# Frogs & Toads > Pacman Frogs >  Pacman frog not eating??

## gtr319

I know this is not the freshest topic on the block, but it had been 2 days since Pacatron last ate (he ate @ the petstore)... my tank's humidity is around 80 and the temp. is around 80 during the day and 70s during night time... I had been trying to feed my pacman the can-o-crickets but still no luck... I still haven't try live crickets yet... I am also thinking earthworms, what do you guys think? 

This is the first frog for my gf and I, we both had been doing assignments on our end before we bring Pacatron home, I really want to make this experience a positive one... thank you for you guys' help, I really appreciate it!

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## pixiefrogman

Definitely try live crickets. And it's only been two days, don't stress! I know it's hard not to! :Smile:

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## goreptiles

The frog may be adjusting to new environment. 

Crickets are great, as are earthworms. Mine lives worms the best but will eat crickets if offered.

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## braaandooon

ive never been able to get my pacman to eat any of the canned or jarred foods, he eats live crickets though, but definatly prefers worms, specifically red wigglers as those toss about more than earthworms, i know your frog is still new and is probably just adjusting like everyone else has said, my frog seems to eat strictly in the mornings, i always wake up to find him roaming his terrarium on the days he is hungry, if hes still in his usual burrow i dont even bother to feed, a good tip for people that may feel they have frog with a bacterial or fungal infection is to feed your frog "red wrigglers" not the more common red wigglers, red wrigglers are a good common cure for those type infections in most fish and amphibians, ive used these to cure gram negative and gram positive bacterial infections in fish, ive kept odd and exotic catfish for the better part of 20 years now, and have used these to cure bacterial infections in marbled salamanders also, never tried with frogs as i have never had a sick frog as i am new amphibian keeping,and still have lots to learn, theres a write up somewhere online on this as florida game and wildlife has done the bulk of research, but i guess i should save this for another thread, anyways good luck and im sure your frog will eat soon enough

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## John911

how do you guys feed them nightcrawlers and whatnot?  do you just drop them into the substrate or use tongs?

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## braaandooon

my pacman didnt start eating from tongs until he had been in my home for a few months, i usually just toss the worm in front of him and he will grab it up sometimes within seconds, i think mine prefers the wigglers more because they move around alot more and dont burrow as fast, earthworms are alot more sizable and seem to automatically want to burrow, only thing with red wigglers is they dont get real big and would need an abundance of them with a large frog and they generally are more expensive, if this makes you feel any better, my pacman didnt eat for almost 10 days when i first brought him home, but i also have three kids and a cat that constantly harassed my terrarium, my frog settled right in after i moved him to my room where there isnt the constant attention from everyone in the house, knowing you have a new frog you may want to move him to a part of your house with low traffic and let him be for a few days

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## goreptiles

U actually put my pacman in another container and throw in a worm. He will only eat one a day.

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## gtr319

Thx guys... til today he is still sitting in his burrow and not moving... should I get the wall paper for him? I currently house him in the fish tank where all 4 sides are exposed... can this be why hes scared? And if so, should I swing by Petco and get the red wigglers or wait a couple more days? 

@ braaandooon: will pacman frog roam around the tank if hes hungry? 

Even my gf told me not to stress (I had a pair of the red ear slider where it took them a week before they eat), but since none of my friends has an exotic pet like this, I am more stress than before...

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## Deku

Well here is my advice:
1)It ate 2 days ago. Chill. Frogs can last up to a  month or so without food. 
2)Canned crickets isnt attractive to pacmans. I personally think its best used for turtles, and lizards that take dead food. 
3)Worms are best here are what I use:
a)earthworms high in protein low on fat
b)Pheonix worms high in calcium and low on fat. 
c)Goliath worms: high in calcium(higher than silk worms and pheonix worms) low on fat and high on protein(but very expensive!) 
4)Make sure that you give it plenty of hiding places, that the dirt is deep. 
5)Leave it alone for atleast a week for it to settle in. Some animals will take food quickly and some will take time to feed. Just try feeding it every couple of days. 


For best feeding results feed LIVE worms. I prefer worms over crickets any day. Its my preferance though. I dont know what you or your frog prefer. My toads love worms. They even snatch it from my hand. My whites treefrog jumps onto my hand and snatches them from my hand. I can even try tugging them from him(It was an accident once. long story) and he will still try to eat it. Once I had a worm I was pinching on my fingers for the frog to eat. But I spaced out for some reason and then the frog was trying to eat it. 

Hopes this helps. Congrats on your pacatron.

