New ACF not eating

[RockyGurly]

Heyo, me again, here's my intro post for the whole skivvy: http://www.frogforum.net/aquatic-cla...-huge-acf.html
In a nutshell, I'm a brand spankin' new owner who just adopted a severely neglected ACF. He's had nothing but minnows and goldfish for food for about four years, and I got him his reptomin and some earthworms. But so far he hasn't even really noticed the pellets, and I tried tweezer feeding him a small earthworm and he just swam away I got him three days ago, and I'm sure he's getting hungry. It isn't urgent yet since he's fairly big, but I'd like to know what I can do to encourage him to start eating before it becomes urgent. I can handle him if I need to hand feed him, he's really sweet and let me hold him and check him for injuries (after the doofus put him, tank, rock decorations and all, in the back of his truck and drove it to school > ) and he does sometimes swim over to see me if I'm doing something by the tank.
Also, he's been making mating calls I can take that as a compliment, right? They're fairly pleasant to listen to
I can get pictures of the setup if that would help? It's fairly bare right now, but it's still a huge improvement over the dump he was being kept in.

[Mentat]

OK, first thing need to do is please answer these questions and provide requested pics:

1. Size of enclosure?

2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences?

3. Humidity?

4. Temperature?

5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish?

6. Materials used for substrate?

7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials. - How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv?

8. Main food source?

9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often?)

10. Lighting?

11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure?

12. When is the last time he/she ate?

13. Have you found poop lately?

14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)

15. How old is the frog?

16. How long have you owned him/her?

17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred?

18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats?

19. How often the frog is handled?

20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area?

21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

If frog was fed live fish for 4 years it might not associate pellets or worms with food. Keep offering small amounts in morning and evenings but remove all non eaten food in 15 minutes. Could also try a product like this: JurassiPet. JurassiGuard to enhance flavor or just rub pellets in crushed garlic.

More information to read here: Xenopus laevis care sheet; All About African Clawed Frogs; and In Depth Information on Common Aquatic Clawed Frogs. Good luck !

[RockyGurly]

1. a 20G long
2. Just the one ACF
3. I'm not sure, but the air (about 3 inches) feels like it might be in the 65%-75% range
4. The water's been about 73F during the day and 71F at night
5. Just plain ol' dechlor fresh water, and no dish?
6. Currently none
7. I cleaned everything with hot tap water and then rinsed it in dechlor, he has a corner gutter PVC pipe, a rock cave, a couple rock decor pieces and a large silk plant
8. Reptomin
9. None, so far
10. None besides the natural lighting of the room
11. Nothing, so far it's held without additional heating
12. I have no idea It could of been a long time or as recent as last thursday
13. I had one smallish poop that still had some coloured gravel in it, but so far no new poops
14. I'll make another post for that in a sec when I get my camera going
15. I would geuss 4 1/2 years to 5 years
16. For four days
17. Not sure, probably a cheap pet store impulse buy
18. Reptomin is mainly being offered, but I tried a live earthworm and some frozen bloodworms
19. So far once to check him for injuries, and a second time to move him from the baggie to the cleaned up tank
20. Very low traffic, and 90% of the time, silent
21. So far none, but I plan on 10% water changes every week or two, and regular spot cleaning for old food and poops
I'll try the garlic thing, that's ok for them? Weird! :P

[RockyGurly]

Here he is
I know, I haven't gotten a filter yet I will very soon, until then I've been doing daily water changes (1-2 gallons)

[SwimminSteve]

As long as he is active and looks healthy he can go quite a while without food. He's so used to the fish that he doesn't recognize worms or pellets as food yet. He can fast for at least a couple of weeks before the situation becomes worrisome. Just keep offering reptomin and worms every other day or so. Most likely he will eventually get hungry enough to try some. You might have given up to easily on handfeeding the earth worm. Try again and keep following him around the tank with it. You can give up after 5 min or so, but let him get used to the smell. I don't recommend using forceps to hand feed. If he gets really excited and tries to lunge at them he could poke an eye out or worse.
So don't worry, you're doing everything right. The tank looks nice. Keep up the good work! and buy a filter

[RockyGurly]

The filter is coming soon, I promise :P I'm planning on a 40-50 gallon one, but I can't decide on internal or external. I'm making a big pet store run soon though to grab some hideys, order some live plants and nightcrawlers and I'll see what she has available for filters and silk plants.
I have these really long reptile tweezers with rubber ends, are those ok? Those are what I prefer anyways, so I don't have to stick my hand all the way in the water.
I tried what you said, I followed him around and poked him with the wormy until he had a taste. He spat it out, but then he put it back in his mouth and ate a second one I'll keep trying the pellets and hope he'll take to those too. Thanks!

[Mentat]

...
7. I cleaned everything with hot tap water and then rinsed it in dechlor, he has a corner gutter PVC pipe, a rock cave, a couple rock decor pieces and a large silk plant
Make sure decor has no sharp edges and that frog can't get stuck in anything.

13. I had one smallish poop that still had some coloured gravel in it, but so far no new poops
If gravel in poop it's good frog is passing it. Stuck gravel in digestive system (impaction) could make it sick and cause death.

18. Reptomin is mainly being offered, but I tried a live earthworm and some frozen bloodworms
Glad it ate earthworm! Those are very nutritious. Good luck getting it to accept Reptomin.

21. So far none, but I plan on 10% water changes every week or two, and regular spot cleaning for old food and poops
I'll try the garlic thing, that's ok for them? Weird! :P
Would recommend 25% water change a week; specially now that you do not have a filter. Might not see much poop, but frog is peeing urea and in an uncycled tank (more below) the Ammonia and Nitrite levels must be high.

Garlic works as a taste enhancement in fish and frogs. If garlic oils are fresh, it's also a natural way to prevent some parasites.

I answered some relevant questions above. A new tank set-up will cycle itself in around 30 days. Not sure how that number is affected when a filter is absent. Beneficial bacteria needs a surface to live on and not having a filter; will only exist on tank walls, decor, and gravel. During the stabilization period the Ammonia will peak and then go down and then Nitrites will peak. Then both Ammonia and Nitrite will reach zero and your tank is cycled.

Your frog will be exposed to those bad chemicals; so observe it daily and note any changes in eating, swimming or pooping behavior. Here is link to article discussing several ACF diseases to give you idea what to look for: African Clawed Frog Disease and Injury. Do not over react, these frogs are pretty tough.

During this time you can do normal weekly water changes. Do not wash gravel or decor in tap water; that will kill the good bacteria. Also, recommend not using ammonia removing media or liquids because they will sequester too much Ammonia from tank and will start a yo-yo effect that will make the process much longer. Good luck !