tried putting a reptomin stick on the end of tongs to no avail. This is just ridiculous. I have no idea how much, if anything they are eating. Very frustrated.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Carole

I would just keep trying, I never had much luck with sinking pellets (my frogs ignore HBH pellets save for one who seems to enjoy them somewhat). I find they make a lot of mess and I hate having to clean up after every meal so I prefer a more direct feeding method. If you have a bare bottom tank sinking pellets probably work out okay, if you're like me and have sand, plants, driftwood, and rocks -- well it's just not worth it.

I remember it taking me a while to get my frogs to even eat Reptomin I would hand feed them and they would just ignore it and swim away. Eventually they get less picky it just may take time and patience. If you need to let them get hungry, then don't feed them for a bit. They won't starve and eventually they will start to catch on.

Anywho, this is my method for feeding pellets and yes it's rather weird, my frogs are god awful at finding pellets and the water surface of my tank is covered in duckweed, water sprite, and amazon frog bit (so it's a huge clumpy tangle of plants, awesome for basking frogs, not so much for feeding..).

I use bamboo skewers (the dull end obviously) and then I wet the Reptomin pellets into a 'clump' and then I will float it on the water surface and just 'nudge' it with the skewer. I think this simulates an arthropod that has been trapped in the water tension, they pick up on this pretty fast. In their natural environment they will often pick off insects in this manner. I find this a lot better than just dumping Reptomin into the tank because it's already wet and soggy for them and they get all their pellets in one bite and there is almost no mess or clean up. I also occasionally feed crickets in this manner.

If your frogs are seriously dead set against looking to the surface for food you could try tong feeding them chopped bits of earthworm near the surface of the water, ACF are pretty intelligent for amphibians and they will learn to scour the top of the tank for food very quickly. I don't think any ACF can resist nightcrawlers.

I'm no expert but these methods have worked for me, let us know how it works out!

[reptileszz]

Thank you. I'm glad I am not the only one this has happened to/is happening to. Mistery loves company! I will try the reptomin clump thing and see what happens. I still have the awful gravel on the bottom so once the pellet hits the gravel the frog doesnt even know its there. If they dont see it moving they dont bother. But they DO eat the ones they see. I just dont know if they are getting enough. The one albino sits up in the water sprite and completely ignores the reptomin floating right next to it. I dont get that at all. Even when I drop it there it doesnt bother with it. That is the frog I am most concerned about since I havent seen it eat much. The other normal one seems to be "getting" the sinking pellets to some extent and comes out when I turn the light on. That is progress I think. I think I can teach him to come to the surface.

Thank you again!
Carole

[reptileszz]

OK, developments during the last 24 hours. Norm, the normal ACF is eating well and has figured out how to eat a reptomin stick off of tongs. I also noticed in the last day that Norm is a lot bigger than Al (the albino one). Al does not seem to be eating at all. I just removed him to a short critter keeper sort of tank which is now resting on top of the real tank. He is very puny compared to Norm. Could Norm have been intimidating Al? Anyway, I dropped 3 different kinds of pellets in with Al to no avail. The only stuff I put in with him is some of the water sprite since he seemed to like to hang out in it in the other tank. Is there anything else I can do for him? I am at a loss as to why one frog would do so well and the other not so much.

Thank you,
Carole

[mpmistr]

ACF don't really bully each other, they're pretty much neutral toward one another (only somewhat social.. sorta, unless the other frog is much smaller.. then it's just dinner).

Albino frogs tend to be smaller than pigmented frogs so I've read (my Albino is a beast though lol), I would perhaps feed this frog chopped earthworm since he's small (cut in 1/2). There is no way he can resist it, it will perk up his appetite for sure.

[reptileszz]

ACF don't really bully each other, they're pretty much neutral toward one another (only somewhat social.. sorta, unless the other frog is much smaller.. then it's just dinner).

Albino frogs tend to be smaller than pigmented frogs so I've read (my Albino is a beast though lol), I would perhaps feed this frog chopped earthworm since he's small (cut in 1/2). There is no way he can resist it, it will perk up his appetite for sure.

Thank you so much! "Al" ate 3 small pieces of earthworm just now!!! Wolfed them right down! I am so happy! I didnt really think it would work but you were right!

Thanks again!!!

Carole

PS I am in the process of getting the gravel out of there now. I had no idea that there was so much **** in there. What a nightmare. I am going to go with nothing on the bottom and see how that works out.

[mpmistr]

Thank you so much! "Al" ate 3 small pieces of earthworm just now!!! Wolfed them right down! I am so happy! I didnt really think it would work but you were right!

Oh ye of little faith. X. Laevis simply cannot resist nightcrawlers.

Thanks again!!!

You're quite welcome.

PS I am in the process of getting the gravel out of there now. I had no idea that there was so much **** in there. What a nightmare. I am going to go with nothing on the bottom and see how that works out.

Will be well worth the effort. An accidental ingestion of gravel is rare --but does happen-- and could prove deadly. A bare bottom tank is perhaps not the prettiest solution but it is the most practical and easiest to maintain. I would suggest putting a dark towel or cloth under the tank so the frogs have a better 'feel' for where the bottom of the tank is.

[reptileszz]

Will be well worth the effort. An accidental ingestion of gravel is rare --but does happen-- and could prove deadly. A bare bottom tank is perhaps not the prettiest solution but it is the most practical and easiest to maintain. I would suggest putting a dark towel or cloth under the tank so the frogs have a better 'feel' for where the bottom of the tank is.

To be honest, I am getting it out of there quicker than intended because of all the pellets that the frogs miss are making a gigantic mess in there. If the floor is bare perhaps they will be able to see them moving better instead of them getting lost in the gravel. This new tong feeding is going really well tho and I will probably stick with that. Going to a reptile show tomorrow on Long Island. Hoping to find longer tongs so less of my arm gets soaked

Thanks!