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## gtr319

@ goreptiles: I don't want to risk any accidents, I will just let the feeding be done in the tank since I will replace the substrate once a month...

@ Deku: Thx! So you would recommend me to just leave it alone and not feed it? Will the pacman give out any hint that hes hungry and ready to eat?

Thank you for your input! Like I said before, this is the first frog that my gf and I own and I just want this experience to be in a positive note... more input is appreciated~

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## braaandooon

when mine was younger,it seemed to always just be waiting for me every few days when i got up for the day, i'd grab a worm or minnow and set it in front of him and he would eat it, and then then within a few and go burrow until the next time he was hungry,now a days once a week hes up waiting to meet me and i just hand feed him, i'm sure he's a male as he hasnt got as big as some of the females ive seen, and ive had him for nine months now, i feed earthworms now as a staple, and also feed small mice on occasion and small bluegill also as i have access to them and tons of other foods at the local bait shop, he seems to also enjoy freshwater shrimp, hes also eaten an anole once and a few small local toads

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## gtr319

@ Braaandooon: So I should just feed him in the morning? Is there any way that I can feed him at night? And during feeding, should I just drop the worm and leave it there for a while to see if he eats it?

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## braaandooon

im not sure if mornings are perfered, that was just the time i always offered my frog food, it seemed almost like the frogs internal clock knew i only offered food before i left for work, my bengal cat is the same way, so maybe frogs are somewhat trainible, after about 9 - 10 mornings of offering food he finally just started snatching it up, it took me another week to figure out that when he was out and about in the mornings he would accept food for the most part

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## gtr319

so I went and purchased the earthworm @ Petco... but no luck feeding Pacatron... I guess I will just give up and leave him for this week, right now he is burrowed himself under the substrate, what does that mean?

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## braaandooon

the only time i see my cranwelli burrow completely was when he was young and i would clean his tank with him still in the tank,my guess for this is stress, but i could be wrong, i now no longer do this as i usually clean my tank every other week now, and i use this time to set my frog in warm water so he can make poopie, anyways do as you said, leave him be, and try offering live food items every other day until he decides he is hungry

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## gtr319

@ braaandooon: should I then return the earthworms to petsmart? what it is is that the earthworms quickly find its way below the service and its not really helping the feeding... should I get something that stays on the surface of the substrate, like meal worms or crickets?

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## John Clare

That substrate looks too dry to me.

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## gtr319

> That substrate looks too dry to me.


i spray it twice a day... the humidity gauge reads 85 as i was taking this photo.... so, should I just buy 5 - 10 small crickets, dump them all in and leave them be or should I just call it a week and worry about it next week? Even though I said I would call it a week, I still don't want anything to happen to him, hes my first frog and I want this to be a positive experience?

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## braaandooon

i wouldnt return your earthworms, as long as you keep the soil moist and refrigerate them they will last for months, im pretty sure your pacman will be feeding by then, and i'm sure when he does he would like to have a nice worm to chew on, looks like your pacman is about the size of mine when i bought him that one glorious day at petsmart, i hate chain stores by the way, so you may want to cut the worm in half if its of the larger variety, yes earth worms tend to burrow fast, but my frog has usually made up its mind if it wants it before i even put it in the enclosure, if my worm isnt snatched up within about a minute, i pull the worm and put back into the refrigerator and then try again in a day or two, and john may be right about your substrate, looks pretty dry, hygrometers are recommended, but it only gauges air humidity and doesnt necessarily gauge your how damp your substrate is, if my substrate doesnt look wet i mist, which in my enclosures are every 3 days, but i also keep organic peat under my substrate which helps the cause of retaining substrate moisture, but i also keep live plants in my enclosures which also raise o2 levels and feeds off your frogs waist  which in return keeps your tank a little cleaner, but doesnt mean to skimp on maintenance as there is really nothing to rid your tank of frog urine, but there are lots of other enviormental factors that play into how moist your substrate stays, but a good top will make all the difference in keeping your substrate moist, if you are using a screen top you will probaly need to mist at leat twice a day, im using a glass top with the plastic strip on the back and it has holes drilled in it on my suriname tank, my temp is 84 in tthat tank right now and humidity now up to 90 percent, half the glass on that tank is fogged over, on my cranwelli tank i use the same glass top but removed the back plastic panel and am now using wired screen, this tank is in the same room and the added ventilation drops the ambient air temp to 81 and humidity at 85 percent and none of the glass is fogged over, you may want to experiment a little bit to find the right combo

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## gtr319

@ braaandooon: I will take some pic of my tank and upload here tonite, in the mean time I'll just call it a week of trying to feed him... I called the store and they told me the exact same thing, so I guess it'll be alright...

