Pacman frog will not stay above ground?

[GotButterflies]

Hello everyone! So, my 15 year old son owns a Fantasy Pacman Frog. We purchased it from a breeder at the repticon show last February. (Unsure if female or male). I came home and did a ton of research. Put it in a 10 gallon tank. Filled it with 3 inches of moistened eco earth (freshwater dechlorinated with Prime), a couple of fake plants, and a pool. The pool that the frog can jump into that is changed regularly (dechlorinated fw). Tank is misted with dechlorinated fw. Heater on the side of the tank. 3/4 of mesh top is covered with press n seal. UVB light (which I know is not necessary, but I provide it for my hermits, so I give it to him also). Tank temp is 79-82. Three sides of tank is covered. Frog is fed live crickets (which I raise), and it does eat isopods (which I raise) - which are put into the tank to keep it clean. Did eat pinkies, but has now graduated to fuzzies due to size. Well, last month it burrowed. I didn't think anything of it tbh, because frogs burrow. A couple of days ago I thought geez - it hasn't come up at all - I'm going to look it up. So I jump on the internet. Everything I read says don't let pacman frogs fully burrow. I very carefully dug him up. He/she was mad - "screamed" at me - but I rinsed him/her off, and fed him/her. Ate great, and low and behold, it dug back down. Last night I found this forum. One thing I have NEVER done is change the substrate. I always removed the poop to feed it to my hermits, but I never once thought about the urine. I felt terrible! So...Immediately I soaked an eco earth block in dechlorinated warm water, and changed out the substrate...and once again....slowly dug him/her up. He/she didn't scream at me. I put him/her in a small bucket and, rinsed him/her off, to which it urinated three times, so I rinsed him/her off again, put him/her back into clean tank, and it then burrowed back down. What do I do? I do also have ZooMed PacMan food to try. Crickets are gut loaded at all times. Thank you in advance for your advice!

[XavierAriana]

I have the same problem with my albino who hasn't eaten by himself the whole time I've had him/her.

[GotButterflies]

UPDATE: This morning I went to mist his cage and he/she is back to normal!! I suppose I just needed to change the substrate. Now I know to do that on a monthly basis.

[GotButterflies]

@XavierAriana - I hope your Albino starts eating by himself! How long have you had him/her?

[frogger123]

Do you guys have a hide cave or box in the cage? I recently got a small pixie frog and mine was also burrowing in the shop and screaming when I got him out for feeding the first days I got him but I provided him with half a coconut shell with an opening as a hideout and now he sits in there with his head sticking out all day waiting for food to arrive. I think he's male since I think I heard him croaking a couple of times. He's still small now though so I'll have to look for a bigger hide box soon. They're ambush predators so they always try to stay in cover. Mine is also most active during the night though I think, he sits mostly in his hide spot during the day but i always find earth in his water bowl in the morning so he must have been walking in there

[XavierAriana]

I believe since November 14. Sorry, for the late response.

[GotButterflies]

Hi Frogger If you are replying to me; I did consider putting a hide in, but I have the plants arched as a hide for him/her. Has been that way since day one, and that is where he prefers to hide. My son's frog (even though I take care of it), is back to normal. Just needed a substrate change. Chubbs is in a reptile room that has basically no traffic. Thank you so much for your response! He's been eating - already had a fuzzy and several crickets.

At xavier - I am by no means an expert here I can only tell you what has worked for me - but what are your tank specs? Do you have a heater? Is the tank warm enough? Is the tank humid? Do you have a hide? Are three sides covered? Is it in a stress free location? Is the coco fiber moistened with dechlorinated fresh water? Have you tried feeding night crawlers, crickets, a pinky/fuzzy whatever is appropriately sized for your frog? I've never had to force feed - that sounds stressful!! Good luck!

[XavierAriana]

The tank is kept at 80 degrees I have no way of telling humidity, but it is moist and we spray. I have multiple hides, but may get a bigger one. Water is always dechlorinated. His tank is kept in my room with a heat lamp, I may get a different bulb.