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Thread: Baby pacman frog refusing food

  1. #1
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    Default Baby pacman frog refusing food

    I've had my pacman frog, his name is bubba, for about a week now and he's about the size of a half dollar. On his first day I made the mistake of having wood chips in his tank which i thought he had ingested. 2 days later he had pooped fine each day and was pretty active. (As much as a pacman frog can be) so I assumed he never ingested it, regurgitated it or passed it fine. Now, 5 days later he hasn't eaten anything. I've tried hand feeding him crickets in his tank and put him in a separate bin to let him hunt on his own. Neither worked. He either jumps over top of the crickets or just closes his eyes. There doesn't seem to be any swelling, bleeding or anything that I can tell to be worrying. He just won't eat. However, if I touch his belly, towards the chest area there is something hard. Since I don't know the anatomy of these frogs I'm assuming its his chest bone but Im also worried that this could be some sort of material he ingested. It doesn't seem to be purtruding through the skin and you definitely can't see it by looking. It's just a hard spot compared to the sides where he is soft. if any one can give me any information on this It would be very helpful! I'm trying to avoid another vet trip right now

    now my second question is since he's not eating anything how can I get calcium in him in the meantime? This is crucial to know because even if I do have to take him to a vet, it won't be for a few days. I have calcionate syrup by RUGBY for my bearded dragon. Would I be able to soak him with that or try dripping a drop or 2 in his mouth? Or does that sort of thing not work on amphibians? And Could I do any sort of water bath mixed with something else to provide nutrients for him?

    Please help my bubba guys I appreciate any advice you can give !

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    100+ Post Member monster's Avatar
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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    Did you take him to the vet after the last incident? if not he probably has internal infection which is making him not wanting to eat. If that piece of whatever came from inside it has put a hole in the wall of the intestine or stomach and he more then likely has stuff seeping out into the rest of his body. If you haven't brought him yet he NEEDS to go asap or you will end up being very sad in a couple weeks when he passes. Im sorry to sound harsh if comeing off that way but if that thing came from inside of him it really isn't something to playing around with and waiting to see if he can get better himself. If he hasn't pooped since the last post you can get some pure real honey like the billy bee stuff and put a couple drops in some warm declorinated water no higher then the chin and let him soak for about 20 mins. If he has to poop this will help, and after the honey bath you can put him in some normal warm declorinated water for like 10 to 20 mins to wash the honey residue off. While doing this put him in dark and quiet room and just let him be to reduce any stress. You can also put a towel over the container to help keep heat in and it will help with the stress also. I think there is something you can add to the water bowl that has calcium in it for him to absorb but I don't know the name, and that's if there is something not 100% sure on that one. I really suggest again if you already haven't to get him to vet asap because that hard thing could be that wood chip and him being that small he may be having a hard time getting it from his stomach to his intestine which this also would not make him want to eat. He needs antibiotics before its to late. And now that I think of it even that splinter went in from outside of him if it was that far in it still could of pierced through something on the inside.

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    100+ Post Member DVirginiana's Avatar
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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    I don't know what to say here. You've been told MULTIPLE times that you NEED to go to a vet. If that splinter came from inside him like you say it did, he probably has an infection from the contents of his digestive tract leaking into the rest of his body, and that's why he's not eating. Calcium intake should be the least of your concerns right now. Being misinformed about the type of bedding to use is forgivable, that happens all the time. But refusing to go to the vet when you've been told by so many people that it's the only way the frog has a chance is just not okay. I know I'm coming across as harsh here, but you took responsibility for an animal's life, you made an error that caused a serious health problem, and by not taking him to a vet for proper treatment you are refusing to do anything about it. If you're not willing to do that, you shouldn't have gotten an animal.
    So here's my advice, once again: Take that poor animal to a vet ASAP.