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## Deku

> @ goreptiles: I don't want to risk any accidents, I will just let the feeding be done in the tank since I will replace the substrate once a month...
> 
> @ Deku: Thx! So you would recommend me to just leave it alone and not feed it? Will the pacman give out any hint that hes hungry and ready to eat?
> 
> Thank you for your input! Like I said before, this is the first frog that my gf and I own and I just want this experience to be in a positive note... more input is appreciated~


Yes and no. Yes you should leave it alone for a while. But no you shouldnt worry about it eating. NORMALLY frogs can stop eating without care. But I think pacman frogs are an exception; they will hold off eating for a while but it eventually will eat unless its seriously sick or it has an impacted stomach(gravel, sand, etc). 
What I recommend you do is simply buy some tongs(ball pointed ones because the other ones pose a health hazard to them when they lounge) and offer it a live earthworm depending on the size of the frog. You can even offer it a roach or a favorite food of a pacman. Just avoid mice or any mammals at all cost. Offer the prey item twice a day every two days. Meaning every two days you offer the food twice UNTILL it starts to eat. Just make sure you stick to a routine schedule as to frogs follow that. Try getting the prey item to wriggle as much as possible. You can also shine a lamp onto the insect it may appeal to the frog(worth a try). What I do with my frogs and toad is I directly mist them before I feed them for 5mins. This will open up their appetite. Make sure you dont "squirt" it but more like mist it. Afterwards offer the item and it SHOULD eat it. If not give it more time itll come around. Aslong as the frog/toad isnt skinny then you're in business. Pacmans should NEVER be skinny. If so they are malnourished , ill and or dying. If you have a malnourished frog give it items that are higher in fat. I was told wax worms have a higher fat content. So that may work as well.

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## Deku

Also read a post up above yours it said plants eat waste of the frogs product. Here are some clarifications of that. It takes 2-3 days for the waste to be broken down into harmless soil by the plants. So if you have a lean mean pooping machine you may want to get more plants. As well as if your frog doesnt poop much you might want to have less plants or feed your plants on some other way. Remember not to use chemicals or pesticides though. 

Also if your frog/toad is a burrower remember to keep the plants potted and in place with rocks to prevent any digging and demolition of your plants. Also if you go for plants you need to get a plant light. If not just buy a uvb/uva light that has a low wattage(40-50watts) it depends on the height by the way. Just make sure its not going to bother the frog/toad. Keep the light on for a photo period of 12 hours or so a day. This will stimulate the frogs behaviour and all. They sell light timers at some petstoresand hardware stores. Make it so the light turns on around 7 or 8am and turns offf around at most 9pm.

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## braaandooon

thats cool, i know how you feel, you get this new cool frog and you want everything to just work out and hope you have a healthy frog, im going through it myself right now just got my amazon horned frog yesterday and i too am hoping the best, id really like to go and observe my frog and spend time showing her off to my friends and my children, but i also know what is in the best interest of my frog, and dont want to cause anymore due stress, but atleast i have pics to look at, and will be giving my frog a peak before bed and when i wake up in the mornings to make sure she is doing well, my plan for now is to offer earthworms every other morning, and if worst comes to worst and my frog doesnt take to feeding ill head to the local pet store to buy one of the many cheap aquatic frogs they have as wild suriname frogs prefer other frogs, i would advise to offer your frog a small dwarf aquatic frog, but this may lead to your frog becoming picky before getting it started on a good staple food like worms, crickets, roaches etc

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## braaandooon

my enclosures sit in front of windows and get natural lighting, i was using fluorescent lighting (18 ich t8 6700k ) but my plants and moss  burned from using it, i did away with the lighting and really only use it for some night viewing, not saying dont use lighting just research your plants before you put them into your enclosure, make sure they safe and make sure you can meet there lighting requirements, both my plants i use(scotish moss and spiderplant) are from temperate climates and prefer shaded light and mine do alot better better by the window, some people may use palms or bromeliad type tropical plants that require full sun light and uv lighting would definatly be required, either way in using any plant wash them thoroughly(i rinse mine periodically over a course of two days) because like deku said pesticides are bad, and if keeping enclosures by a window, make sure your window is properly sealed during winter months because a drafty window in my neck of the woods can easily reduce terrarium temps and humidity

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## gtr319

Hey guys!! I did a little modding to my tank by removing the moss while hes burrowed deep under, and I purchased 10 small crickets from petsmart and dumped them all in (in case Pacatron changed his mind in regards to eating...) and loox like i have no way to know how wet the substrate and how warm the substrate really is w/o the one u insert in the substrate ( +2 items from my gf to buy), as of now he is burrowing, the earthworm scared him a bit (he eats crickets at the pet store where I got him from), I hope i can find the crickets disappear sooner than I expected... here are a few shots of my tank now (without the moss of course), and how should I keep the crickets alive longer in the tank?

