Pacman frog spitting up? Please help!

[Emasse2243]

I have a 4 spot pacman frog, a couple weeks ago I went to feed my pacman and he started breathing heavy, like his sides were going in and out fast and then he spit up water. I let him be for 2 days and he was fine, just today I went to feed him and the second I opened the cage he started spitting up breathing heavy and now he had the water coming out his nose, normally he is fully under the eco earth but the past 2 days he has been on the top just sitting and he looks darker green, his eco earth is always moist, i swish it around every other day, It is 45 for the humidity and 83 in his tank he is about the size of my palm so 4 inches long, please help!

[Strider18]

Hello and welcome to frog forum! Hrmm I am not sure what is going on. I would talk with the other people on the forum and consider going to the vet to see what is wrong. I hope this helps!

[DVirginiana]

If you can answer all the questions in the Trouble in the Enclosure sticky (http://www.frogforum.net/pacman-frog...enclosure.html) that would help in getting a more complete idea of what's going on.

43% humidity is way too low... Just looking at the eco-earth in his tank, it looks really dry. Probably why the humidity is staying so low. The substrate should be moist enough that when you grab a handful, it clumps together, but not soaking wet. What kind of water are you using (tap, treated, spring)?

I'm not sure what spitting up water is a sign of in frogs, but when I've seen it in snakes it's usually an indicator of kidney problems. How much water was he spitting up?
Vet visit may be the best option here.

[Strider18]

Oh I read it wrong i though 83 was humidity, that makes more sense now. I would raise the humidity as quickly as you can. Just mist the enclosure until the soil is moist like Dvirginiana said. I hope this helps!

[frogmandan]

Dose the frog have a coat of slime on it that eggshell white kinda cloudy, I've seen this before in a frog if its got a coat like that on it its dehydrated, not humid enough either way. The humidity needs to be between 75%-85% in the tank also a common mistakes is the humidity gage should be closer to the soil for accurate readings. There terestreal frogs so air humidity don't mean squat. Hope your little thing is OK

[Strider18]

That is true, didn't really think that it could be going through a period of estivation. Thanks for mentioning that Frogmandan!

[Strider18]

Another thing I wanted to mention is that dart frogs absorb their water through their air and they don't even need to soak! Just thought I would share that

[frogmandan]

You must be a dart frog Greek, not a bad thing just saying. If its got that coat soak the guy in water just enough to go up to his chin,for around an hour. The slime. Should fade then he will pull it to his mouth an eat it saving it for next time. I'm going to invest in a fogger for my frogs tank , it will help. Higher humidity isn't the isuue with them but low is so I would go that route, I got mine for $60 with the shipping from
Lll Reptiles.

[Strider18]

Not a geek, I just really like them

[frogmandan]

Yah
I bet. I like them too, wife don't

[Strider18]

Lol I don't have a wife, just a dad and mom

[Emasse2243]

Thanks for all the help! I currently use distilled and my well water for him, and i feed him the frog food that you make into a ball. Im going to add more dirt and im going to keep it moist like you said, hopefully he doesn't have kidney problems because this only happened twice and very far apart for one another.

[frogmandan]

Buy crickets. They do better with live. Food

[DVirginiana]

Okay, distilled is bad. You may also be running into issues with your well water. It can have concentrations of metals in it that are harmless for humans, but would be bad for a frog. Distilled doesn't have any minerals in it, and can really mess up a frog. You need to take out his current substrate, and give him new eco-earth that has been expanded with either spring water or treated tap water (using a water treatment like Prime that you can get at most pet stores).
You might want to buy spring water and use that for a bit just in case, since you don't really know what's causing him to spit up water.

How far apart were the two times he spit up water? In the initial post I got the impression it was only two days.

If you're using Pacman food by Samurai, and he's eating well, then that should be fine. It's nutritionally complete from what I can gather.

[Lija]

Ares, welcome to the forum!

DV covered a lot already, i will add a few things. He is not aestivating, but needs help asap.

1. A frog needs water therapy ( baths). Use warm dechlorinated water, place a frog in there for 20 min every day for a few days or until he sheds all his dry skin. Water level should be no higher then frogs chin.. While in bath, massage very gently him to help him shed, dont try to remove anything, be very gentle.
I dont think you need medicated baths yet.

2. You gotta cover 3 sides of your tank. He is scared poor guy, that is why he breathes the way he does when he sees you.

3. As DV said you cant ever use distilled water, for anything other then fogger. It is very very bad for a frog. Get a water conditioner and use it for your water.

4. Fix humidity and temps. Both way off. He needs to be at temps 80-82(day), 76-78 (night). Night drop in temps mimics their natural day cycle in a wild. Humidity has to be 70-80 measured in a dead centre on a back wall about 2" above the substrate. Use digital gauges, they are more accurate.

5. Food. Variety is a key with them. Both samurai and zoomed pacman food claims they are fully balanced and frogs dont need anything other then that, however i wont recommend to feed exclusively that. Add nightcrawlers - they are excellent nutritious value and the only invertebrate that have proper for a frog calcium and phosphorus ratio. Good news your frog is eating and even better news that you feed him that dry food, meaning he is tong trained. So just get nightcrawlers from any fishing store and alternate with dry food with occasional treats like hornworms.