Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!

May remember me, I'm a newbie (sort of) with a Pacman that's a little over a year and a half old. For the last few months he's been refusing food when offered, accepting maybe once a month...but tonight when i changed his bedding he snapped at his water as though he's starving, so Im heating him a fuzzy to see if he eats it (its the size of a pinky, but it has hair, its not a large fuzzy)
Note: he INHALED the mouse, snapped it up right to its tail in one bite even though he ate last week...

He's 2.5 inches wide, but was 3 before this happened. Maybe a little over three, like 3 1/4.

He is offered one of those pinky-sized fuzzies every other week, or every 2 weeks if hes been refusing.

He refuses crickets, though once ate superworms when i was at school and couldnt find mice.

Should I try the worms again?

Should I lengthen time between feedings? Is he hibernating?

Note: his temperature and substrate are REGULATED... he's in jungle bed, occassionally he gets moss but not always. he's pretty well hydrated, i know i could prolly keep him more hydrated but the bedding doesnt get dry, it just gets less moist. and its not kept so wet that there are pools of water, its a nice medium moist.

any advice? is this normal? will his growth start back up?

basically, please tell me if i'm doing a good job.
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)

my pacman eats a large hopper to small adult sized mouse every other week. once a month i dust them with calcium and multivitamins. in between the mice, he gets crickets, earthworms, superworms, silkworms, grasshoppers, and occasionally a few cold freshwater fish. i also substitute mice with a small chick when ava.
if your pacman will take any of the above inbetween feeding mice, then go for it. mine tends to burrow after a strong feeding week (when he eats more than 3 days per week), but he only stays burried for about 2-3 wks. if your substrate becomes dry, then your pacman may try to hibernate to stay moist, but will come out of it shortly after giving the soil a good soaking. it sounds like you are able to keep the soil moisture level at a constant, so that would generally discourage hibernation, unless he is left alone for a long period of time. keeping the temp. above b/t 75-85 degrees will also discourage hibernation, though cooler or warmer temps my induce it.
it sounds like you are doing things right, pacmans tend to need very little care and you may just have a picky eater. it took me almost a year to get mine to eat earthworms, but he snaps up 12-18 crickets in a feeding or a mouse or fish without any remorse.
the pic below is of my guy about 1 yr ago, his setup is pretty much the same now and he seems quite at home.

thanks for the advice...

may i ask what kind of fish? he might like new things, and I'll buy some Superworms tomorrow...although he wont eat preserved crickets and is picky at best with live ones (didnt used to be, he just preferred meatier food)

and ill defiantely keep him moister, although his tank evens out at 71-72 and he seems pretty comfy

thanks again!
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0.0.1 Argetine Horned Toad...(think its a boy...)

love my PacMan: Prince Charming

1.0.0 dog (Buffy...basically a PacMan in canine form)

large rosie reds, cheaper tetras (neon, rummy nose, silver tip, etc), danios. you can use goldfish from time to time, but they are high in fat, so they should only be a treat.

Hi, when you say "took a year to get him to eat mealworms", how exactly do you "get" him? I mean, what do you do to persuade him? Mine refuses crickets and I really want to get him to eat crickets. He even spits them out if I toss them in as he's swallowing a mouse.

i started by leaving the cage the mealworms were in, a clear critter ceeper, in front of the tank so the frog could get used to them moving around. then i tried offering them via forceps every week or so until he finally took one and then things just got better from there. it is all about patience and timing. it is unusual for them not to like crickets, but if it eats other food then i would not worry to much as long as you use supplements like calcium and multiviatmins dusted on the mouse.