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## Deku

Here is my own personal method for checking for species who love moisture. If you put your palm on the soil and take it back up and it feels moist that should be good. If its sopping wet it might be too much. If its dripping a bit then thats okay.

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## gtr319

I finally dropped in 10 small crickets last nite... and when i check this morning, one of them is missing.... but I still cannot confirm whether Pacatron ate it or it disappeared... neways, the tiny crickets aren't the correct size because... they are tiny, I will swing by another location and get the medium ones.... I really hope Pacatron would eat at least 1 or two... and roughly how long will the crickets survive in the tank... given that they are not food by then? And what should I do to keep them longer?

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## John911

> I finally dropped in 10 small crickets last nite... and when i check this morning, one of them is missing.... but I still cannot confirm whether Pacatron ate it or it disappeared... neways, the tiny crickets aren't the correct size because... they are tiny, I will swing by another location and get the medium ones.... I really hope Pacatron would eat at least 1 or two... and roughly how long will the crickets survive in the tank... given that they are not food by then? And what should I do to keep them longer?


I keep mine in a plastic cricket keeper with the tubes the crickets crawl inside.  And if you give them some food and that water gel stuff they should live their lifespan of several weeks i guess.
  I only give mine 2 or 3 crickets every night.  Hes about the size of a silver dollar, so i hope thats enough food.  He has grown.  I'm always hesitant to leave crickets in the tank with our frogs/lizard because they can bite.  I dont know how often that happens though.

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## gtr319

> I keep mine in a plastic cricket keeper with the tubes the crickets crawl inside.  And if you give them some food and that water gel stuff they should live their lifespan of several weeks i guess.
>   I only give mine 2 or 3 crickets every night.  Hes about the size of a silver dollar, so i hope thats enough food.  He has grown.  I'm always hesitant to leave crickets in the tank with our frogs/lizard because they can bite.  I dont know how often that happens though.


o no... but those lil fella seem harmless... but as long as provide food in the tank for them, they won't attack my pac or am I wrong?

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## Deku

> o no... but those lil fella seem harmless... but as long as provide food in the tank for them, they won't attack my pac or am I wrong?


Honestly crickets can be alittle bit nasty. Ived seen ones try to take a bite at my frog a long time ago. Though I didnt leave any food for the crickets. 
At the same time Iam currently keeping PINHEAD crickets in a small terrarium with two 1 inch toads and I left some food for the crickets. The only thing they do is just crawl over the toads. But that may be bad? There wasnt alot so it may have been that. I only poured in 2 dozen of them. Half of which got eaten quickly. The rest are gone now and tommorrow Iam due for some crickets. 

I have read reports here about how crickets bit their frogs. So I personally dont know about that. I think that the pinheads are less offensive than the adults though. In any case Id just make sure you give the crickets some places to hide, food, and water. Food for crickets can be powdered reptile foods mixed with fish flakes(tropical), and some veggies and oats. As for moisture you could leave pieces of cotton on a small cap and pour water on it. Theyd drink moisture from that. YOu could also use sponges if you have some. Just like a hermit crab in the sense they sometimes drink from a sponge. 

I may be wrong so Id wait for others replies.

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## braaandooon

yah crickets can be nasty little bugs, there was a time when i first bought my cranwelli and i assumed he was eating the few meal worms id place in his terrarium, after further observation, i realized the few crickets i kept in the enclosure were going through two meal worms a night

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## John911

A couple days after I got my pacman i left a bigger cricket in there overnight that he didnt eat.  In the am he had a little redish spot behind his eye.  I touched it lightly with the tip of a piece of paper towel and it def was liquid/blood.  He seemed to heal overnight and hes been fine since but I'm going to assume that he got bit.

