My Red Eye Won't Eat

[Katieasaur]

I just got a new red-eyed tree frog about 4 days ago, but he still won't eat, I've tried different sizes of crickets, mealworms, letting them go in the cage over night, feeding by hand, but he still won't eat and I don't know what to do, I don't want him to die

[John]

So it has never eaten for you? It sounds like either the frog is unwell or it does not have suitable conditions. Many red eyes (and other amphibians) go through unsuitable conditions in the pet trade, often leading to stress-related diseases. If you can get it to eat, even after providing the correct conditions, you need to find a vet asap.

[Katieasaur]

its in a nice terrarium by himself lots of hiding spot, clean water n stuff, i dunno if maybe i should force feed him to keep him alive or something i dunno

[bshmerlie]

When I first got my Red Eye he wouldn't eat for about three days. So I got a small critter keeper put a wet paper towel at the bottom, put him in it with 5 very small crickets and then placed it in his regular cage. I kept it completely dark and quiet for him and within a half hour he ate all the crickets. Remember to check your humidity with quality guages. It is very dry here in California and I have never been able to get the humidity over 55 percent consistently no matter how many times I misted each day. I then added a contained waterfall which would get it to about 60 percent. Not until I added a humidifier or fogger could I get it to stay above 70 percent consistently. Also if your house is air conditioned that dries out the air as well as keep it possibly too cool for them. I keep my house at 72 degrees at all times so I have a heat mat on the side of my tank to keep it in the high 70's for my frogs. Again make sure you have a good temp gauge. I use the digital guages now and would never go back to the dial ones. I've had "Waldo" my Red Eye for 2 years now and within the last 4 months got "Emerson" my Xanthic Red Eye and "Ralph" my Albino red eye. When I got those two they were very small and thin and I did the same thing with the critter keeper and it works. It's just a wet paper towel, crickets and the frog. You can't go wrong. Keep it completly dark and quiet for him and if he is going to eat he'll eat. Put it in a closet if your room isn't completely dark. If you're there fussing over him it may make him more worried about you being there. Waldo would not come out at all when I first got him until the room was pitch black. And then he would go back under a leaf and hide when I used a small light to watch him. Hope this helps. Also make sure you're crickets are small enough for him depending on his size and make sure you use treated water for the paper towel. Good luck and I hope he eats soon. Keep us posted.

[Katieasaur]

i just put him in a critter keeper with some super small crickets and a paper towel and covered the side of the cage in another room so theres absolutely no light getting in so ill see in the morning if hes eaten or not

[Katieasaur]

nope he still didnt eat

[andaroo]

[duplicate post]

[andaroo]

4 days is nothing! You are worrying too much, they can go without food for a month atleast so calm down your only going to stress your frog out even more so it will take even longer to settle.


These frogs stress REALLY easily so trying to hand feed and holding it will make matters much worse. You need to just leave it alone and give it time to settle in.

Please read my caresheet here:

The secrets of successfully keeping red eyed tree frogs - Reptile Forums

If you follow my advice written there your frog will settle and be healthy.

[Katieasaur]

trust me i havent really bothered him that much, ive been careful not to, i just dont know how long before i got him he didnt eat cuz he is extremely emaciated and lethargic
thanks though i will read ur care sheet
i admit i was in the wrong for getting him without thorough research, but the breeder flat out lied to me about keeping him with my whites, luckily i researched more before i put him in there, my whites were never aggressive towards me or each other before i got him but their tanks had been placed next to each other and they were trying to get him through the glass and then started attacking each other and then biting me whenever my fingers are in the cage, i swear they act like i never feed them, but i have him set up in a quiet, dark spot now with warmth and humidity at the right point so hopefully he will eat something soon

[andaroo]

keeping them with whites? that is just retarded. Whites are so heavy and aggressive they would constantly pounce on him and if they were big enough eat him! They would stress the poor frog out so much it would die from stress alone.

It was a bit silly buying something without doing research. Also why did you buy it if it was emancipated and lethargic? It may be too far gone for it to recover, but make sure you do read my caresheet and keep the frog dry ignore the caresheets that say to crank up the humidity to 70-80 thats just wrong, they are only exposed to that during the breeding season not all year round! It will cause a stressed frog to be easily susceptible to picking up a bacterial infection brought on by the warm humid environment.

Also don't put me down as some fanatic I have alot of experience with these frogs. Frogs, ESPECIALLY red eyes can be extremely difficult to care for if you dont have experience with them and their behaviours/characteristics.

[Ebony]

Hang in there Katie. What ever happens you are doing the best you can do for him.

[Katieasaur]

thanks yall for your support and help
he was good when i bought him, he was moving around and happy as a clam, but about 2 days after he started getting skinner and stuff, i just bought a few more plants to put in there so he feels even safer but should i wait to put them in? or not put them in at all?
i really appreciate your advice andaroo

[andaroo]

thanks yall for your support and help
he was good when i bought him, he was moving around and happy as a clam, but about 2 days after he started getting skinner and stuff, i just bought a few more plants to put in there so he feels even safer but should i wait to put them in? or not put them in at all?
i really appreciate your advice andaroo

Are the plants real or fake?

