# Frogs & Toads > Tree Frogs >  Vacation Feeding

## Fishboy123

I am new on the forum because I recently got interested in frogs. However, every year, i go on a week or two vacation and I am wondering how long I could leave a Red Eyed Tree Frog alone? I was thinking of a big water bowl and an automatic mister to put in the terrarium. How long can Red Eyed Tree Frogs go without eating crickets? Also, how long can a pacman frog go without eating?

Thanks!

----------


## Paul

This is a tough subject to tackle and you will get all manner of responses. I am not a Pacman keeper and Have no idea how long you can leave them to their own devices before it becomes dangerous, but for Reds I can offer some advice.

With a Large water bowl, Automatic mister, Timer on lights You could safely leave your frog or frogs for around a week. I wouldn't let them go much longer than that before feeding them again, but for a week (maybe a week and a couple days) they will be ok. If you are going to be gone longer than that I would recommend finding some who can toss crickets in the tank for you at least at the week mark while you are gone.

----------


## Cory

How old and big is your pacman? If its an adult if you give him a nice meal before you go and you have lights, heat and humidity on timers you should be ok. Even if its a subadult if you feed a nice meal he should be ok but if its a baby im not a hundred percent sure a week would be ok. Again if you could get some one to check and throw in some crickets or even a worm that would be your best option. A subadult could go a week but something in between wouldn't hurt. And another thing you have to take into consideration is you are going to need someone to see if there is any poop or waste to pick up and even putting bigger dishes for water what if one of your frogs decides to poop in it? you will need someone to change the water.

----------


## Fishboy123

> How old and big is your pacman? If its an adult if you give him a nice meal before you go and you have lights, heat and humidity on timers you should be ok. Even if its a subadult if you feed a nice meal he should be ok but if its a baby im not a hundred percent sure a week would be ok. Again if you could get some one to check and throw in some crickets or even a worm that would be your best option. A subadult could go a week but something in between wouldn't hurt. And another thing you have to take into consideration is you are going to need someone to see if there is any poop or waste to pick up and even putting bigger dishes for water what if one of your frogs decides to poop in it? you will need someone to change the water.


I don't have a pacman frog right now, but I'm guessing it will be a year old when I leave for a vacation. I might put another water dish as well for humidity.

----------


## Fishboy123

Thanks for the quick reply! From the research I've done, I'm pretty sure a pacman frog would do okay for a week or two without food. However for the red eyed tree frogs I was scared about feeding. Could I leave some extra crickets when I leave and have them eat it? Since the frogs will be up in the top of the cage, the crickets won't be able to reach them.

----------


## Lija

Well you will have no choice but have someone come in. Pacman yes he can be without food for a week or two if it's an adult, but you have to have someone change his water daily and spot clean if needed, flood substrate if it dries out, that is provided you have temps/humidity on controllers.

Adult red eyes will be fine for a week with no food, provided you have everything plugged into controllers. Paul has covered that one.

----------


## Josh

If you feel comfortable saying so, where abouts do you live? If you check craiglist, I think in the services section, and put up a wanted ad, or look for a pet sitter, that could potentially work as a solution.

----------


## Cory

You got to remember even if you put 2 water dishes with the pacman frog that when he is an adult when he poops and pees these are not small. So even putting more then one dish if he pees in them lets say and doesn't poop he is still going to absorb that in when he sits in the water. And sitting for a week  or two in that kinda heat and humidity you are bound to grow some kind of bacteria in the water and he is going to absorb it and more then likely become sick. If you could get a friend or family member to check on your frogs that would be your best bet I think going away for that long. And im not saying he will absolutely become sick but sitting in that kind of water you would probably have a high risk.

----------


## Lija

Good thing about pacs that they live in small tanks, so you can also find some teen kid, old enough to change water and be responsible, yet young enough not to ask much $ for it and bring the tank to their house.

----------


## Josh

Hahaha, hey! I'm that teenage kid you're talking about. I guess I'll have to charge more  :Wink:

----------


## Lija

lol right... I didnt say anything, wasn't me...

----------


## Amy

Check at your local pet stores for someone to help,  that's what I did last time I went on vacation because my reds were still young.   I would also make sure you have TREATED water in jugs ready for them so they don't accidentally forget.

----------


## Fishboy123

okay, I have a couple family members and friends that could take care of one of the frogs. However I do not think they will feed crickets so is it possible they could just keep the humidity in check, spot clean, and change the water?

----------


## Paul

That will help but the starving part will need to be addressed. You could keep the crickets you want fed in a separate smaller container so all the family/friends would need to do it dump that container into the tank...

----------


## FrogFan89

Most reputable reptile stores can house your pets, mine for example charge £1 a day, but supply your own food. But if you can't get someone to look after it, than maybe a frog isn't the pet for you.

