My Vietnamese Mossy Frog Won't Eat!!

[Basil]

I got 2 Vietnamese mossy frogs 5 days ago. I put a floating box of crickets in their water every night, but for the first few nights, none of the crickets were gone. Then on friday morning, I noticed that 4 of the eight crickets were gone, and the four remaining crickets were all dead and slightly squished. I thought that my mossy frogs must have eaten, but only one of my mossies had moved positions over night. The other one was in the exact same position he was when i went to bed. I also tried putting both of my frogs in separate places with crickets, but they took no notice of the crickets. My frogs lived together before I bought them, so they get along fine. At first I thought that they just weren't hungry, but it's been five nights now and I think only one has eaten. The other one might just be stressed but I don't know when he'll eat again. Do frogs ever starve themselves to death? If I just leave my frog alone and keep providing him with food, will he eventually eat?


I also read that you can hand feed and force feed a frog, or give them a hot bath with honey to make them eat. i also read that there is a product called Flukers repta aid, but I'm not sure what to try, or if you can give mossy frogs a bath. Whatever I do, I want to help my frog as soon as possible before this turns into a bigger problem.


i keep the temperature during the day at about 78, and the temperatures at night about 70. I don't give them any special heating because i read in several places that they do good in room temperature. I'm not quite sure what the humidity is or how to tell. But I do mist their tank several times a day, and I have plastic sheeting on top to keep the humidity in. I've cleaned their tank 3 times in the five days I've had them (but that was because I used to have a piece of driftwood that turned the water yellow, and even though tanin rich water is good for them, it looked really bad) i think I'm doing everything right, but I don't know why my frog isn't eating!

any advice is really appreciated!

[Raya]

Hello there and congrats on getting mossy frogs!

I wouldn't worry to much about the frogs not eating alot the first couple of days. It could take a while for them to get used to their new home etc. Just keep having food in the bins for them at night and they will find and eat it. I would not recommend forcefeeding at all. Honeybaths are for when the frogs are constopated.
I didn't think that two of my mossies moved at all either when I got them. They sat at the same stop every day. But when I checked at night they moved around alot som I guess they just found a favourite spot that they felt safe at.

How does your tank look? Do you have an aqua-terraria setup with branches and stuff for the to climb on?
I recommend oak leaves and cork for tannins. The water should be dark but still clear if that makes any sense?

Room temperature works for these guys. Just watch out so the temperature doesn't get too high. These guys are from mountain areas so they like it more on the cool side.

[Basil]

Hi, and thanks for your reply.
I have a 20 gallon tank which is mostly water with a rock and some plants sticking out. I keep them at room temperature. I've tried feeding them several times since I last posted, but still they won't eat. I guess they were stressed at first, but I've had them for 11 days now. Are they supposed to eat after 11 days?
I've also been feeding my mossy frogs large crickets because that is what they were fed in their old home. Is that good in terms of size?

I've watched them at night sometimes and I see them jump onto their rock and look around. They also call a lot in the evening, so they are definitely more active at night.

like I said, I used to have a piece of driftwood which made the water dark and yellow, but clear, and at first I wasn't sure if that was good or not, so I took the driftwood out. Then I researched it and found out that driftwood makes the water yellow because of tannins, which are good for mossy frogs. I will definitely try oak leaves and cork for tannins.

Again thank you so much for your help!

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF ! Crickets should be sized smaller than distance between frog eyes. Sounds to me like the frogs are stressed. Not only are they in a new enclosure; but you have been in there a few times moving driftwood, cleaning water, etc. You need to back off and let the frogs relax.

Also, they should have adequate night time in darkness. If lights are coming on at room they live in during night period or night is not dark enough, it will stress them out too.

[Basil]

I tried again feeding them last night, but this time I payed very careful attention to the lights. I let the light from outside come through the window all day, and when evening came, I never turned on the lights and let the room naturally get dark. After dark I was very careful not to turn the lights on. I left a floating box of crickets with four crickets in it. At about 9:00 I came back to check on the frogs and found one of the frogs in the box and all four crickets were gone! i quickly added four more, and watched as the frog ate 3 more. Then he hopped out. I added seven crickets again to the box, hoping that the other frog would find and eat them later during the night. The next morning none were eaten. The frog that didn't eat hardly even moved at all during the night unlike the other frog. And today he hasn't been in a spot he is usually in.
Could the frog still be stressed? Is there anything more I could do to help?

i've also been staying out of the tank for the past few days (except to put food in and stuff) But I'll be especially careful to not stress the frogs anymore.

[DigitalPunk]

No it sounds like you are doing everything right. Continue to let them adjust and be patient

[Amphinity Frogs]

The Floating dish is how we feed our mossies. Just keep trying. Sometime when we acquire a new frog they won't eat or move for the first week. If you are worried about parasites or if they are sick, go get a fecal done. This doesn't cost to much and a vet who is experienced in herps will know what to do for them. I wouldn't worry to much until they start to get skinny looking though. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Basil]

Thank you everyone so much for your help. I was super happy when my first frog ate, and I think the lighting helped. I've had the frogs for 12 days now, and that's a long time to go without eating. The one that doesn't eat seems to look skinny, like his back caves in. But that might just be me because I'm worried. I'm going to try feeding him again tonight, and I'll see how it goes.

[Basil]

Should I have posted this in the tree frogs section or the food section

[Eric Walker]

First off, how old are the frogs? The honey bath is for rectile prolaps and not constipation. A sugar bath works the same way. How large is the enclosure they are in? It sounds like there was no quarantine after you received them? And what are the temps in the room they are kept in? Do they have a light close to the top of the enclosure? Theloderma don't handle heat well at all and actually do perfectly fine in the 65°f range.

[Basil]

The frogs are adults and they live in a 20 gallon tank. There is no light above their tank, and they are kept at room temperature which is about 77f
i actually tried putting the frog that wasn't eating in a separate, smaller tub about 4 days ago, and now he's been eating fine. But I'm not sure when I can re-introduce him to his big tank.
Thanks for the help anyways, I really appreciate it.