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PacMan frog hibernating?

hobosam Nov 21, 2004 05:36 AM

Gabbie (my pacmans name)has been eatting odd in the pass week. I put a NC (nightcrawler) in so he could eat, and all he did was look at it. I put 5 crickets in with him add he ate, but he didn't eat like he normaly does. His normal way to eat is he will hop all over his home to catch the crickets, now he will sit in his whole and wait till they come in front of him. He will also let them crawl all over his self and not do anything.
Is Gabbie hibernating?

Replies (15)

hobosam Nov 21, 2004 05:56 AM

HER IS A BETTER PIC

hobosam Nov 21, 2004 05:58 AM

1 MORE

hobosam Nov 21, 2004 06:00 AM

LAST TRY

CokeOfMan Nov 21, 2004 07:25 AM

I belive that they are buried when they are hibernating, not sure though. Maybe he/she is soon going to hibernate?
When it cools down their metabolism slows down (Beceause they are cold blooded) and thereby they don't have to eat as often as they do when it's warmer.
I belive my frog is in some type of hibertaion right now, he/she mainly stays buried and eats rarely.
You may want to hear from someone that know more than me though.
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CokeOfMan

needaurita Nov 21, 2004 11:28 AM

I doubt he is hibernating (brumating is the proper word to use here when we are talking about herps). I believe that they bury themselves and that they from a mucous layer over their body which helps trap in water. How old is he? How warm is it in the tank? Do you handle him a lot or stick your hand in the tank often?

I think I am having the same thing as you CokeOfMan, my frog always buries himself now and emerges every 3-4 weeks to eat. Oh well, he ate his first nightcrawlers the other day so I'm happy.

ginevive Nov 21, 2004 12:44 PM

Mine does the same thing; burying herself for a few weeks and then emerging. My theory is, they need time to digest all the food they've stuffed themselves with. 9 times out of ten, when my horned frog does unnbury herself, it's because she has defecated and presumably does not want to sit in it.
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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

HOBOSAM Nov 23, 2004 10:47 PM

2 WEEKS!!!!!!! it has been 4 days and I'm going crazy, should I just wait till h/she comes out? I look in on her and I can see her eyes ( she looks at be), so, I guess I should just wait.
THANKS
hobosam

ptdnsr Nov 21, 2004 01:55 PM

Your frog definately isn't hibernating. His eyes are wide open and it doesn't look like he has any sort of coating on him. When they hibernate (brumate - I can't spell, sorry) they will try to bury themselves in the substrate and stay that way until they are ready to come out. Last winter our pac man frog, Gordito, went into hibernation in December and didn't come out until late April. Saved on mice though ...she buried herself in 6 inches of gravel so all you could see if you looked really closely was her eyes that slightly stuck up. This year all three of our frogs are already in hibernation, although Spud isn't in as deep due to the fact that he's next to a cage with a heat source at that end. The first picture is of Spud where youc an see that she's shiny, although her eyes are open. The second picture is of Diablo (he's in full hibernation) and if you look very closely you can see where his eye is shut in the bottom of the picture. We don't keep more than 2" of substrate in their tanks at a time which is why they aren't buried fully. Our house is kept around 70 degrees so they'll be fine over the winter. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. I don't expect these guys to eat again until March or April.

Spud

Diablo (sorry it's fuzzy!)

~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...

HOBOSAM Nov 23, 2004 10:52 PM

those are some great frogs
I turn on the light everyday and it gets up to 82 degres, should I not turn the light on? I also have a heating pad under her, I don't know what to do.

CokeOfMan Nov 24, 2004 09:13 AM

Well, try removing the heating pad and just use the lights. Though that depends on how warm the room is, it shouldn't go below 65 degrees farenheit in the night. These frogs optimal temperature is around 75 degrees.
Side note: An undertank heatingpad isn't the best option for these frogs, since they sometimes bury to get away from the heat and this wouldn't work with an undertankheatsource.
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CokeOfMan

hobosam Nov 24, 2004 09:59 PM

HEAT PAD IS ON ONLY HALF OF HER HOME. SHE WOULD REATHER BE ON THAT IN.
TY hobosam

needaurita Nov 25, 2004 12:01 AM

Just be aware that the undertank heater can heat up the substrate along more than just the surface area it covers, without any visible temperature increases.

Undertank heaters are very strongly frowned upon with horned frogs, I would suggest sticking your finger in the substrate on the side of the tank without the heatpad and seeing how warm it is compared to the "headed" side. You want to make sure you have a good thermal gradient in this situation.

vagans Nov 28, 2004 02:21 AM

You know your frogs!!!

sshalimar Dec 17, 2004 09:45 AM

That is interesting to know.....we have a heating pad underneath our PacMans entire cage. I think I will change that to just half of the cage now.....
Laura Ledet

sshalimar Dec 17, 2004 09:43 AM

How do I attach pictures to my emails???
Laura Ledet

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