Leopard froglet not eating? Help!

[Carissa]

Hi! I am a new frog owner. My leopard frog turned into a froglet about a week ago or so and he hasn't eaten yet. I have tried crickets, blood worms, aquatic frog food, and meal worms and he hasn't seemed interested in any of them. Is this normal?

[RJ72]

Hi Carissa,

Does he still have his tail? If he does, then he may not show interest in eating until it is fully absorbed. Even then, it may take a few days. Make sure you don't put too many insects in his enclosure at once. Better to drop the insects in front of him one at a time. Also, be sure that the insects are of the appropriate size. I would go with pinhead crickets and/or flightless fruit flies at this stage. I'm sure he'll start eating soon.

I hope this helps.

All the best with your new frog!

Keep us posted.

RJ

[Carissa]

Hi Carissa,

Does he still have his tail? If he does, then he may not show interest in eating until it is fully absorbed. Even then, it may take a few days. Make sure you don't put too many insects in his enclosure at once. Better to drop the insects in front of him one at a time. Also, be sure that the insects are of the appropriate size. I would go with pinhead crickets and/or flightless fruit flies at this stage. I'm sure he'll start eating soon.

I hope this helps.

All the best with your new frog!

Keep us posted.

RJ

Thank you for the advice!

His tail is fully absorbed and it has been for a week and a half now. He hasn't shown any interest in the food I have given and I am seriously starting to feel like I need to teach him how to eat. I was taking him out of his enclosure to feed him because I was worried about the crickets drowning (his tank is half land half water) but I put some tiny meal worms in a dish inside of his tank in case he wants to eat them in the dark or something, but he hasn't gone for them yet. I tried the pinhead crickets when I first realized he was a full frog so I will try them again and I will try the fruit flies also.

Could he be not eating because something is wrong with his enclosure? He seems to just burrow/hide most of the time.

[Mentat]

Leopard frogs are shy creatures and moving it to a feeding bin is probably stressing it. Food should be sized same or smaller that distance between frogs eyes and alive. Mealworms are not a good food and can impact a froglet's small digestive system. FF's and pinhead crickets are your best bet .

[flybyferns]

Hello Carissa,
Welcome to Frog Forum

Carlos has you covered well, as usual You can ALWAYS depend on him.

Keep the little froglet - nice and quiet as if it were at the edge of a pond with NO HUMAN for miles !

They MUST have live - moving -insects. Dusted occasionally with a calcium/ Vit D supplement. You might try a worm?

Josh's frogs has pinhead crickets and cricket supplies:
Crickets, Live Crickets, Cricket Care | Josh's Frogs
If you purchase enough, ( pin-head and small size) and the supplies for proper cricket care ----> the cricks will grow with your forglet.
Keep the crickets in a lg bin with a lid ( with melted - air- holes in the lid ) , food , clean water, and an empty paper towel roll to crawl into.

The froglet needs an always available source of clean water deep enough for it to get into BUT easy to get out of when he wants. This makes them feel safe---they think they are hiding. Emphasis is on the clean ! Spot clean each day / remove all dead feeders /food from the water. Change their water often ( like a fish tank) and use a de-chlorinator that is safe for amphibians. A small filter will help you keep the water clean.

Place a -clean- flat stone and some plastic plants into the enclosure for the frog to crawl up on to. He would enjoy some floating plants. Use the stone to place the crickets onto. A slope would be nice make in easy for the froglet to decide 'when' to be out of the water completely.

In their natural habitat they will be at the water's edge waiting for an insect to come by. When you take a walk around a pond ,for instance, they are the
kind of little frog that when spooked jumps back into the to the water. Studying them in their natural environment will help to create the best enclosure possible. Think about that big pond! This helps us to realize how difficult it is to reproduce their natural habitat. They hibernate in the mud during the winter in the wild, but will not do so in captivity.

Like a tree frog, they will do well with a day/night light schedule; with a full spectrum light availability at a pet store.Careful -- you don't not want to purchase lighting that gives of any heat.
ie don't keep the tank anywhere near a window. However they do ok in a wide range of temperatures. Worry more about the heat!

Remember - handling causes stress/ and removes part of their skin!
Wash your hands well if you should have to handle.
Wash well after regular maintenance- or use disposable vinyl /powder less/ non-latex gloves.

As Carlos mentioned - it's a shy frog. When a big human hand approaches the frog- the frog ,instinctively, thinks it is either going to be squished or be a predator's meal! This scare releases stress hormones which enable it to escape "from the bad guy". This constant stress can increase the risk of illness.

I hope this helps...please keep us posted.

[Carissa]

Thank you so much everyone!! I had no idea handling was so detrimental for them! He has always seemed calm when I have picked him up but I think that is a major reason as to why he hasn't eaten. How many fruit flies would be appropriate? His tank has a lot of moss in it, will it be difficult for him to get the food? I want to make it as easy as possible for him since I am scared of how long he has gone without eating! Could he be eating anything else in the tank? I do have a live plant in there....

[LilyPad]

I would get rid of the moss. He doesn't need any substrate other than paper towels right now in addition to the water area depending how you have it set up. That way he will easily be able to find his food and you'll be able to see exactly how much he's eaten. I agree with everyone else with avoiding handling. Cover at least 3 sides of the tank to help reduce stress also.