Pacman needs help - poor eating habits, won't burrow or move much at all, losing weight

[Wurt]

Please take the time to read.

His name is Chooch and he is adorable. I've had the him for a few months now.

Current setup is 10 gallon tank, soil substrate with aquarium rocks under it, red nightlight 24/7, and a daylight bulb for 12 hours a day. The day temp is about 80, night is 75. Water is poured into the side of the enclosure where the rocks are in order to have contant moisture in the soil. It is also sprayed/misted 2-3 times a day.

He used to eat crickets but became more and more unable to "hunt" them and I basically had to hold them in front of his face to get him to eat, or else they would just wander the tank safely. I switched to waxworms but he just didnt seem to like them much. Most recently, he's been eating 1/2 a nightcrawler every week or so which is, I guess, keeping him alive. I asked the pet store I got him from for advise and I was almost certain they just read off the care sheet and have no real knowledge of anything, considering he told me earthworms are not a good source of protein.

This is my weekly routine:

Remove Chooch, give him a bath in some warm water, and remove the dried skin. Tidy up his tank and place him back in. I wait 10-20 minutes for him to relax and if I'm lucky, get him to eat half a worm. Two days later, the skin starts forming again.

Now before you tell me I shouldn't touch him or his skin and let it work itself free, he's gone a month in the estivation process, in which he moves around a little with his eyes open, and it appears he cannot do much to remove the skin himself despite the fact that he wants it off. During this time, he loses weight, so I was forced to help him which doesn't seem to mind because he eats right away.

A month after I got him, he stopped moving to the other side of the tank to "relieve" himself and just squeezes it out underneath him and leaves it, maybe once a week. He hasnt moved the dirt around him in months and only has a divot in the dirt because I made him one. The only movement I've seen from him is the occasional 45-90 degree spin in the same spot. I saw him trying to get the dead skin off of himself awhile ago with little success. And he is a terrible hunter. He even struggles with earthworms and waxworms, and it takes him a few shots before he can consume them.

I've done some research and my next step is to go back to the basics and put him in a smaller enclosure lined in paper towels to avoid consumption of substrate, and try to get him on gutloaded crickets again.

Now he's scary thin and I need your help.

Thanks,
Matt and Chooch

[bshmerlie]

I think he needs to see a vet. Maybe have a fecal done. He might have parasites or some kind of infection. You didn't mention if he was captive bred or wild caught.

[onedge30]

Others will hopefully chime in, but I would get him to a vet along with a stool sample to check for parasites. Second, if he is constantly developing 'skin' covering, then the cage is way too dry. Just my first thoughts.... Good Luck.

[onedge30]

Jinks! Cheri, we must have been typing the same thing at the same time.

[Wurt]

Captive bred. A vet is tough for me to get to because theres only one around me accepting exotic patients and he literally killed my water dragon by accident. Long story, don't ask.

Theres a ton of moisture in the tank and he does not have direct light from the bulbs, he's under some fake foliage. Maybe a misting device to keep him physically moist more frequently from above rather than relying on humidity?? I'm also switching to spring water rather than tap water even though I've read that tap water is fine when treated. Anything else I can try?

[kluas88]

Leave him alone for a week and then feed him a superworm. Dont give him a bath just drop the worm infront of him and he should eat. It took almost a month for my pacman to eat. Also heat mats are much better for heat. I would think about putting a heat below were your pacman usually sits. The daylight is not needed and may cause stress.

If none of this works your frog may have a serious problem and needs to see a vet.

[Greg M]

Forgive me if this is a dumb suggestion, but it is possible that MBD could be the issue. If the frog has insufficient Ca, they may become lethargic and unable to hunt. A vet checkup would be good to deal with possible parasites as suggested above, but it could also be an opportunity to have Ca administered (usually calcium gluconate injection). In the meantime, I would make sure humidity is ok, and consider force-feeding dusted crickets every day or two. Over the short-term, it is hard to OD on vitamin/Ca, so every feeding is fine. I use Repashy "Calcium plus ICB". For babies and juvenile horned frogs, I use it every feeding, sometimes every second feeding.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your froggy!