    Based on your description of where the 'lump' you're feeling is, I feel like it's probably his collar bone, but if you could post a picture and circle the area where you feel the lump that would help us tell you for sure. It's very possible that there's a chunk of wood in his digestive tract that you can't feel from the outside.
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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    Look I don't have money right now. I will take him as soon as I do but my vet around here automatically charges $100 just for showing up and I can't afford that right now. All I am trying to do is get as much information as possible to learn what's going on. I'm looking for legitMate responses with actual
    information. To learn about the anatomy, self treatment etc. That peice of fiber, I learned did not come out of him and I do not believe he is impacted as he is trying to eat currently and is showing no sign of distress. For all I know he's showing signs of some disease or parasite that I know nothing about. I'm not ignoring anyone's advice I was just trying to learn what I can do until I can get to the vet. Or better yet maybe some one knows exactly what's going on and maybe I wouldn't need to take him at all. I've had times where I took my pet to the vet and been told "sorry nothing I can do" and wasted $200+.
    I like to learn as much about a problem before I go rushing to the vet. I was planning to go tonight or tomorrow but now that I see him finally attempting to eat, Along with the research I've done I know he'll be okay.
    I have many reptiles and I love them with all my heart. They have all been to the vet and are all completely healthy and happy, I dedicate all of my free time, everyday to those little guys so do not tell me I don't deserves these animals. This is my first time with an amphibian and I don't know the first thing about them. So This is what I do, get as much information as possible like I've done with my bearded dragons and geckos. People can be surprisingly helpful in the knowledge they have for diseases, illnesses etc. I was hoping for the same type of responses from this site but I can see I was very wrong.

    Thanks for the help~

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    100+ Post Member DVirginiana's Avatar
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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    FIRST OF ALL: It is becoming increasingly clear that you don't really know a lot about frogs. I encourage you to post the answers to the questions in this sticky http://www.frogforum.net/showthread.php?t=14721 in another thread and let people nitpick your setup. If you really don't intend to go to a vet, having perfect husbandry is the only way this frog might make it.

    Now on to the other parts of your post...

    Okay, how were we supposed to know that the splinter wasn't coming from inside him? You just posted another thread and stated multiple times that you were pretty darn sure it was coming from INSIDE the frog. If you somehow got new information that leads you to believe otherwise, you need to tell us so we know about it. Because we're all still operating under the assumption that he ate a piece of wood that then punctured his digestive tract and stuck out of his body.
    If that is what happened, then a vet is THE ONLY OPTION. You CANNOT treat something like that at home. That is what we've been trying to tell you. There is no more information-gathering to be done on that. No basic anatomy, care, and at-home medical knowledge will help that situation.

    If you were mistaken about that, there are other things that could be causing the problem. How deeply was the splinter lodged in his side, if it indeed was never coming from inside him? That can give us information about what may have been damaged. If it was very deep at all, you will likely STILL need a vet for the reasons I stated in the first paragraph.

    Also, I tried to answer your question about the 'mysterious lump' you were feeling, but you didn't bother to upload a picture to help us figure that out and narrow down what it might be. It could be nothing, or it could be a piece of the wood bedding lodged in his system. Without seeing the location pointed out on a picture, we can't really tell.

    Now about the non-care-related portion of your post... If you don't have money for vet expenses, you should not have an animal. End stop. No excuses. The only possible exception to this would be an emergency rescue that someone wasn't prepared for or some unexpected personal tragedy that left them unable to afford a vet. If you really love your pets as much as you claim to, here's a piece of golden advice: Do research BEFORE you get the animal. A lot of people get pet-store animals and the bad info that goes along with them (though I would expect someone as 'experienced' with herps as you claim to be to know better) and that is fine; so long as they recognize their errors and change their husbandry. The fact is, if you had bothered to do even minimal research on this animal before you got it, you would have known that wood bedding is NOT acceptable. I'm sorry, but that lack of research is something I typically see with kids who have never had an exotic pet before, not someone who claims to have kept herps for years and takes them all to the vet (despite apparently being unable to pay for the vet, but still able to buy a new animal and its entire setup...).
    You have been told what the likely source of your frog's problem is, but despite-- in your own words-- "not knowing the first thing about them" you have apparently done 'research' and "know he'll be okay". You are not LISTENING to what we are trying to tell you. Based on the information you've given us, your frog's problem is that he has eaten a large chunk of wood, and has either been punctured by a large splinter or ate it and had it coming out of his stomach from the inside. But you're ignoring the fact that literally everyone that replied has told you that you NEED to see a vet because the frog ate something incredibly harmful.

    You are just making excuses at this point. "For all I know he's showing signs of some disease or parasite that I know nothing about". Really? Do you realize how absurd that is? You have been told over and over what the source of the frog's problem almost certainly is. If a similar situation ever happens in the future: If an animal has recently been impaled by a large piece of wood and begins to behave oddly... The problem is most likely not a parasite. That applies to literally any animal on the planet. I'm not trying to be sarcastic here, but you have to realize how off-the-wall it sounds that you are worried about a parasite after what you described in your other thread. If that's what the problem looked like, we would tell you that, but it just isn't the case here.