[Katieasaur]

real in pots atm, im going to be getting a much larger tank very soon to put him in

[andaroo]

real in pots atm, im going to be getting a much larger tank very soon to put him in

have you removed the plants from the soil and thoroughly washed them and all the soil off the roots and replanted in eco earth (or equivelant)? I'm guessing not.

Plants from stores contain fertilizers in the soil and in the plants themselves. It is toxic to frogs and if they are exposed to this it can be fatal. You have to wash and repot in frog safe soil like eco earth as I mentioned (the dried soil bricks that you soak in water) and then leave for 4 weeks so the plant can use up any left over fertilizer left in it and only then will it be safe.

[Katieasaur]

no, i buy them from a place that raises them without pesticides or fertilizers so they are safe and yet i still replanted them specifically in eco earth

[bshmerlie]

Andaroo- I'm not sure why you are suggesting that Red Eyes would do well in such a dry environment. All Red Eyes come from a Tropical Rainforest that is why they are the "poster child" for the Rainforest. Tropical rainforests rarely drop below 70 percent and that is the dry season. The average humidity in a "tropical rainforest" is around 75-80 percent. Remember they are getting 100-400 inches of rain per year which would definately be more than the 50 percent humidity that you are suggesting that these frogs be kept at. If they could thrive in a lower humidity enviroment they would mirgrate to dryer areas as there normal range? But if I'm not mistaken I believe that Red Eyes are just found in the tropical rainforest. Even temperate rainforest don't go below 60 percent humidity. Thus the "rain" forest aspect.
Cheri

[Kurt]

4 days is nothing! You are worrying too much, they can go without food for a month atleast so calm down your only going to stress your frog out even more so it will take even longer to settle.

I will agree with you that 4 days is nothing, but I would say a month is a bit of an exaggeration.

In my experience red-eyes are not a ravenous as White's or gray treefrogs. If I give the adults about a dozen crickets, it will take them a good part of a week to polish them off. Where a White's will do it in one sitting. So at this point I am not 100% convinced its not eatting. Of course, if Katie is following Cheri's advice and its still not eating and it's ematiated, it may be time for a trip to the vet. Then again if she has only had it for just four days, it may be a little too soon to panic.

My article - Red-Eyed Leaf Frog

[andaroo]

Andaroo- I'm not sure why you are suggesting that Red Eyes would do well in such a dry environment. All Red Eyes come from a Tropical Rainforest that is why they are the "poster child" for the Rainforest. Tropical rainforests rarely drop below 70 percent and that is the dry season. The average humidity in a "tropical rainforest" is around 75-80 percent. Remember they are getting 100-400 inches of rain per year which would definately be more than the 50 percent humidity that you are suggesting that these frogs be kept at. If they could thrive in a lower humidity enviroment they would mirgrate to dryer areas as there normal range? But if I'm not mistaken I believe that Red Eyes are just found in the tropical rainforest. Even temperate rainforest don't go below 60 percent humidity. Thus the "rain" forest aspect.
Cheri

Think about this Cheri,

In the rainforest they are in the trees about 60+ feet above the ground where it is not as humid. They only go lower to breed. Keeping them in a terrarium is obviously no were near the same as the wild, therefore the humidity should be lowered as they are in a much smaller enviroment with ALOT less ventilation and fresh air. In the wild they would have the humidity but the air wouldn't be stagnant and bacteria wouldn't build up.

They can hold alot of water in their skin so with a nightly visit to a fresh water bowl they can get any moisture lost from being kept in a drier condition. I had one that i was treating with baytril (which dries out the skin considerably to the point where it looks crinkly) plus kept it in dry conditions and it was fine after a long soak in the water. Think of it this way what is better absorbing moisture from stagnant air brought on by misting the tank or absorbing moisture from a fresh water bowl?

I have kept mine this why and know of other breeders who have done so for over 20 years with no ill effects, the ill effects actually come from keeping them at higher humiditys. The higher humiditys in a tank keep them stuck in the breeding season which is stressful on their bodies.

I believe that the only frogs that need higher humiditys are dart frogs and ground dwelling frogs as they don't leave the forest floor.

[andaroo]

I will agree with you that 4 days is nothing, but I would say a month is a bit of an exaggeration.

In my experience red-eyes are not a ravenous as White's or gray treefrogs. If I give the adults about a dozen crickets, it will take them a good part of a week to polish them off. Where a White's will do it in one sitting. So at this point I am not 100% convinced its not eatting. Of course, if Katie is following Cheri's advice and its still not eating and it's ematiated, it may be time for a trip to the vet. Then again if she has only had it for just four days, it may be a little too soon to panic.

My article - Red-Eyed Leaf Frog

A month is not an exaggeration at all. I had one myself that didn't eat for over 3 weeks when I first got started in this hobby. A friend of mine had a mossy frog that didn't eat for 6 weeks after he got it. So frogs can go along time without food.

Red eyes are ravenous when they are settled. I tong feed mine so I dont have any locusts or crickets eating up my live planted tank. They snap them up right away and the female is exceptionally greedy and will keep eating. Again this is all after they got used to me one of which took 6 months as he would turn amnd jump away if i came near him with food on the tongs now he is much like the 2 other snapping it up right away.