# Frogs & Toads > Tomato Frogs, Painted Frogs & Microhylids >  Tomato Frog staying buried all the time

## FrogMom66

I recently picked up Heinz the tomato frog on Saturday, he was pretty restless for his first night, but on his second night he decided to bury himself completely under his substrate  (coco fibre) and he hasn't come out since. Yesterday I tried to dig him out to see if he was okay, but he puffed up and hissed at me so I quickly covered him with dirt again. Is this odd behaviour? Humidity hovers between 74 and 81, and the temperature is 78 by day and 75 by night.

----------


## Jason

Could just need to time to adjust. what are you using for heat and is there plenty of hides available?

----------

FrogMom66, monster

----------


## FrogMom66

> Could just need to time to adjust. what are you using for heat and is there plenty of hides available?


He has a terra cotta plant pot that I sawed in half, he's currently in there with his whole body under the soil. He is in a warm room but I have noticed that the light I use for him does bump up the temperature by 0.5 degrees celsius. I have a heat mat but I've decided not to use it for now.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

I would add some real or fake plants for extra cover and just keep an eye to see if it comes out at night, probably needs time. 

Whenever you do need heat, a ceramic would be much better than a heat mat, used injunction with a fogger or misting if nessessary to keep humidity up.

----------

FrogMom66, monster

----------


## FrogMom66

> I would add some real or fake plants for extra cover and just keep an eye to see if it comes out at night, probably needs time. 
> 
> Whenever you do need heat, a ceramic would be much better than a heat mat, used injunction with a fogger or missing if nessessary to keep humidity up.


Gotcha, I'll buy some silk plants right away. I was planning on undigging him for a feeding later, is that a good idea or should I leave him alone?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

Might not be the best thing to do, but tbh I've done it a few times with my frogs and didn't seem to bother them much. If you've got a dish you could sink into the substrate and put a few worms for if it does come out and decide to eat. Don't put crickets in though, cos if it ain't wanting to eat then them roaming about may stress it. What you could do if you find it burrowing a lot is to use a shallow layer of coir and topped with sphagnum moss (not green moss) you can then lift the moss up to see it without having to actually dig it out

----------

FrogMom66, monster

----------


## Cory

When you unbury him later to feed just uncover his head enough so he can see the food and so theres no substrate around his mouth. This way its a bit less stressfull then unburying his whole body.

----------

FrogMom66

----------


## FrogMom66

> Might not be the best thing to do, but tbh I've done it a few times with my frogs and didn't seem to bother them much. If you've got a dish you could sink into the substrate and put a few worms for if it does come out and decide to eat. Don't put crickets in though, cos if it ain't wanting to eat then them roaming about may stress it. What you could do if you find it burrowing a lot is to use a shallow layer of coir and topped with sphagnum moss (not green moss) you can then lift the moss up to see it without having to actually dig it out


Doesn't sphagnum moss become a hazard at feeding time? I'd love to do that but I'm too scared.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

Sphagnum moss has long fibers and pats down well, so is little risk but the cheap green moss which usually come in compressed bricks is dangerous

----------


## FrogMom66

Heinz finally decided to come out on his own. I removed the dirt around his mouth, and I got him to eat 4 large silent crickets before he went back to sleep. Is this a good amount or should I be feeding more?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## FrogMom66

I managed to get Heinz to eat 4 more crickets, so that's 8 in total. Is it possible to over feed?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

With a lot of amphibians they will eat a lot in captivity and become obese, just feed whatever it'll eat in 10 mins or so, keeping an eye on it's weight and feeding accordingly. They should be quite round, though

----------

FrogMom66

----------


## FrogMom66

> With a lot of amphibians they will eat a lot in captivity and become obese, just feed whatever it'll eat in 10 mins or so, keeping an eye on it's weight and feeding accordingly. They should be quite round, though


How often should I be feeding every week? I had originally planned to do it every 2-3 days.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

If it's a juvenile you have, it will need a lot of food for growing and a lot of calcium and vitamins for bones, I usually feed every day to every other day for any young frog or toad, sometimes twice a day if straight out of the water. Adults need less, i would try two times for this one and then keep an eye on it's weight, feeding more if necessary, but no less than 2 meals a week.

----------

FrogMom66

----------


## FrogMom66

> If it's a juvenile you have, it will need a lot of food for growing and a lot of calcium and vitamins for bones, I usually feed every day to every other day for any young frog or toad, sometimes twice a day if straight out of the water. Adults need less, i would try two times for this one and then keep an eye on it's weight, feeding more if necessary, but no less than 2 meals a week.


Thanks for all the help so far, he came out last night and had a great time exploring. He messed up his water bowl but I haven't seen any signs of his droppings. This worries me because I don't want him sitting on them where I can't reach them to clean them up. What do they look like and how often do they leave them behind? I was planning to clean him out in a few days but part of me is worried that it'll be unnecessary and I'll just stress him out.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

Good to hear. Because it burrows, the best is to put on power free gloves and check there with your hands looking for any clumbed pieces of substrate which could be fecal matter, scooping out some substrate where you find them and then mix it down afterwards. As long as your temps are fine, it has proper hydration and food items, you shouldn't have to worry about pooping and it should do it in its own time. However, it the frog doesn't go within a week and appears bloated, then you should recheck conditions and place it in lukewarm water. You shouldnt need to clean the tank anymore than every 2 weeks, you might get away with a month depending on the size of the tank

----------

FrogMom66

----------


## FrogMom66

> Good to hear. Because it burrows, the best is to put on power free gloves and check there with your hands looking for any clumbed pieces of substrate which could be fecal matter, scooping out some substrate where you find them and then mix it down afterwards. As long as your temps are fine, it has proper hydration and food items, you shouldn't have to worry about pooping and it should do it in its own time. However, it the frog doesn't go within a week and appears bloated, then you should recheck conditions and place it in lukewarm water. You shouldnt need to clean the tank anymore than every 2 weeks, you might get away with a month depending on the size of the tank


Alright, I think I'll do the first clean-out in exactly a week. For now, I'll just remove any clumped pieces of substrate. When I remove him for a cleaning, should I just pick him up with my hands and put him in a plastic storage container with air holes? I want to take the least stressful route possible. 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

----------


## Jason

Yeah wet your hands with de-chlorinated water beforehand and then cup it. I prefer to put the tub in the tank when I'm doing this incase the frog decides to jump out my hands and onto the floor, which ofcourse could do some damage depending on the height. You can use anything, an old icecream tub with holes or mesh, but I just use a faunarium. If you put the container in a dark place away from the tank when your cleaning it will probably be less stressful

----------

FrogMom66

----------

