Pacman wont stay out of water

[cwebster]

Success! Found some fungus gnat predators at the hardware store. Changed Cupcake’s cocoearth again. Put fruit fly traps in the nearby kitchen and got rid of the fruit flies’ food in the kitchen(gooey grapes and blueberries). Cuppy is back to her old self! She was really bothered by the gnats/flies crawling her. Now that they are gone,i am still giving her more humidity. She is sitting in her usual partially burrowed pose waiting for food.

[Animallover3541]

Success! Found some fungus gnat predators at the hardware store. Changed Cupcake’s cocoearth again. Put fruit fly traps in the nearby kitchen and got rid of the fruit flies’ food in the kitchen(gooey grapes and blueberries). Cuppy is back to her old self! She was really bothered by the gnats/flies crawling her. Now that they are gone,i am still giving her more humidity. She is sitting in her usual partially burrowed pose waiting for food.

I'm so glad to hear that! I hope all goes well for you and Cuppy going forward!

[GrifTheGreat]

Success! Found some fungus gnat predators at the hardware store. Changed Cupcake’s cocoearth again. Put fruit fly traps in the nearby kitchen and got rid of the fruit flies’ food in the kitchen(gooey grapes and blueberries). Cuppy is back to her old self! She was really bothered by the gnats/flies crawling her. Now that they are gone,i am still giving her more humidity. She is sitting in her usual partially burrowed pose waiting for food.

That's good to hear. Fungus gnats are pretty common. They're attracted to the moisture of the substrate and will even lay their eggs on the rim of the Frog's water dish. They're harmless, but very annoying.

Now that she's back to normal you can relax and enjoy her.

[cwebster]

Cuppy seems happier without the gnats but has been looking skinny and sitting with her eyes closed, not eating much.i had her detox in water. Then i started hand feeding her crickets (if i touch her mouth, she opens it and i put the crickets in). She then started grabbing crickets again. Will supplement her food until she is back to her normal plumper shape (her hips were showing). She is tame, but pacmans are hard.

[Animallover3541]

Cuppy seems happier without the gnats but has been looking skinny and sitting with her eyes closed, not eating much.i had her detox in water. Then i started hand feeding her crickets (if i touch her mouth, she opens it and i put the crickets in). She then started grabbing crickets again. Will supplement her food until she is back to her normal plumper shape (her hips were showing). She is tame, but pacmans are hard.

Do you not supplement her food normally...? Also what do you meant by "detox"? Many eye related issues can be traced back to vitamin A deficiency. Even if supplementing for vitamin A, the majority of brands use beta carotene which insectivores like frogs cannot metabolize. You need to find a brand with retinol listed in the ingredients. Many people recommend this vitamin powder by Repashy with occasional supplementation (1-2 times/month) of this Repashy supplement as well. Calcium powder w/D3 should be included for specimens which are not receiving UVB lighting. Contrary to popular belief, the ratio of D3 to calcium needs to be varied per species. I've also heard good things about this calcium supplement by Repashy. I intern at an exotics clinic as a student and this is the favorite brand of many of the vets, assistants, and techs that work there who also own herps. It's also the brand that they sell to clients who are in need of supplements.

As for schedule, while my two lovely gray tree frogs passed away over the course of this year I did use to go on a schedule of 3:1. So three feedings of calcium, then one feeding with vitamins. Then, supplement one of those vitamin days a month for the Repashy Vitamin A Plus. My feeders always had some calcium powder and vitamin powder sprinkled on their food since gut loading is a necessity as well.

Please note that I'm not an actual vet tech or assistant, just a keeper and high school student who is pursuing reptile medicine and will be starting my pre-vet studies next fall. What I said should not take precedence over the advice of an actual DVM who has examined your animal and made care/nutrition recommendations. For a case as severe as what is happening with your Cuppy, please see a vet! You can check the ARAV website for a list of reputable reptile and amphibian vets.

[Animallover3541]

I just reread your initial post and would like to correct myself and say that since you have a UVB lamp, DO NOT give calcium with D3. Like I said, you can definitely give a frog too much of that.

[cwebster]

I just reread your initial post and would like to correct myself and say that since you have a UVB lamp, DO NOT give calcium with D3. Like I said, you can definitely give a frog too much of that.

thank you for the suggestions! Cuppy has been doing much better. She eats out of my hand. Today, i noticed her back leg joint looks a little swollen so will take her to our exotics vet. In the meantime,have encouraged her to soak and put antibiotic drops on her knee.

[cwebster]

Cuppy went to our really great exotics vet today. She had substantial abscesses on both back legs. He started her on 6-8 hr enrofloxacin soaks. She looks happier already. I threw away her cocoearth (fourth time recently), sterilized her cage and from now on will keep her on paper napkins. She ate six crickets, including two at the vet’s and another when we got home. She seems to understand that we are trying to help. She s a friendly, (relatively) smart pacman.