Golden bell refusing to eat

[jojo1313]

Hey there I have 3 golden bells and 1 of them is refusing to eat anything.
I thought that it may be that the weather is cooler but the other 2 have
been eating the usual amount that they do any other time. Any help trying
to figure out why and how to get her to eat would be great.

[MsBlueRose]

She may have a blockage and can not potty. I had a Grey Tree Frog that died from an impaction and would not eat. I thought there was nothing wrong because she was gaining weight, but it turned out that the weight she was gaining was retained fluid that she could not pass. For nearly two months she did not eat and slowly started putting on weight, closer to the end of it all she started to soak in her little pond a lot more than the other frogs (which is a sure sign something is wrong). After I lost her, I did a lot of research on the symptoms and state of the frog before and upon death. I found a lot of helpful information. I hope it can help you as well. First, you can soak her in luke warm water with honey dissolved into it so she gets some energy from it. The honey acts like natural glucose and she will be able to absorb it right through her skin. Mix one teaspoon in 1/4 cup of warm water and stir it well until it is all dissolved. Let the water sit at room temp until it is just above room temp. The slightly warmer water will help her absorb it faster. Pour it into a bowl to a level that it will submerge the frog up to her chin, but not over her head and let her soak for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Also, move her to a hospital tank and watch for her to pass waste. If she has not passed anything with in a day or two, there is a good chance she has a blockage (impaction) and needs to be treated for it. First you need to determine what the blockage might be. Do you feed them in their enclosure and if so do you have small stones that she may have accidentally swallowed or possibly the substrait it self may be what is blocking her intestinal tract, a lot of things used as substrait can be swallowed when feeding and cause a blockage. Coconut fiber, moss, mulch, and various other things can cause the blockage. The food itself can also cause a blockage if you are feeding an insect that has a thick shell or a lot of exoskeleton (mealworms are one such insect) and wax worms can cause a blockage, too, because they are so high in waxy fat and can be hard to pass since they have no fibrous substance to help pass it along. If it's an insect that has caused the blockage or substrait, you can help the frog to pass it your self. But if it is a small stone or hard woody sunstrait, you may need to seek the assistance of a vet. Also, the treatment I am going to recommend does not ALWAYS work, but it has had a lot of success with other owners and may work for you if the conditions are right and you are consistent with the treatment. First off you are going to have to handle your frog and force his mouth open, so you may need to ask a friend or spouse to help you with this task. There are several methods for treating an impaction. First is simply to soak the frog in luke warm honey water, just like we already talked about. After which you will place the frog in a hospital tank with white paper towels and watch for a poop. If the frog poos, you have passed the blockage, or at least his intestinal tract is moving along again and he will hopefully pass it with in a few days. Second is to treat the frog with olive oil or flax seed oil. To do this you will have to get a needle-less syringe from the pharmacy and pry open the frogs mouth gently with a thin plastic credit card or the corner of a plastic spoon. After you get the frogs mouth open, keep him from closing it again by placing your finger in the corner of his mouth (this is why I say you may need assistance to treat them, someone will have to hold the frog for you while you administer the oil). After you get his mouth open place a few drops at a time into the frogs mouth and let him swallow it. Depending on the size of your frog you may have to do this several times in a row. The goal is to lubricate the frogs intestines to allow the frog to pass the blockage on his own, so make sure you have given him enough to accomplish this. The third is to do the same as listed with the oil but to add mashed up (into a wet paste) brown or white rice mixed with oil. You will need to mix in at least one part oil to one part rice, this method helps push out the blockage as well as lubricate the intestinal tract. These methods will work on a vegetation blockage and a blockage due to over feeding or feeding the wrong insect, and even on small stones if they are small enough to pass through the frogs vent. They will not work on large heavy blockages though, these will require a vet and possible surgery to be removed. After the blockage has been passed, check the frogs enclosure to make sure that there is nothing in his home that could cause this problem to occur again. If it was caused by feeding, switch to a varied diet of several kinds of insects suited for your frog and don't over feed. Any kind of insect can cause a blockage if you over feed your frog. I am sorry to have written such a long post, I just hate to see a frog suffer if it can be saved. Like I said I lost mine because I was not fully educated on the issue. There are several other factors that can cause a frog to not eat as well. So you may want to do a little research on the subject for yourself. The treatments I listed are in no way going to harm your frog if done properly, and the only thing that could cause harm is if you give too much oil at once and the frog ends up inhaling some of the oil so make sure you only give a few drops at a time and that is even preventable if you use the rice and oil treatment. I would suggest starting with the honey water first and observing the frog for a day in a hospital tank to make sure you are dealing with an impaction. However, it may be as simple as the frog is bored with the kind of food you are offering, if the frog passes stool while in the hospital tank, try switching to a new insect and see if she will eat. If you still can't get her to eat, please re-post here and I will try to help you find out why she is not eating for you. If she is not impacted, these treatments will cause no harm to your frog, so don't be afraid to try them out if you cant get her to eat and can't determine if she passed a poo or not. Good Luck With Your Baby and Best Wishes: MsBlueRose

[Mentat]

Hey there I have 3 golden bells and 1 of them is refusing to eat anything. I thought that it may be that the weather is cooler but the other 2 have been eating the usual amount that they do any other time. Any help trying to figure out why and how to get her to eat would be great.

Sorry your frog is not doing well . It's impossible to tell what is the problem without more information on the frog and it's enclosure. Please answer below questions to see if we can pinpoint issue, thank you !

“Trouble in the Frog Enclosure”

The following information will be very helpful if provided when requesting assistance with either your frog or enclosure. To help with your questions, please utilize the below list and post the information in the proper forum area to get advice from FF members that keep the same frog. This will allow for little confusion and a faster more informed response.

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. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.

16. How old is the frog

17. How long have you owned him/her

18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred

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

20. How often the frog is handled

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

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

by Lynn(Flybyferns) and GrifTheGreat.

[MsBlueRose]

How is your Golden Bell doing? I hope you have gotten her to eat by now? Let us know how she is doing if you can, thanks and best wishes; MsBlueRose.