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1143729 tn?1261239293

My pacman frog is worrying me! :(

My Pacman frog Jabba has been worrying me. He is a little bigger than the size of a quarter. I just got him 2 days ago as a Christmas gift and I have put his cage all together and everything. My only problem is that I put in crickets in his tank and I don't think he ate any because they were still there. I put 1 more in later and still im not too sure. But when I cleaned the tank and changed the bedding since I was skeptical and it did not seem like a good substrate at all. I noticed that there was 1 dead cricket who just died from no food I suppose, but also 2 alive ones, which makes me think he has eaten some. I then put him in a rectangular shaped tupperware sort of thing and had him sit there and I put those two crikets in there and he didnt go for them..I am just worried that he is not eating or something along that lines. Im not sure if he is in estavation or anything.

Is there anything I need to do to feed him as a young frog?
Do I have to feed him manually?
How often should a young pacman frog eat?
6 Responses
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945748 tn?1283481569
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Frogs are easily stressed and need time to recover.  The best info out there on reptiles and amphibians is at www.anapsid.org.  You should look under amphibians and then ornate horned frogs as that is what a pac man frog is. (http://www.anapsid.org/ornatacare.html) Pac Man frogs are tropical animals, and need a warm environment.  The air temp should be around 81F all day.  It is good that you have a red lamp to keep things warm during the night and they are diurnal.  Humidity is also important and this should be monitored as well as temp.  The tank can be misted daily and the water bowl should be placed in the warmest part of the tank.  The web link will also give you feeding suggestions and suggestions on feeding your crickets.  I also recommend a fecal evaluation as GI parasites can be a common cause of illness.  Best of luck to you and your new friend.
Helpful - 0
685623 tn?1283481607
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I think you are absolutely right about the "stress" factor of adjusting to a new environment.  It appears that you have only had him at your home for about 5 days now and he is certainly trying to adapt and figure out how safe he is, where the food supply is, etc.  My Leopard Gecko took about 2 months to finally settle in and start eating regularly for me.

Your set up sounds good for the time being...he will likely out grow it though, so be sure you are planning for the future.  I do wonder though, how the humidity is in his enclosure given that you have a screen top.  You might want to mist him lightly daily to help increase the humidity level in his cage.

I did a little research and found that earthworms can also be used for food as well as feeder guppies.  Some of the experts recommend dangling the food in front of him (let it wiggle a little) and lightly tap his mouth with the food.   You might want to use a pair of forceps for this....

I have also asked one of our exotic specialists to comment here, but given the holidays, it may be a few days before she can respond.

Good luck with your little guy...he has the opportunity to live a long life of 15-20 years, so I hope he starts eating regularly for you.
Helpful - 0
1143729 tn?1261239293
Again I forgot to add something to the above post....hehe, I meant to mention that he has not gone in his cave yet or his water dish. Is he just getting used to it? Do you think he could have gone in after I had left to go to school / work?
Helpful - 0
1143729 tn?1261239293
P.S. I forgot to mention in the above post. That when I woke up in the morning (5:30) I noticed he had a "tail" (feces). So hopefully this means that he has at least eaten something.

Do PacMan frogs only eat at certain times of the day?
Helpful - 0
1143729 tn?1261239293
Thank you for the help, I have my PacMan frog in a 10 gallon tank. He has a water dish and a hiding spot I like to call his "cave". I am using a coconut husk substrate which he seems to enjoy -- he has been burrowing and relaxing. I'm not sure if it is estivation or what though. I have a screen top with a heat lamp above it, which houses a 60w red bulb for night and a 50w blue bulb for night. The temperature fluctuates through the day usually around High 60's to low 80's He has been eating only crickets if anything. I have a separate cricket cage which had a block of a calcium cube I assume, which was already in the bag from when I bought it from PetCo. Also, it has gone away so I put in some of this:  http://www.petco.com/product/9430/Fluker%27s-Cricket-Quencher.aspx  

Other than that I am not to sure on what is wrong.

Should I be feeding crickets anything other than that gel? I think I should try apples like you mentioned above.

Is the temperature a problem? Should my lights be on 24/7 or should I only have the day bulb on for a few hours and then have my night bulb on for a few et cetera.

Can you tell me some other foods that I can try feeding him? I hear waxworms, mealworms, and feeder fish are alright.

Any extra information you can give would be great Thomas!
Helpful - 0
685623 tn?1283481607
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi...PacMan frogs are very unique pets!

Tell us a little more about your housing set up for the pet...what kind of heat source and lighting source are you using?  Also, do the crickets have anything to eat (like an apple slice)?

Have you tried any mealworms?
Helpful - 0

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