Pacman acting strangely lately

[Arie]

Hi! My pacman frog, Eugene, has been acting very strangely lately and it has gotten me incredibly worried. Eugene has only been part of our family since April, so despite all my efforts to read up about pacmans, I am still relatively new at this. He is housed in a ten gallon tank with coconut fibre substrate and a shallow water dish. He was initially in moss, but I changed it after hearing about the risks of impaction. I keep his temperatures between 75 and 80F and humidity around 70. He is typically fed crickets (which he seems not to like any more) and superworms, with the occasional feeder fish or horned worm. We were away recently and so a family member was caring for Eugene while we were gone. Apparently, he only ate a few crickets while we were gone, so it seems as if he's stopped eating recently, although his belly seems to be a good size still. Since he's been back home, I have noticed that he keeps flipping onto his back and seems unable/unwilling to roll himself back over. When I noticed this, I flipped him right side up, but he keeps going onto his back if I leave him for any amount of time. I put him in a sick tank with a shallow water dish and paper towels to observe him better and noticed that when he climbed into his water dish, he promptly flipped onto his back again. I don't think it's just clumsiness because I haven't seen him on his back like this before. Has anyone else seen this type of behaviour and if so, what can I do to help Eugene? I would really appreciate any advice you could give. Thanks!

[John]

You're keeping him too cold. Also, are you gut loading the crickets and dusting them occasionally? If not then he hasn't been getting good nutrition. I can't explain why he's flipping over but it could be a symptom of a greater problem that has developed due to multiple stressors (temperature, malnutrition perhaps).

[Arie]

Thank you for your response. I should have mentioned that I gut load his crickets and I dust them every two feedings with Zoo Med Repti-Calcium. Should I be dusting them more/less often or with a different product? I have increased his temperature so hopefully that will help him.

[John]

The dusting sound fine. I would think his issues are probably related to the temperature being on the low side over a long period of time. Have you tried him with earthworms?

[Jcal]

Temp does make a huge difference. I raised my temps lately and noticed an instant change.

Question about worms john. You said the ones from wally world are safe?

[Arie]

What is the best source of heat to deliver a consistent temperature? Would an over-the-tank heat lamp be better/worse than a heat pad for example? I'm currently using a heat pad, but if there's something better, I can switch it up.