    If you have questions and are willing to take advice, I and all the other members here would be GLAD to help you. I spend what free time I'm not caring for my animals on exotics forums to help and inform others. They are literally my life. When at all possible, I try to avoid telling people 'go to a vet'. It's expensive for you, and stressful for the animal. If I'm recommending a vet visit, it's because stuff has gotten real and that's the animal's best chance at survival.
    I hope you can get over your hurt feelings (when people give good advice and it is ignored, tempers flare, especially when an animal's life may be at stake) and actually use the information people on this forum can provide.

    I sincerely hope you reconsider and take your frog to the vet. If not, I hope he wins the infection-lottery and recovers from this.
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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    IN your first post about the splinter you yourself stated that when you pulled it out that it was in their pretty far and that's what was making you think it came from inside. So if it was that far in even if it went through from the outside which your saying now pretty much happened because your sure it didn't come from inside, being as deep as you said it more then likely pierced his intestine. Remember you are the one that stated that it was in there pretty good. You say he currently eating but one of the problems in your post is my frog hasn't eaten now for 5 days and you say it doesn't matter what you do he wont eat. You say you want a legitmate answer, I must say when a person whos profile name is herpvet like in the last post and he has more of those coloured tallies beside his name then most moderators on here tells you to go to the vet I would say that would be a pretty legitmate answer. You are supposed to do the research before you get the animal or at least a little, not wait till you get it home. Anyway we cant make you bring him so heres something else that could contribute to not eating, if your temps aren't warm enough this can make his appetite slow down, the heat helps them digest their food so if its cooler in the tank that will equal slower digestion. You need your temps around 82f during the day and let it drop to around 79-78f at night for a baby. The drop at night is needed because when the temp drop in the wild this when they come out to feed. If your tank is to warm at night he may not come out, he will probably stay buried.

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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    I followed the first thread and have been following this one and I thought I should speak up. It was obvious to me from the picture that the "stick" was in fact coming from the inside of the frog. You can see the skin being pulled a bit with it as it is coming out of the body. I agree with everyone else that the frog's best chance is to go to the vet.



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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    For you and everyone else, he was taken to the vet on Friday. I just needed to wait for my check. To come in. I appreciate any and all responses so that I could study up on these little guys and he will be just fine. Finally got him to eat and everything! I really just wanted as much information as possible before I went to the vet so I was knowledgable on the possibilities on what could be wrong. I basically wasn't giving him enough time. When I got home I sat down and watched him in an empty container for almost an hour before he finally got his first cricket. Now I know he just needs more time to be set aside so he can eat.

    about the other post, the vet didn't really have an answer on what it could be but seems to be fine and have no problems going on.

    Now please, everyone, I didn't need 10 different people telling me how horrible I am for not taking him to the vet immediately. When I saw the first "take him to the vet" I had already set up an appointment for Friday night. Everything there after was for my personal knowledge while hoping for some sort of reply to relieve me of some stress. I had a similar problem with my bearded dragon and was told by someone that he was probably just sick of crickets and wanted something yummy and it worked! I order him some worms and gave him some fruit and he was back to eating in no time. I thought (and hoped) it was a situation like that. That's all this post was and all it is going to be. He is not impacted, he is not sickl. My bubba will be okay! I thank you all for your concern (although very harsh :c ) I do appreciate people that care for their animals.

    ~

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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    When you brought him to the vet on Friday what procedures did he/she do to determine everything was ok?

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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    I'm glad you took him to the vet.

    You have to understand that when you say things like you don't have money to go to the vet and you "know he'll be fine", it makes it sound like you're ignoring advice and not planning to take him. Over the internet it can be very difficult to figure out what people mean without a lot of detail.

    I'm also interested in what exactly the vet did/prescribed. It's useful for us to know so when people come with similar problems we can give them an idea of what a vet might tell them when they take their animal in.

    All that aside, I'd really recommend still filling out the link that I posted at the top of my previous reply. It's always helpful for anyone who's new to frogs to have people who are more experienced look over their setup and critique it.
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    Default Re: Baby pacman frog refusing food

    In the wild no one stops Horned Frogs from ingesting substrate and this will probably be the death of a lot these clumsy eaters. Although bark is worst choice, even the safest ones can still cause problems. A lot of people would just leave the frog and see how it goes so the fact you came on this forum to seek advice and then actually took the frog to the vet is great. What I will say though is that you definitely need to purchase a book on this frog - I recommend Chacoan Horned Frogs by Philippe de Vosjoli as a lot of other books are **** and recommend putting pacman frogs on a substrate of sloped gravel.

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