Please respond ASAP, Pacman's lost color?

[mdurks17]

Hey guys. This might be more preemptive than anything, but because I'd rather be safe than sorry. After just going to check on my new Pacman frog, I noticed that he was deeper in his bedding than usual. Okay, no problem. The other thing I noticed is that the red on his head (the bright red which is why I decided he was nicer than the other frog I had a choice between) was way duller than it had been. It was as though he had dried out, although his water bowl is there and I had misted earlier today. I attempted to mist him directly with a gentle spray and nothing happened. I can see him still breathing by his throat movement and although he was not interested in a second worm for today, I wasn't surprised since he basically ate a five inch nightcrawler today (he himself is slightly larger than a quarter). Is this anything to be concerned about. I turned off his lights for today (both the incandescent and flourescent) since I am about to go out and will be checking as soon as I get home. Any tips or help would be great. Thanks alot guys.

Matt

[Julia]

Feeding a quarter sized frog a worm that is 5 inches long sounds like a really bad idea. In the future you should cut the worm into smaller pieces or get smaller feeders.

Also for his lights it might be wise to pick up a timer so the lights are on for 12 hours and off for 12.

[noob]

yea for a pacman a 5 inches is a lot to take in i would cut it up into smaller bites only give them food that is about 50% their size. for the color i wouldnt freak out your pacman might be to hot or its not humid enough in the cage i would only have a day light on the frog for 12 hrs and no night light for the night light can stress the frog. just take your frog and put it in water just wait a little and watch it eat the skin since its still eating its alright

[ryanw]

probably nothing to worry about, when my pac was that size i had the same concerns, hes now about 3 inch and varies in colour all the time. i think the uv light has an effect. cut down on the size of food though!

[Greg M]

Many times, frogs will look dull before they molt. After shedding, they look beautiful and you breath a sigh of relief. Temperature, humidity and other issues can affect color, as well. Also, Cranwell's horned frogs will change color as they mature (usually more dull)...

Not meaning to disagree with the previous posters, but nightcrawlers are soft and pose no impaction risk IMHO. I don't worry about the usual rules regarding size of feeders when feeding nightcrawlers to pacman's - my guys all eat/ate worms much longer than they with no apparent ill effects. Obviously, this is just for nightcrawlers...

[cmerf07]

Ya dont worry too much about the color until he turns pale white...and thats a bid worm id def cut it into smaller bites

[Mercedesherp]

There are a lot of differents ways to measure a nightcralwer. If your frog ate it, and it did not re-emerge from the frogs mouth, representing a a health concern, don't worry about it. Worms are good for your Ceratophrys.
I suggest you keep feeding whole live foods. While others think that you may be jeapordizing health issues by doing so, some also fail to adress the importance of
of habitat health, and minimize the danger of decomposing material. Decomposing earthworms, or pieces of same, can be dangerous.
Your size estimations may have caused reasonable alarm and the well intentioned,
concerned responses which are important considerations.