Help with my Surinam Horned Frog

[Beelzebub7]

i purchased my frog almost 2 weeks ago, he is about 2.5 inches from end to end. a BEAUTIFUL bright neon green color.
i have him set up in a 5 gallon, with an undertank heat pad and the substrate is shredded coconut husk. i keep it quite damp in there.
his tank is kept in my bathroom. (warmest room in the house0

so heres the questions: firstly, he hasnt eaten that i can see yet. i have tried 2 pinkies, and earthworms. he MIGHT have eaten a worm or two, but it looks doubtful.
last week he had his eyes closed for acouple of days and his color changed to a yellowish green. after a while, i decided to try and move him. he did not respond at all. the pet store recommended that i pour some lukewarm water over him, which i did and it seemed to reinvigorate him. he started moving around and looks much better now, however his color is still a very light yellowish compared to the vibrant neon green.

any thoughts as to what is wrong with him?

[SethD]

Wc adults of this species have a reputation for being picky eaters and being difficult to acclimate. If you haven't gotten him to eat after two weeks that isn't a good sign. Sometimes a live feeder frog will trigger this species when nothing else will. You might try that if nothing else works.

[JeffX]

What are the temps in the tank? Have you tried to feed him with tongs or just put the food in front of him?

[Beelzebub7]

What are the temps in the tank? Have you tried to feed him with tongs or just put the food in front of him?

to be honest i dont know. like i said, 5 gallon tank with a heating pad that covers half of it.
i just dangled the food in front of his face. no tongs.

[JeffX]

You need to get a gauge to tell you what the temp and what the humidity is. You should never guess. Heat pads fail, and they can overheat. I check my temps daily, and check all of heat pads bi-weekly for signs of wearing out.

Your hand might be causing some stress with the new frog. It's already trying to acclimate to a new environment so the stress of your hand in there doesn't help. If at all possible I'd try and get a rubber or plastic tipped feeder tong to feed him if at all possible.

Do you know if he was wild caught or captive born? Also did he eat at the pet store?

[John]

I would bet it's captive bred. It's hard to diagnose the problem but you might want to consider that it has been unwell since before you acquired it. When these frogs don't eat for a few weeks it's usually a major warning sign - many don't make it.

[Beelzebub7]

You need to get a gauge to tell you what the temp and what the humidity is. You should never guess. Heat pads fail, and they can overheat. I check my temps daily, and check all of heat pads bi-weekly for signs of wearing out.

Your hand might be causing some stress with the new frog. It's already trying to acclimate to a new environment so the stress of your hand in there doesn't help. If at all possible I'd try and get a rubber or plastic tipped feeder tong to feed him if at all possible.

Do you know if he was wild caught or captive born? Also did he eat at the pet store?

ok...time to purchase a therm.

its just odd, i have owned several pacmans throughout the years, this is my surinam, and the others couldnt eat enough!

im guessing he was captive born. and they claimed that he had eaten 2 days prior.

[Beelzebub7]

I would bet it's captive bred. It's hard to diagnose the problem but you might want to consider that it has been unwell since before you acquired it. When these frogs don't eat for a few weeks it's usually a major warning sign - many don't make it.

yeah, as i said in my above post i have never owned a pacman that wasnt a voracious eater. really a bummer because this is a BEAUTIFUL frog. and, due to the pet stores error i only paid $30 for him.

[SethD]

I would bet it's captive bred. It's hard to diagnose the problem but you might want to consider that it has been unwell since before you acquired it. When these frogs don't eat for a few weeks it's usually a major warning sign - many don't make it.

He said "suriname horned frog" doesn't that mean we are talking cornuta here? If so I think it is much more likely to be wc. I have been seeing quite a few wc cornuta for sale over the past month or so since this is the time of year Suriname imports come in. I saw a couple just today that were about that size he mentioned. Chances are if it was cb it would be smaller. Not to mention cb cornuta are only available occasionally.

[John]

He said "suriname horned frog" doesn't that mean we are talking cornuta here? If so I think it is much more likely to be wc. I have been seeing quite a few wc cornuta for sale over the past month or so since this is the time of year Suriname imports come in. I saw a couple just today that were about that size he mentioned. Chances are if it was cb it would be smaller. Not to mention cb cornuta are only available occasionally.

That is quite possible. There's no real way to be sure though :/. If Seth is right about it being wild caught, then that could be your problem - wild caught cornuta are notorious for not eating when in captivity - they want to eat other frogs, since that constitutes much of their natural diet.

[Amphibians]

Is the heat pad underneath the tank?

[StephenLS]

Try smaller prey items - mine goes nuts for smaller crickets/locusts and goes through phases when he won't eat bigger meals - but smaller moving items seem to stimulate him!

[Beelzebub7]

Is the heat pad underneath the tank?

yes....

[Amphibians]

Does he burrow down and sit on it? because this could maybe dehydrate him. Just a guess, could have something to do with the color change. How is he now?

[Beelzebub7]

Does he burrow down and sit on it? because this could maybe dehydrate him. Just a guess, could have something to do with the color change. How is he now?

another day, another dead pinkie. still hasnt eaten.


he sits on the opposite side of the heat pad, it only covers half of the tank.

im leaving for the weekend, gonna put down some more substrate (only about an inch right now) and soak the hell out of it, throw a couple earthworms in and hope for the best. at this point im fairly certain the little guy isnt going to make it.

[PEatMoSS101]

u need to give the frog a feeder frog..im guessing this is WC..plus all the traffic in the bathroom is adding to its high leavels of stress..you may need to force feed this frog before it dies myself this really bothers me cause CB should not behave like that..and no its not a pacman that will very much eat anything.and throwing a worm in there and leaveing it doesnt work.worms just dig into the substrate and poof gone. good luck i hope your frog recovers..very nice frog

[PEatMoSS101]

i agree ..should be about the size of a quarter me finks

[Mentat]

i agree ..should be about the size of a quarter me finks

Just to point out that thread is almost four years old and the member has been inactive since then .

[CHiNO]

stop feeding dead pinkies! my cornuta rarely wants a live pinky. if your frog is not eating switch to live fish, i often buy tetras and mollys to feed my cornuta. pm me if you need more help!

[PEatMoSS101]

how do you see the date aof message..i can see the join date..and thanks for the info of message its kinda like talkn to yourself LOL