Reptile & Amphibian Forums

he won't eat and I don't know if he is hibernating. It has been two weeks since he ate and I had to force feed him at that. What do I do?

It's getting toward winter, just let him/her decide when to eat. Unless there is clearly something wrong w/ your frog, it's likely just a slow-down due to the season change. You really shouldn't be force-feeding your animal unless you've taken it to the vet & the vet's advised you to do so. Remember, cold blooded animals require far less food than warm bloodeds, so some fasting is really not a major concern.

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2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena

Mine has eaten very rarely now. Maybe about twice in three months, he stays buried. Though he is around 4 inches.
What could be a concern is if you can see that it is rapidly loosing weight, but you don't have to dig it up. Only see if it looks really skinny when it has emerged.
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CokeOfMan

I haven't noticed any weight loss, however, I was force feeding meal worms and prior to that, pinkies, but that was about 2 weeks ago. He just looks stiff, until I mist him. He doesn't open his eyes but he twitches and then I see his chin moving so I know he is breathing. I put a little frog sized dish of vegetables in front of his mouth every day just in case he wants to eat. Because they have air sacs and his have been inflated until last Saturday, I don't think he has lost any weight. I know if a Pacman frog looses color, then he is malnourished, but mine has help tight. If I knew how to post a pic on this site, I would. Thank you for your reply, my little buddy appreciates it.

Thank you so much for replying. Your help was reassuring for my little buddy.

One easy way you can tell if they're hibernating is if they dig themselves down in the substrate and get a film over their entire skin (eyes included). They'll still respond when in hibernation but not very much. The three pac mans my boyfriend and I have are all in hibernation now (our house is kept at 70 or so) and probably won't come out again until March or April if not later. Amazingly enough they won't come out that much smaller either if this is the case. As for food...(I saw your post in the other forum) veggies aren't good. Crickets, mealworms/superworms, then up to feeder fish or mice. I'd try to keep them on frozen/thawed mice if possible just because it's easier than live with less danger to the frog. I hope I helped some.

~Katie
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2.0.1 Cornsnakes
0.2 Leopard Geckos (Cutie and Lily)
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.2.1 Pac Man Frogs(Gordito, Spud, and Diablo)
0.0.1 Giant Millipede (Mega)
lots of snails and fish...

Every little bit helps. Your right, after all the replys, I do believe his is in hibernation. I do have a hermit heater until him. His cage is about 80 degrees F and I have a light on him every day. Is this a good practice or should I turn it all off and let him go, continuing to offer food? Let me know. Thanks, Jeannette

I think it depends on what you want to do. We don't have anything heat wise on our frogs (then again we don't have a/c in the summer either) and after they go into hibernation we just let them be. If they're truly in hibernation you'll know when they come out. After they eat their skin covering they'll be really hungry. While they're in hibernation though they won't eat at all. Ours actually quit eating for a bit before they went into hibernation this year. Saves us money on mice I'll try to get a picture later today of one of them in hibernation and post it to give you a comparison.

~Katie
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2.0.1 Cornsnakes
0.2 Leopard Geckos (Cutie and Lily)
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.2.1 Pac Man Frogs(Gordito, Spud, and Diablo)
0.0.1 Giant Millipede (Mega)
lots of snails and fish...

Sorry - finally got a picture (posted two above in another thread so I'll only post one here). Pic is of our pac man Diablo who is in full hibernation. If you look closely you can see his eye that is sealed shut at the bottom of the picture. Hope this helps!

~Katie

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2.0.1 Cornsnakes
0.3 Leopard Geckos (Cutie, Lily, and ?)
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.2.1 Pac Man Frogs(Gordito, Spud, and Diablo)
0.0.1 Giant Millipede (Mega)
lots of snails and fish...

No frogs (at least not any availablein the pet trade) eat plant matter as adults. Please don't try feeding this to any frog! They are 100% carnivorous.
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2.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 Tiger salamander
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
0.1 Paint horse mare

Actually there is some hylid on Brazil that has been documented to occasionally feed on fruit as an adult. Its been about 12 years since I saw the paper so I no longer remember the species name.

Ed

I know, I actually remember reading about that too. That's why I said "frogs available in the hobby."

But I really don't know if a horned frog could digest veggies. I would never dream of feeding any to mine. Maybe something meat-related, maybe even lean beef, but no plant matter!
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2.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 Tiger salamander
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
0.1 Paint horse mare

While I would not suggest feeding veggies to anurans, people need to remember that gut contents of prey animals often contain plant matter which is digested along with the prey. There is also often a small amount of plant matter ingested incidentally along with prey when the food item is captured.

Ed

Forcefeeding is really not a good dieda with these frogs. The temperature may be too cool and he might not be digesting what is already in his stomach, so he might not even be hungry due to that. And even if everything's fine, they go into these spells where they'll remain buried for weeks at a timme, sometimes even a month or more.
Mine will go several weeks staying buried, and all of a sudden I will return home and see her out and about and freshly shed. Then I feed heras many nightcrawlers as she'll take, and she'll re-bury and repeat the cycle.
Just make sure your frog does not dry out while buried. This could instigate a longterm brumation period in which the frog will develop a thick, water-retaining skin. They do this in the wild during the dry season.

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2.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 Tiger salamander
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
0.1 Paint horse mare

Can the frogs absorb the nutrition in vegetables? I know that humans are unable to absorb (The right word?) the nutrition in some greens (cellulose) like grass.
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CokeOfMan