I see it in a way that if you want a pet (any kind) and you need someone to look after it during vacations but people say no, you can have the frog and sacrifice your vacations and not go and look after your pet or have your vacations and no frog.

----------


## irThumper

I am all about getting someone to watch over your frogs while you are gone, someone you can trust to do what you ask them to do-- easier said than done I know! 

This thread sure brings up great questions that I hadn't even thought of... being a 24-7 caregiver I don't even know the meaning of the word "vacation"!  :EEK!:  And for me, being a paranoid and doting frog mom, I don't know if I'd even be able to be away from my frog kids that long... I'd miss them too much!  :Frog Surprise:

----------


## Fishboy123

Yea guys I get worry sick when I let my friend take care of my gecko during my vacations. Thanks for the opinions guys!

----------


## Fishboy123

I forgot to mention one question. If you own just one or two frogs, is it worth going through the hassle of breeding crickets.

----------


## Lija

Absolutely not, even for me and I get 500 crickets every 2 weeks. I tried to breed just to see first hand what is like, too much hassle, stinks like there's no tomorrow lol nope, I much rather buy. 
 To breed crickets having one or two frogs you gotta be either nuts or extreme smell lover lol

----------


## Josh

Unless, unless, unless, you're me! I had a 40B hermit crab tank, some crickets escaped, made their way into the tank, and breeded like mad demons. Fortunately, I got a new 90 gallon tank for the crabs this past fall. So now I have a constantly replenishing cricket supply and a brand stinking new hermit crab tank  :Big Grin:

----------


## Fishboy123

Yea, breeding crickets seems like such a hassle my god i can just imagine the smell!  :Cool:  However, I do not want to go to the store every 2 weeks for any animal to get crickets. The only stores that sell crickets near me is petco and they are really terrible. Is there a solution to this?

----------


## elly

Maybe take a look at the "feeders" section on this site for info about dubia breeding. Dubia are a lot less smelly. I think they only breed at about 90F or so and I don't know how easy it is to get them to do it.

----------


## Cris

I agree with elly. If you're looking to breed your own feeders it seems like dubia roaches are the way to go. I don't have personal experience with it since I couldn't quite get over the squick factor of having adult roaches in the house *shudder* but I've done a bit of research that shows they're easy breeders if kept at warm temps.

Depending on what kind of frog you decide to get, you can get nightcrawlers at walmart if you want to avoid Petco.

----------


## irThumper

If you want to get crickets shipped in you can try Armstrong's. They've been breeding crickets since the 1940's and raise the original (non-hybridized) browns, which are known to be non-biters. It's not cheap though, so I'd get some smalls/mediums and set them up in some good housing to grow out while you feed them off. Buying full grown adult crickets is a waste of time and money for me because once they are of breeding age they start to drop dead. Bleh. We purchased from Armstrong's years ago when we had FBTs, and they were a pretty good company. Buy Crickets Online | Armstrong Crickets

----------


## Fishboy123

I looked into Dubia Roaches and it makes me shutter i dont think i can keep them. However, the only reason I cannot keep crickets is because i do not want to go to the store every month. Do all frogs need to eat crickets and roaches?

----------


## bill

So, if I am reading this thread correctly, you do NOT have any frogs at the moment. You are trying to decide what type of frog to get, and you want frog(s) that can survive a week without food periodically? That's an easy one, darts. No brainer. They eat fruit flies that you culture yourself, with no smell. And they can easily go a week without feeding. Anyone who has run out of flies can attest to that. 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

----------


## irThumper

> Unless, unless, unless, you're me! I had a 40B hermit crab tank, some crickets escaped, made their way into the tank, and breeded like mad demons. Fortunately, I got a new 90 gallon tank for the crabs this past fall. So now I have a constantly replenishing cricket supply and a brand stinking new hermit crab tank


Hey Josh, mind giving me your secrets on cricket propagation?? I'm barking mad too! (aka nuts, well slightly, in a good way... lol)  :Wink:

----------


## Fishboy123

> So, if I am reading this thread correctly, you do NOT have any frogs at the moment. You are trying to decide what type of frog to get, and you want frog(s) that can survive a week without food periodically? That's an easy one, darts. No brainer. They eat fruit flies that you culture yourself, with no smell. And they can easily go a week without feeding. Anyone who has run out of flies can attest to that. 
> 
> 
> Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela



ahh yes that what i am deciding. I have looked into dart frogs and the only problem would be keeping humidity. How would i keep humidity in an exo terra cage or a normal 20 or 29 gallon tank? Could I use an aquarium glass top?

----------


## irThumper

> ahh yes that what i am deciding. I have looked into dart frogs and the only problem would be keeping humidity. How would i keep humidity in an exo terra cage or a normal 20 or 29 gallon tank? Could I use an aquarium glass top?


I'd check out the Dart frog and vivarium sections for answers to this  :Smile:

----------


## bill

A glass top would be exactly how you would hold humidity. 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

----------

