Red-Eye tree frog questions

[CaptainMorgantown]

I am having a few problems with my red-eye, Darwin. The biggest one is that he WILL NOT EAT. I have had him for a week now, and I have not seen him eat once. I tried taking him out of his tank to feed him, and have put crickets in his tank. I looked back in the tank the next day and found all three crickets that I put in. He is rather big, the biggest one they had in the pet store, so I would tend to think that he would be hungry at some point. I am starting to get worried also because he has changed colors dramatically since I got him. I know that he isn't happy, but I don't know what to do to make it better. Also, he sleeps all day and night. Is this normal?

[Kurt]

They do sleep quite alot and they are extremely nocturnal, kind of like a college student on spring break. Getting to see them eat is a rare occasion. I have many, I do mean many red-eyes (22 to be exact, plus tadpoles), I rarely get to see them eat and when I do its most likely one of the froglets, which are more active then the parent frogs.

The way you describe your frog, it sounds to me like it may be a wild caught and possibly female. I would take it to a vet for a deworming. The vet should treat the frog with metronidazole (for protozoans) and fenbendazole for worms. The vet should not do both drugs at the same time and the treatments should be, in theory, done a week a part for each other.

Also, if you haven't done so already, read the care article (link to the left) to make sure your is husbandry correct.

[CaptainMorgantown]

The place were I bought it only buys from local breeders, and the owner refuses to buy things that were caught in the wild. I was thinking about taking it to the vet anyway if continues not eating. How much does the dewormer cost usually? Is there anyway to get it to eat?

[Kurt]

Price will depend on the vet. Some vets are reasonable, others well...

There is force feeding but this should only be done in extreme situations and by a veterinarian's instructions.

[CaptainMorgantown]

Hmm, well I don't really want to try forcing him to eat. I'll give him a few more days, and if he still hasn't ate anything, I'll take him to the vet thanks.

[Kurt]

Your welcome. If you had paper towels down as a substrate, you could see what was going on a lot better. Feces really show up on them. Once they have been sprayed down, crickets have a hard time trying to hide under them, making it easier for your frog to catch them. I put all new frogs on white paper towels while they are going through the quarnatine stage.

[Paul Rust]

Heres my .02. Everything Kurt said + The frog certainly doesn't look malnurished by any means and it looks healthy. I don't have Red eyeds, I have Black eyeds and they move slow and come out late at night and go back to sleep very early. I go to work at 4:00am and they are all back in the leaves by then. If it still alive after a week and looks as good as yours does, do what Kurt recommended and have it de-wormed to ease your mind. I just make sure there are at least 4 crickets per frog before I go to bed each night. They will change color drastically to match the leaf they are resting on and also to compensate for heat stress. Mine are always a different color.

[laura26]

If he is not eating crickets try fruit flies . I had 6 a while ago and 2 of them wouldnt eat part of it was stress from moving into a new environment

[andaroo]

Stop worrying they can go ages without food I've had some go 3-4 weeks without it.
These frogs stress REALLY easily so trying to hand feed and holding it will make matters much worse. You need to just leave it alone and give it time to settle in.

I responded to another post on here about the same topic.

Please check out my caresheet it covers how to get them to settle in so they start eating.

The secrets of successfully keeping red eyed tree frogs - Reptile Forums

[mike merrick]

Stop worrying they can go ages without food I've had some go 3-4 weeks without it.
These frogs stress REALLY easily so trying to hand feed and holding it will make matters much worse. You need to just leave it alone and give it time to settle in.

I responded to another post on here about the same topic.

Please check out my caresheet it covers how to get them to settle in so they start eating.

The secrets of successfully keeping red eyed tree frogs - Reptile Forums

i read your destressing process and i did most those things. i am on week 3 and my one frog the smaller male eats alot and the larger female hasn't eaten since i got her and i have notice a littlebit of weight loss..... HELP i don't know what to do i tried separating her but she just sleeps when she is alone.i am almost considering force feeding her. if you have any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

[Heatheranne]

Mike, I'll move your thread so we can help.

[mike merrick]

Mike, I'll move your thread so we can help.

sorry to inform the community but she didn't make it. she died some time last night

[Heatheranne]

I'm so sorry :'(.