Why is my baby frog not eating? This is one of the most asked questions by people who are new to frog keeping and even those that are not new. Naturally, we as human beings are very concerned and care so much about our pets that we become very worried when they start displaying some behaviors like refusing to eat. There are some reasons why your baby frog or tadpole is not eating anything, and you will learn all about it in this article so, read to the end.
Why is my baby frog not eating? A baby frog will refuse to eat if it hasn’t turned into a tadpole or it is impacted. If you are keeping frogs of any type from their infant stage, be it baby Pacman frog, baby tree frog, baby tomato frog, etc, there is a point when they will stop eating.
Although sometimes it could not be natural, but sometimes, it could be natural too.
So, let’s see some of the reasons why a baby frog will stop eating.
Why Baby Frog Will Refuse To Eat
There are a few reasons why baby frogs will refuse to eat, they are:
Impaction
impaction happens when the baby frog swallows something and it is blocking its body system, so, won’t allow it to eat anything, even if it wanted to.
There is only one thing that could cause this in frogs, that’s if they swallowed something in their tanks such as substrates, etc.
This could be very deadly for any frog, be it an adult, tadpole, or baby frog if it is not resolved or cured immediately by getting a vet to look into it and find the possible solutions.
So if your Frog happens to be impacted, you might want to call the attention of a veterinarian doctor to look into it and to advise you.
Your Baby Frog Is Losing its Tail.
Baby frogs, no matter the type of frog, be it baby Pacman frog or baby tree frog, etc will at one time stop eating.
This happens when they are about to transform into a real frog by losing their tails.
What this means is that, before they transform from a fish-like look to a frog by cutting their tails, they normally refuse to eat, and even when they fully transform into a full frog, they might still refuse to eat for a few days and even up to 2 weeks.
Based on my experience and from the opinions of 10 frog keepers I have interviewed, frogs will naturally stop eating once they are about to transform and cut their tails. For some, it will take up to a few days for the baby frogs to start eating again, and for some, theirs do take up to a week or 2 before they start eating after transforming.
So, it all depends on the type of frog involved.
If your baby from might be refusing to eat because it is transforming and cutting its tails.
Poor Quality Diet
There is every chance that your baby frog is refusing to eat anything because you are not feeding it with the right food it wants.
All baby frogs could do this, including the baby Pacman frog which is believed to eat a lot.
This doesn’t mean they are sick or anything is possibly wrong with them, just that they want a change of food and doesn’t like what you feed them.
I have seen this a few times, where a baby Pacman frog refused to eat its former foods, but rushed to eat when a different food was given to it.
So, this might possibly be the case for your baby frog and why it refuses to eat anything.
Before you conclude it is sick, kindly give it different foods like crickets, worms, etc and see its reaction first.
Sickness
Sickness is one of the common causes of baby frogs’ refusal to eat.
Some various diseases could infect frogs and make them lose their appetite to eat.
These diseases could affect any frog, both Adults, and Babies.
So, contact a vet if you suspect your baby frog is sick and that is why it can’t eat.
Temperature
Every animal has its specific temperature and frogs are not an exception to this.
Although all frogs have a specific temperature they are okay or comfortable with, for instance, the Pacman frog’s temperature is 80 on average, and when the wrong temperature is introduced to them, it might affect many organs in their body, thereby making them lose their appetite to eat any food they might be given.
Apart from the adults, baby frogs also need their normal and specific temperature to function normally and live very active and healthy.
So, if your baby frog is not eating, you might want to test the water temperature and get a heater to maintain the normal temperature they need.
What Do You Do When A Baby Frog Won’t Eat?
You have read why your baby frogs might be refusing to eat their foods, the next question you might have in mind right now is ‘ what do I do if my baby frog is refusing to eat.
There are some popular recommendations on what to do if your baby frog is refusing to eat.
Although I don’t encourage you to do some of them, in fact, the only thing I encourage is to contact a vet for proper treatment and medical advice.
Anyway, some popular recommendations are:
Bathing the frog with honey water. This involves putting a spoonful of honey into a bowl, adding a liter of water in the bowl, and keeping the frog up to 30 minutes every day till it becomes alright and start eating.
Changing of foods. Changing is an effective way to make your baby frogs eat. This is very effective if only the frog is refusing food because of the quality of the food or the type of food etc.
So, once in a while, try to change their foods and see the ones they will like most.
Always put in place a heater and water testing kits to test their water and adjust when the temperature seems to be down.
Lastly, get a vet if you are not sure of what to do.
In fact, I even advise this because veterinarians are the professionals when it comes to pets so, they know what to do.
How Long Can A Baby Frog Go Without Eating?
We understand that frogs are ferocious eaters, especially Pacman frogs, etc, but they can stay for a long time without eating too. The question here is, how long can baby frogs stay without eating?
Baby frogs can stay up to 2-3 days without eating and will still be okay.
One good thing about frogs is that they could last for a very long time without food and will still survive.
Adult frogs can last very long, and even up to a month without eating, but baby frogs could only last for a few days, depending on their sizes and how they are being fed previously.
Conclusion
These are some of the reasons why your baby Pacman frog is not eating or any other type of frog you might have.
