Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my Tomato Frog, Hotaru, for Christmas and he's a nice pet. The only thing is, he doesn't seem to be getting used to me. But, that's not what I'm worried about right now.

He's been okay up until recently. I noticed that his breathing is irregular lately and he hasn't eaten for almost a week. The crickets just end up dead in his water dish. He also seems to have no energy, or just chooses to not use it, because he just sits there. He doesn't even try to burrow into his moss. The only time he moves is to get some water for a while and then gets out and just sits by the dish.

At first I thought it may just be he thinks he should hibernate, so I've been putting a bag filled with warm water in his tank and putting him in a cloth on top of it since we can't get a heater right now. He seems to be enjoying that, but he still won't eat. I'm really worried. We can't afford a vet visit right now, and I would be very upset if he died.

I don't quite understand the warm water in a bag and cloth thing. I wouldn't put a frog on a cloth at all. If you want to add heat you can use a low wattage bulb over one side of his enclosure. Be careful amd check your temps because it can get too hot and too dry very quickly if you have too big of a bulb. I also do not like moss as a substrate. I have seen too many frogs at work that became impacted with moss. When was the last time he defecated? My older tomato frog is coming out of hibernation right now and my young one never went in. I personally use bed a beast substrate and mist once a day. They also have a large shallow water bowl. Make sure you remove any crickets your frog doesn't eat or they will chew on your frog.
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Stacey

What exactly is Bed-A-Beast? I've never heard of it before, except on this message board. I use moss because that's what he was in at the pet store, and it's what they suggested to use for him. I'm not exactly sure how I would get the bulb to stay there unless I used a lamp. This is his 'house', but it was taken a while ago so the picture doesn't show the cloths in there:

http://meikyuu.lilkittygurl.com/HotaruHouse.jpg

What we've been doing with the cloth thing is making the cloths wet so he doesn't get dry.

My mom had him out of his house earlier, and he was hopping around on the table and then she put him in the playpen that is set up right now (for when my niece is over being babysat) for some exercise and he hopped around there for a while and then hid under the toys, so she put him back in his house with some fresh water. But now he looks like he did yesterday, which is rather sickly. I'll go take a picture of him now and post it. Gimme a minute.

Okay, here are the pictures:

http://meikyuu.lilkittygurl.com/HotaruSick.jpg
http://meikyuu.lilkittygurl.com/HotaruSick1.jpg
http://meikyuu.lilkittygurl.com/HotaruSick2.jpg
http://meikyuu.lilkittygurl.com/HotaruSick3.jpg

The last time he defecated? Come to think of it, it has been a while. Maybe since the last time he ate...

What exactly do you do if your frog goes into hibernation? And how do you know? I've never had it happen before so I don't know what to look for or how to handle it.

Have you tried giving him a flourescent light that gives out UVA and UVB. My horned frog was like that when I bought him and he wouldn't eat, but after a day of UV exposure he wolfed down three crickets.

Bed-A-Beast is what I use for my pacman. It is basically compacted cocunut fiber that looks like a block in plastic-wrap. It also comes in different brands like Eco-Earth (the one I use) and will expand in water.

Your frog isn't really supposed to get used to you because they're not going to recognize you anyways. Try not to touch your frog and move it around etc. because you're just stressing your frog even more. Also, your frog was jumping around when you took it out because it was scared and stressed. Don't take it out! I personally wouldn't use the towels either. I would just let the frog be and if it wants to bury, it will bury. G'luck.
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::hsuANsTerZ::

Hm, I'll have to look into that Bed-A-Beast stuff then.

I realize that, but I meant like getting used to human contact. When I first got my toad, she was hopping around like crazy, but after a while she stopped doing that and now she just sits there when I take her out. As for the cloths, they are wet so he's not dry now, and he's actually snuggled into them. Should I take them out anyway? I won't take him out anymore then.

Thanks for the help.

I think that is a good idea (the not taking him out anymore). Frogs absorb everthing through their skin so you need to be very careful about what they come in contact with. For example there may still be tiny amounts of bleach or detergent on the cloth that could cause the frog to become sick. Also, in the playpen he could come in contact with cleaners or other products your mom uses to make it clean and nice for the baby. The bed-a-beast can be purchased online at any reptile supply place like lllreptile.com. Good luck with your baby.
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Stacey

Yeah, that's true. Thanks guys, I really hope Hotaru gets better. I'll let you know if there's any changes, good or bad. Hopefully good!