How long could a baby monkey frog go without eating before it died?

[Kay]

I cannot tell if mine is eating. I brought him home Sunday. I have now offered him pinhead crickets, 1/8" crickets and 1/4" crickets. I have put the crickets in a little container which I buried in the substrate. I have also let them loose in his terrarium and some got out when I was first experimenting with different types/size containers. I put some cricket food in a little dish in the terrarium too so the crickets don't nibble on the frog.

For the last two days he has been in the exact same spot. He has many branches to choose from. The only difference is that he was turned in the opposite direction when I woke up this morning. I go to bed around 1:00 a.m. and get up at 6:00 a.m. If he is eating it'd be between that time period.

Do I assume he is eating because he is still alive? I bought him Sunday before it was his feeding time. But if I assume he did eat Sunday, would he already be dead if he did not eat for the last three days? I think he is about 8 to 9 weeks old. The breeder told me he was already eating 1/8" crickets.

Does it have to be pitch black at night for them to eat? The room he is in does not get totally dark due to a safety street light outside. It isn't bright, but it is not pitch black either. As far as I know, everything else is OK -- temperature, light, low humidity.

Any suggestions or am I just worrying too much? I am used to being able to see my fire belly toads eat when I feed them. Thanks.

~Kay

[John]

He could potentially live more than a month without food, but if he doesn't eat in about a week then he's in big trouble. Its hard to gauge what's going on but if I were you I would start counting crickets to determine if he's eating at all. When you say low humidity, just how low?

[Kay]

Wow, I can't believe something that little could last one month without food! I think he did eat last night. I watched him after the house had been dark for a couple of hours. He was crawling around in his terrarium, down a branch and across the leaves. He was heading towards the buried bowl with crickets. I think I will try to count the number of crickets I put in the bowl.

The hygrometer is at 60. The temperature is 73 degrees. I don't know what the humidity should be at, just "low."

[UncleChester]

Any sign of feces? Fresh frog poo is a good sign that it's eating.

[Kay]

Thanks Brian, I did not think about poop! Yes, there is definitely one piece on a leaf directly below his favorite branch. How often do they poop?

I also have only 5 1/8" crickets in the buried bowl, so I'll be able to tell tomorrow whether or not he has eaten anything.

[Kay]

Same amount of crickets in the buried bowl, which means he did not eat last night. Do I leave those crickets in the bowl or feed him tonight by letting some loose. I thought he was supposed to eat once a day still at his age.

[DonLisk]

He is new and needs to settle in. Let him have some time to relax and trust his environment.
Some nights they eat and some nights they don't.