Feeding 'Anorexic' Tree Frogs

[FroggieLove]

A new story entry has been added:

Feeding 'Anorexic' Tree Frogs

Anyone that has a tree frog that won't eat, please read this!

[froggsong]

A week isn't really all that long for a healthy frog to go without eating. I only feed my frogs once or twice a week, and they don't all always eat at a feeding, even if there are crickets (or other food) left over. Just keep in mind that when he is shedding, he IS eating, eating the skin. Shedding is a bit stressful to any animal that does it, so be careful sticking food in his mouth when he is trying to eat his shed (that's how they get it off, and they need the nutrients from the shed skin). If your frog goes from a healthy weight to being really skinny, that would be the point, IMO, when you should start making them eat. If there is not really a visible difference in the frogs weight (doubtful that there would be after only a week), then it isn't really a problem. Also, keep in mind that WTF's tend to be a little obese due to overfeeding.

[FroggieLove]

They are still kinda young, I've been feeding them every other day. The male has never eaten much at a time anyway, and after the week of not eating, I noticed the fat storage above his eyes was not there at all. After I fed him last night, he was much more active than he's been the past few days. Tomorrow I'll see if he'll eat on his own and see how it goes.

[froggsong]

ok, I getcha! Yes, with younger animals, they must be fed more often. It good that he is more active. Are your humidity levels where they should be? Perhaps the skin was dry and he was having trouble shedding it (does this happen with frogs? I assume that it can), and that is why he wasn't eating.

[FroggieLove]

Heat and humidity in the tank is fine, I have another frog in there and she is doing perfect. Yes, their skin can get too dry, but I doubt that was the problem. I mist the cage a lot and they have a large water feature. He's doing ok.. i guess. I put a wax worm up to his nose and he ate one, but still doesn't eat like normal. Hopefully it will get better, but thank goodness he is getting more active and his color is getting brighter.

[FroggieLove]

So he started eating on his own after a couple more times feeding him while shedding. He started out slow on his own, only eating one cricket each day for a couple days, but now he's great! As a matter of fact, I just gave both frogs their first pinkie and they both gulped them right down.