Ideas for how to help him come out of Aestivation

[Mattpreat]

Hello, I have had my male, giant pixie frog for about 2 years now. Quite a while ago, he went into aestivation and is refusing to come out. This has been going on for quite a while on and off, for the past year. He used to eat occasionally, but for the past month or so, he wont. I find if I give him a bath, which I try to do once a month, he will snap out of it for a day or two and then go back. I have absolutely ran out of ideas for him, I've tried making the coconut fiber in his tank almost soaking (which did work once for a few days), more misting, more daylight from a bulb, along with frequent baths.

I thought I knew what I was doing, but now I am out of options. I originally had hopes that the barometric pressure in the air could have something to do with it, and he would snap out of it come summer, but its now the end of august and nothing has happened. So that is definitely out of the question. At this point I am getting very worried about him, he has been like this for too long and I don't know how much longer he can go. He does move and turn around every day but I am definitely getting worried. Hopefully there will be something you all can help with, as you have done for me in the past.

I was thinking an all water tank would be a good option for him but I do not know how I would set this up, as I know pixie frogs like to burrow in the ground. Thats about what I see as the best option, but I am up for anything. Just anything to help him get better really and back to being himself. I will try and get a picture of his tank tomorrow for you all to look at, but for now here is the answers to the questions list.

1. Size of enclosure? 20 gallons

2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences? Only the one frog

3. Humidity? Anywhere from 75-85. I try and keep it close to 80 as much as possible

4. Temperature? 80-90, really depends on how the weather is. I do have a ceramic heat emitter and rheostat to control how much heat he has, along with a heat pad which helps a bit. Mounted on the side of the tank.

5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish? Well water, a little high in iron but no chemicals added.

6. Materials used for substrate? Coconut fiber

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? I will post a picture tomorrow. The coconut fiber was stirred in water until damp but not so wet I could squeeze water out with my hands. The plants were basically just put in.

8. Main food source? Nightcrawlers when he eats

9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often?) Once a week, using the Repashy calcium+ which has both. Supposedly works for both, even though I know it is said not to do that. I've read a lot of confusing things on whether this stuff is good or not.

10. Lighting? Light shining through the window, normally creating 12 hours of light daylight for him.

11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure? Ceramic heat emitter with rheostat.

12. When is the last time he/she ate? Gotta be at least 3 months ago. I've been trying to get him to come out of this himself but it isn't working.

13. Have you found poop lately? Not at all.

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. I will post a picture of him tomorrow also to better show it.

16. How old is the frog? 2 years

17. How long have you owned him/her? 2 years

18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred? Wild caught I believe

19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats? Nightcrawlers as a staple, hornworms as treats whenever available and mice every 2 months. This used to be his feeding schedule anyways, not so much now.

20. How often the frog is handled? Only when required for baths or cleaning his tank.

21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area? Fairly low traffic, usually only me around or the odd person coming in and out.

22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc) Water is topped up to keep it from fully evaporating, I figured cleaning hasn't been extremely needed. Frequently putting more water in the dirt and stirring everything around but there is no smell and it all looks good, so I haven't worried about it. Not exactly sure if this is right though

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! From your information only thing that jumps at me is the well water with high Iron. Recommend you treat it with Seachem Prime in case that is an issue or there are any other heavy metals in it.

I know of some GABFs that do bury themselves in the substrate only coming out to eat and bath when owner provides; but refusing food for 3 months during Summer period is quite lengthy. Have you noticed frog losing weight?

To build an all water enclosure you would have to provide a large tank to include options for frog to leave water as desired (i.e. natural or artificial rock slabs) and bask a bit. A large canister filter is needed to handle frogs bio load. A smaller dry area where frog fits can be added (25% maybe); but would not make it too deep in your case, maybe just frog height depth. A piece of glass and aquarium silicon glue is all you need to make a dam. Water depth can be adjusted so frog can reach surface when rear legs are on bottom and "tip toeing".

In general terms ABFs love water and will spend most time in it than in dry area of their enclosures. Hope this helps and good luck !

[Lija]

No all water tank is not a solution, for one he might be sleeping in there too.

please post pic of a frog and a tank. And as Carlos advised use water conditioner for all your water.

[Mattpreat]

Sorry for the late reply, just got back from work and now settled at home.

Ill get something to treat that water right away. Either tomorrow or Friday Ill be able to.

He doesnt seem to have lost a whole lot of weight. Definitely a bit skinner than normal, but nothing drastic like I would expect for such a long period of not eating.

Sorry for the confusion, what I meant by all water tank was a tank that is mostly water with things for him to climb on. And now maybe a area with the coconut fibre block off from the water area so he can burrow. Although I would still stick to the basic land tank with a water dish that I have going on now, if I could make it work for him where he starts getting better.

I couldnt get a good picture of his tank from the side, so I only got one from above and then one of directly him so you can see what exactly is going on. I hope this helps you all!

[GrifTheGreat]

Keep him between 80° and 82° humidity can be as low as 60% occasionally, but remain around 75%.

I will say that some of these frogs will try to aestivate even in correct climate levels for active period. Its hard to say why the frog is doing this. Start adressing the water first and go from there.