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

[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!

[Tony]

The buildup of dead skin can be a symptom of chytrid infection, and pac man frogs have been shown in the past to be infected at a higher rate than many other species. It wouldn't hurt anything to put him through a round of Lamasil treatment.

[Greg M]

Good point Tony! I've taken to treating all new acquisitions for Chytrid. The Lamasil treatment is dead easy, and horned frogs tolerate it just fine. Treating with Panacur is also easy (see Frog First Aid article), so you can treat for worms if a vet is not practical...

[kluas88]

I still think that the set up is stressing your pacman out. Move it to a smaller enclosure with a heat mat and leave it be. Then feed it some calcium dusted superworms. I had the same issue with my pacman until I moved it to a shoe box storage container and switched to heat mats.

[Wurt]

Thanks very much for all of your input. I forgot to mention that there is a heating pad under the tank, but I feel as though the enclosure is too big and the humidity is drastically affected by the misting and disappears an hour later. I have occasionally dusted his food but I have not in awhile, and the next time he eats, it will be dusted.

As for skin issues, is it a bad idea to use the shed assisting spray from my water dragon days for the frog? From what I can tell, it's mostly vitamins and aloe, but I know frogs' skin is very sensitive.

And I'll get superworms tonight. Are they okay straight up? I know some people don't use them unless they smash their heads because they pose a threat of biting before they die.

Thanks again everyone!