Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I have a pacman frog. He hasn't eaten for about 4 or 5 days, he is younger, but I am waiting for him to take a dump, and when I came in today, he had taken his dump. So I was going to feed him, and he grabbed a piece of gravel. Now he usually spits it right out, but this time he just grabbed it and swallowed it. I have been told by the store that I bought him from, that gravel can pass through easier than some substrates. He is maybe about an inch in length from head to the rear. He isn't interested in the fish right after he took it, so I am gonna wait a few hours then try again. I am worried that he may die or be injured. I really need advice or if it going to hurt him. It wasn't a huge piece of gravel, nor was it small. It appeared that there was only one, and I have smooth gravel. Do you feel that it may just pass through or it will shrink through the stomach acids? ALL ADVICE IS EXTREMELY APPRECIATED!!

Firstly you did the right thing by not trying to remove it yourself. Secondly all horned frogs use the lung and grab feeding technique so substrate ingestion is a very real danger.

In the wild such frogs can also accidentally swallow such items and these pass without much trouble. In your case it is slightly more concerning with it being a very young frog, that said however you will find that if it went in without too much trouble it will also come out. The frogs stomach acids will not digest it.

Now can i also suggest that you dont feed your frog for another 48 hours, after this period give him a luke warm bath (NOT HOT) as this will help him too pass the substrate. If it has still not passed after this try and feed him again but only a small amount.

These sound like daunting measures and i wouldn't worry too much, its just better safe then sorry. Can i also suggests that you use sphagnum moss as a substrate instead of gravel, this is what i not use for my African bull frog and it makes no difference if this is ingested.

Ok, and thank you SO much for your help. I will do as you said. I will switch the sphagnum moss, but I am gonna wait until I get what I can out of this gravel. It was expensive. He went over the the warm watery area, where the heat pad is. Do you think he realized that he didn't eat the right thing and is trying to get it to pass by himself? If that is the case, is the bath necessary later? If so, how long should the bath last? Again, thanks for your help so much, and you don't think he will die do you? I love him so much, and try to do what I can to make him live happily.

No i dont think he will die. The warm bath will not be neccersary if he has access to warm water. I would still however give it 48 hours before you try and feed him again.

Sphagnum moss should be just deap enough for the frog to vanish, it will dry out over the heater but dont worry about that.

Please stop using gravel, right away. I had a beloved american toad a few years back; he died an excruciating death from becoming impacted by one gravel stone he picked up while eating. It was not even a very large stone in proportion to the frog's size. The stone gets stuck in the rectum and tears as the frog strains to defecate. I beg you to stop using gravel. Forst bedding, a substrate made from coconut fiber, is the best choice hands down for frog substrae. It also goes by the name eco earth or bed-a-beast.
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*~Ginevive~*

Ok, I will stop. I do need to know if Sphagnum moss is anygood. Should I use sphagnum moss, or bed a beast? I want my frog to be safe and happy. Also, should I mist the substrate daily, and should I put a water dish in with gravel, so it is not really deep? Help is good, so I can switch over faster. Thanks so much, to everyone that is helping.

Don't use gravel at all. And yes mist them and have a water dish for them. Try to remove the gravel and have him in a container with a wet paper towel for the time being. no more water in it than up to the frogs lip when resting.

use Bed-A-Beast or similar substrate!

Don't use sphagnum moss, use a coconut husk fiber substrate such as Bed-A-Beast. It's cheaper for much larger quantities, more variable in its uses, and it's much safer if ingested than sphagnum. And good luck with your frog, above everything!

Thanks so much, and should the bed a beast be misted? If so, how much? Is it absolutely not good to use an undertank heater? Can't he just go to the other side? Also, should water be added to bed a beast, or should I just dump some in the tank and then heavily mist it the first time?

I don't know enough about bed-a-beast to knwo the specifics on it but you would need to mist the same with any substrate. And a heat pad is absolutely bad, it doesn't just heat the spot it's on it heats the whole bottom of the tank due to the substrate being thick. And it dries it out too much. Think of how the burners on a stove work and that is what a heat pad is.

Bed A Beast comes in a solid brick that you add water to. There are instructions on the packaging. You'll want to mist at least every other day, I've heard that White's don't really like the high humidity.

Definitely get rid of the heat pad and trade it for a basking lamp. Frogs go to the ground to cool off and you are taking that away with the heat pad.

Toss out all the gravel, if you want use river rocks that are too big to fit into an adult White's mouth. You can also use the river rock in the water dish.

I would also invest in a humidity gauge that way you can keep track and know better when to mist.
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Heather

Man I don't know what to do. I have heard from pros who say to use heat pads and I have heard from other pros not to use heat pads. He has loved the heat pad that he has had right now. Maybe I will get him and watch his behaviors with the pad and decide if he wants a different one or not then.

Heat pads *may* work well for some reptiles, but definitely not for frogs. And that's only really terrestrial reptiles, anyway.

In nature, tree frogs will go upwards in search of sunlight to bask in for warmth. They aren't made to recognize that a material below them is burning them and can get hurt. Plus, heat pads have been known to malfunction, and it's not very rare.

So toss it, return it, or find another use for it, but don't use it for a frog. And especially not a tree frog.

Anyway, go and buy a cheap humidity guage if you don't have one and that will tell you when to mist. If there is enough humidity you don't want to overmist, but you will want some extra moisture in the substrate if you're growing any plants in it, but be careful to not overdo it.

Like Heather said, B-A-B comes in a hard brick. You put that brick in, I think, a liter of warm water and wait a half hour. Afterwards, you will have that much B-A-B and it looks like dirt. If it's too soggy, just squeeze out the extra water. It's much easier done than it sounds, from my experience. Good luck.