Frog flips on his back???

[Gene]

I posted a few weeks ago that my pacman had a prolapsed stomach. After receiving some advice from other members and reading some articles, I decided to push his stomach back in myself which seemed to work fine. Something I read said after doing that, not to feed the frog for at least a couple weeks so I haven't tried to feed him until yesterday. A couple days ago, I woke up to find him on his back so I immediately flipped him back over. He seemed ok after that. Ever since then though, he hasn't been acting normal. He normally hides behind his plant but he's been out in the open for the past couple days and I now found him on his back for a second time. He's also not eating any crickets yet. I'm starting to get worried as I have no clue what may be wrong with him.

[GrifTheGreat]

I posted a few weeks ago that my pacman had a prolapsed stomach. After receiving some advice from other members and reading some articles, I decided to push his stomach back in myself which seemed to work fine. Something I read said after doing that, not to feed the frog for at least a couple weeks so I haven't tried to feed him until yesterday. A couple days ago, I woke up to find him on his back so I immediately flipped him back over. He seemed ok after that. Ever since then though, he hasn't been acting normal. He normally hides behind his plant but he's been out in the open for the past couple days and I now found him on his back for a second time. He's also not eating any crickets yet. I'm starting to get worried as I have no clue what may be wrong with him.

What are the temps and humidity levels? Has the frog eaten since you put the stomach back in? Do you dust the frogs food with multivitamins and calcium dust? Does the frog appear normal no discoloration or foggy looking eyes?

[Gene]

temp stays around 80, humidity is around 65-70%, and yes I do dust his food. Since I've put his stomach back in I have not tried to feed him (until last night). I've had him since April and he's always been fine. He appears normal; his color is good and his eyes are clear. The only thing abnormal I've noticed is that his mouth is slightly open. It's been that way since I put his stomach back in. Well actually, it doesn't look like it's open, it's just that his lower lip is showing a little bit. I've looked inside his mouth and everything looks normal though.

[BG]

Has he lost weight.Is he very skinny. Can we see the frog. He might be weak and low on vitamins since he hasn't eaten any thing for 2 weeks.

[GrifTheGreat]

temp stays around 80, humidity is around 65-70%, and yes I do dust his food. Since I've put his stomach back in I have not tried to feed him (until last night). I've had him since April and he's always been fine. He appears normal; his color is good and his eyes are clear. The only thing abnormal I've noticed is that his mouth is slightly open. It's been that way since I put his stomach back in. Well actually, it doesn't look like it's open, it's just that his lower lip is showing a little bit. I've looked inside his mouth and everything looks normal though.

Humidity needs to be 80%. Try and keep the temp at 82 or 83. Hve you tried to force feed? You might have to at least try once and see if the frog takes the food ok. The flipping could be several things. They are very hard to narrow down. Could be malnutrition from not eating for a long time. I think a vet trip is in order though. Try to force feed your frog something easy to digest like a red wiggler or chunk of night crawler. Keep us posted.

[Gene]

Here's a pic of him. I've never force fed him so I don't really know how. Is it just a matter of putting food in his mouth?

[GrifTheGreat]

Try dangling the food against his mouth first to see if he will eat it. If not, you will have to force open his mouth and place the food in it. It's easier if you have two people, but you can do it with one. Gently remove your frog and place it on some damp paper towels (spray with De-chlorinated water). He might try to jump away so if you have him on a high surface like a table or counter top be very careful. They can and will jump great distances. Have the worm or food ready. Use a credit card or shopper card to carefully put pressure against his lower jaw. You'll want to insert the card over towards the side of his mouth but not all the way at the corner of the mouth... sort of below the eye. It is helpful to have a second person to hold the frog steady; it will try to back away and swat the card away. You don't need to squeeze it or anything; just have a hand behind it to keep it from jumping or turning away. It will take a few tries to get his mouth open. Apply enough pressure for the frog to open its mouth but be gentle (unfortunately, it's hard to describe but easier to do). Have the worm ready in the other hand and right by the pac's mouth. When he opens his mouth, quickly insert part of the worm. You don't have to get the whole thing in there. He might try to spit it out, but the majority of the time once part of the food is in the pacman's mouth the will swallow it. It's not as complicated as it sounds, but it will take a few tries. Good luck and speedy recovery!

[Sublime]

Yes, good information from Grif. I would start him out on a earthworm diet, to be able to digest easily for him while his stomach may still be recovering. These symptoms are produced by stress or malnutrition (Most closely related to flipping on their back). In the circumstances your frog has already been through and it's condition, I would advise you force feed at this point. Follow Grif's little tutorial on force feeding, maybe pack a appropriately sized mouse injected with vitamins or a earthworm dusted with plenty of multivitamins into your frog to get his system back up and working.

Credit cards work for opening their jaw, plastic spoons, butter knifes. Those are all options, whatever you feel most comfortable with for yourself and the frogs concern.

For recovering from a prolapsed stomach, I would keep his enclosure very tidy and clean. Don't want any bacteria buildup resulting in some form of bacterial disease. Keep his temps and humidity up just like you're doing. Maybe have a vet ready just in case, not many frogs recover from prolapsed stomachs. Should be watched carefully. By the way, next time don't push his stomach back in. Get him in some warm water and he should be able to get it back in, worst case yeah gently with a sterilized utensil ease it back in to help him.

[demeteraurion]

Sounds identical to what happened to my frog. Now he just sits in his tank, doesn't burrow, and I have to force feed him but he acts fine and has been alive ever since. I wonder if he will recover.

[Gene]

Just to let everyone know, he is now eating on his own. I haven't had to force feed him, he's been eating crickets. His mouth still doesn't close all the way as I said in an earlier post but he seems to be acting normal otherwise.

[Sublime]

That's good to hear Gene. Sounds like he's on the road to recovery... Make sure you get him plenty of nutrition while he's still recovering - calcium supplements, vitamins, and so forth. Good job.