Tank setup questions???

[Gene]

He's pretty young, I can't remember exactly how old he is but he's definitely young. He looks a little less plump than he did last week but not necessarily unhealthy. Is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable or should I just leave him be and wait?

[DVirginiana]

Mainly just leaving them be and letting them relax. Also, I have to gently nudge mine out of his burrow and mist him to wake him up before he'll start hunting, and I've noticed they are more likely to eat when you first turn their heat lamp on in the morning or late in the afternoon.
If you really get worried though or he starts to lose a lot of weight, you can try putting him in a clean tupperware container with really shallow water not up to his nostrils and leaving a light on him to keep him warm. Leave him in it for about half an hour. Usually this will make them use the bathroom (sometimes if they haven't used the bathroom in awhile it will cause them not to eat).

[frogmike]

First you will need to dump out the bark, throw away the light, and get rid of the wire top. Then you will need to buy a glass top, coconut substrate, and maybe a tall fake plant. The substrate should stay fairly wet like a chocolate cake, but not sloppy wet. Keep the water dish on the cold side of the tank, unless you want to refill it every 20 minutes. keep spraying your frog lightly a few times a day. With the glass top, you will not have any problems with keeping the humidity up, in fact there will be condensation on the glass all the time. This will also solve 2 other problems; light and temp. You will be able to keep the temp/humidity under control by making a small space in the top by sliding the glass back a little. Too hot, slide it back to make the space bigger and smaller for warmer. Sense the glass is totally transparent, the light in the room will be enough light if kept on for 12hrs per day. I really hate heat lights because they dry out and kill frogs easily, make it difficult to maintain the correct temp, and cause their eye sight to fail over very little time. I guarantee that his appetite will return if you take my advice. Make sure he gets his calcium sense he is a growing frog.

[Malachi]

I use a light on some of my pac tanks, especially since i have plants growing in those tanks ( plants help with the humidity and shade) , the wattage i use isn't to high so it is not so drying.

I have a screen top on the tanks with the lights BUT i have over half the top covered with plastic wrap using double-sided tap and a plexi top on a couple with heat cords.

I have in the past also made my own tanks out of clear rubber made bins and the humidity is really easy in those but they do not look so nice. ( you cut out some of the top and glue screen on)

The bark needs to be changed most of all it is not a good substrate at all.

With a light you will want plants to help with humidity and shade. You may want to stick with a non-light heating system like heating pads, cords or heat tape.

Also I am assuming your frog is a cranwelli ? Mine did not adjust well to tank changes until he was an adult. My ornates on the other hand didnt care where they were, as long as there was food they ate.

[frogmike]

And if you run out of mice, you can just use a jet puff mellow instead! they're the same thing . Don't wory, plastic wrap and shoe box is what i kept all my frogs in for an hour, till they died! be sure to use a hair dryer to keep them warm. please don't do any of that which i just said. i'm just tired of seeing crappy setups on youtube and reading about them here.

[DVirginiana]

I use a wire top and a heat light as well. Those things in and of themselves aren't going to kill your frog, but you do have to monitor their heat and humidity more closely than if you had a glass top and heat pad/tape setup.

[Malachi]

And if you run out of mice, you can just use a jet puff mellow instead! they're the same thing . Don't wory, plastic wrap and shoe box is what i kept all my frogs in for an hour, till they died! be sure to use a hair dryer to keep them warm. please don't do any of that which i just said. i'm just tired of seeing crappy setups on youtube and reading about them here.

This seems like a troll post to anyone who doesn't use your set up, or should it be taken differently?

[Gene]

And if you run out of mice, you can just use a jet puff mellow instead! they're the same thing . Don't wory, plastic wrap and shoe box is what i kept all my frogs in for an hour, till they died! be sure to use a hair dryer to keep them warm. please don't do any of that which i just said. i'm just tired of seeing crappy setups on youtube and reading about them here.

Very useless post.

[Gene]

Thanks for the input everyone. Just to clear things up, I do have small heat pad under the tank as well as the 40watt bulb. The temp has been fine, it's hovering around 81 degrees. The humidity isn't perfect but it's not too dry in there. I'll probably look into getting some live plants to help with that. I'm still having a problem with him not eating though. I know you're not supposed to leave crickets in there but there were a few in there that I don't see anymore. They may very well be hiding under the thick moss but I'm not sure; I guess it's possible he ate them. He doesn't seem to have lost weight even though it's been over a week since he last ate. I tried putting a couple more crickets in there and even when they walked right by his face he had no interest in them. I'm growing concerned with his lack of appetite.