First time frog owner. Questions about care: temperature and lack of appetite

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! The enclosure is too cold and probably that is why frog's appetite is gone. The frog needs the proper temps to digest food and in the long term; lower temperatures will do permanent damage to frog. Myself keep ABFs in the low to mid 80'sF during day and no lower than 75F in Winter at nights. That temp should be read a couple in. above ground level where frog lives. An LED light provides little to no heat. A 60W ceramic heat emitter (CHE) in a dome fixture with dimmer from Flukers or similar works well to heat the enclosure. Another option is to use red incandescent light bulbs. You might need to cover most of the screen top with aluminum foil to retain heat and humidity if room is in low 70's.

Shredded coco should be mixed with dechlorinated tap until slightly damp (clumps in fist but does not drip water out). Dry substrate could affect the frog appetite too. The water dish should be cleaned & changed daily with dechlorinated tap even if it looks clean. Mist the enclosure 2X daily to keep substrate damp and humidity 70-80%.

You need to use supplements with food; more info on that in here: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html. Crickets should be smaller than distance between frog's eyes and gut loaded with carrots, lettuce, and cherios cereal 24-48 hours before feeding frog. Not dyed night crawlers from Walmart or local bait shop are the best food for your frog. You can cut them from pointy end mouth size for babies, frog's body length for 2-3 in. juvies, and whole for larger frogs. Mealworms and similar beetle larva worms should be used sparingly if at all. They are high in fat and their chitinous skin makes them very hard to digest and an impaction hazard. Feed frog daily until your it reaches around 3.5 in.; then when it shows decreased appetite feed every other day.

Hope this helps, recommend read the GABF care guide again, and good luck !

[ancestral0stars]

Wow thank you for the info. I will go to the store today and get him something to keep warm. I will also wet the substrate and get proper food etc. Poor frog must be so uncomfortable due to my newbie mistakes. Thanks for setting me right=)

[ancestral0stars]

Ok so I bought a 60 watt heating coil and a 100 watt dome with dimmer switch (The 60 watt dome didnt have a switch). I got a temp/humidity gauge. And a cricket keeper so that I can gut load them before feeding. Also got night crawlers. I hope this helps the little one. We have officially named him Ebil Frogbit the 3rd lol.