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## gtr319

> Honestly crickets can be alittle bit nasty. Ived seen ones try to take a bite at my frog a long time ago. Though I didnt leave any food for the crickets. 
> At the same time Iam currently keeping PINHEAD crickets in a small terrarium with two 1 inch toads and I left some food for the crickets. The only thing they do is just crawl over the toads. But that may be bad? There wasnt alot so it may have been that. I only poured in 2 dozen of them. Half of which got eaten quickly. The rest are gone now and tommorrow Iam due for some crickets. 
> 
> I have read reports here about how crickets bit their frogs. So I personally dont know about that. I think that the pinheads are less offensive than the adults though. In any case Id just make sure you give the crickets some places to hide, food, and water. Food for crickets can be powdered reptile foods mixed with fish flakes(tropical), and some veggies and oats. As for moisture you could leave pieces of cotton on a small cap and pour water on it. Theyd drink moisture from that. YOu could also use sponges if you have some. Just like a hermit crab in the sense they sometimes drink from a sponge. 
> 
> I may be wrong so Id wait for others replies.


I got them from petsmart, I hope its the pinhead that you are mentioning...

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## gtr319

> A couple days after I got my pacman i left a bigger cricket in there overnight that he didnt eat.  In the am he had a little redish spot behind his eye.  I touched it lightly with the tip of a piece of paper towel and it def was liquid/blood.  He seemed to heal overnight and hes been fine since but I'm going to assume that he got bit.


I just did a head count on the crickets, only 5 left... but once again, they are tiny lil boggers... there maybe some thats hiding, but i'm not sure.... but I can visually see 5 left after 3 sprays of water... 

I guess I will let this batch slide since its size small, but I will get cricket food when I go purchase the next batch of food....

BTW, how often do you feed your pacman frog? Say after this 10 tiny cricket is gone, how long should I hold out until I get the next batch?

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## John911

> I just did a head count on the crickets, only 5 left... but once again, they are tiny lil boggers... there maybe some thats hiding, but i'm not sure.... but I can visually see 5 left after 3 sprays of water... 
> 
> I guess I will let this batch slide since its size small, but I will get cricket food when I go purchase the next batch of food....
> 
> BTW, how often do you feed your pacman frog? Say after this 10 tiny cricket is gone, how long should I hold out until I get the next batch?


I'm not sure.  I think alot of people feed them whatever they can get in 15 minutes.  I just give mine 3 crickets every night.

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## gtr319

> I'm not sure.  I think alot of people feed them whatever they can get in 15 minutes.  I just give mine 3 crickets every night.


What I am planning to do is this... when he is done with this batch, I will just swing by the reptile store and get 10 more... given that I will swing by there once or twice a week... or is it too much food for the Pacman frog?

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## John911

> What I am planning to do is this... when he is done with this batch, I will just swing by the reptile store and get 10 more... given that I will swing by there once or twice a week... or is it too much food for the Pacman frog?


 
not sure.  i usually have a few hundred crickets all the time cause i have a bearded dragon that eats like a  moose.  im trying to breed them with no success yet.

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## John911

i think juveniles should be fed every day, and adults about 3 times a week.  could be wrong.

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## gtr319

u


> i think juveniles should be fed every day, and adults about 3 times a week.  could be wrong.


Then my plan would work for now

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## braaandooon

glad to hear your frog is eating thats always good news, just went and bought a few larger crickets myself and my cranwelli had 5 of them down by the time i got done introducing a few into my cornuta enclosure, it should be pretty much smooth sailing for you here on out now that your frog is eating

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## braaandooon

i would say your plan sounds good, when my frog was younger i would always add 5-10 crickets at a time and when they were gone i would just add more, i dont keep alot of crickets because they are noisey and they stink, but im also lucky enough to have a great feed shop within two blocks of my home, not sure how far you are from a petsmart, but even if you go a few days without crickets its not a big deal, one thing i do when adding crickets to my enclosures is a lay out a few dusted mealworms so the crickets leave my frog alone, and are beeing gut loaded at the same time, just dont dust the meal worms every time you add them to the enclosure, i usually dust every other time, and if you run out of crickets before you get back to a petsmart, i would use that time to offer other foods, like those worms you may be keeping in your refrigerator thats how my pac got hooked on them

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## gtr319

> i would say your plan sounds good, when my frog was younger i would always add 5-10 crickets at a time and when they were gone i would just add more, i dont keep alot of crickets because they are noisey and they stink, but im also lucky enough to have a great feed shop within two blocks of my home, not sure how far you are from a petsmart, but even if you go a few days without crickets its not a big deal, one thing i do when adding crickets to my enclosures is a lay out a few dusted mealworms so the crickets leave my frog alone, and are beeing gut loaded at the same time, just dont dust the meal worms every time you add them to the enclosure, i usually dust every other time, and if you run out of crickets before you get back to a petsmart, i would use that time to offer other foods, like those worms you may be keeping in your refrigerator thats how my pac got hooked on them


I'm planning on to return the earthworms and exchange it to the red  wigglers because earthworm burrow too fast....

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