Whites Stopped Eating

Discussion in 'Treefrogs' started by Cockroach, Nov 4, 2004.

  1. Cockroach

    Cockroach Embryo

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    My Whites tree frog has stopped eating. He is a full grown male, its comming into summer here in Australia so things are warming up here and for the past 2 weeks he has just decided to stop eating . He was eating around 5-7 large crickets a week and a few mealies thrown in for good measure. Any help would be appreciated.
    Thanks Cockroach
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. biochic

    biochic Well-Known Member

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    Has anything changed in his enclosure? The temperature, humidity, surroudnings in general? Has he lost weight? Any blood or anything else unusual in his stool? It's really hard to say what it could be without seeing him or having a fecal flotation done. But it could just be changes in temp and the change of the season if the temps have changed abruptly.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Hummingbird

    Hummingbird Well-Known Member

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    biochic's right, but i do have a few more questions. there is a very similar thread in the 'amphibians' folder which i replied to and the following is my basic response to that individual. it applies in this thread as well:

    is the frog showing any other signs of illness? discoloration, listlessness, loss of motor control, unwillingness to move?
    how do you know the frog is losing weight? i seriously doubt that going 2 weeks without eating is going to make a frog lose a whole lot of weight unless he has some sort of parasite or illness. healthy ectotherms can hrive on amazingly small amounts of food. herps can also get bowel impactions from swallowing gravel, wood chips, or food items that are too big. if you have gravel in there or crickets that are larger than 3/4" long (TOPS) get them out now. gravel is very dangerous for most herps. instead use large polished river rock and/or coconut fiber bedding.
    the only way to determine healthy weights of white's tree frogs is to look at the tympanic membrane (the small membranous circle just behind the eye. the ridge of fat just above this membrane should be apparent, but should not cover more than half of the membrane. if the ridge is barely visible, the frog is too thin. if the rigde folds down to cover more than half of the membrane, the frog is too fat. please let me know what the ridge looks like so we can determine if the frog really is an unhealthy weight.
    also, you said the frog "stopped eating" . . . so when you first got it, it was eating? and then after you had it for a few days it stopped eating? this suggests that stress is not the causitive factor.
    make sure you change the water *every day* - hundreds of pet frogs die each year because they get amoebic infections and other diseases from dirty water. even if the water doesn't *look* dirty, it is probably full of minute amounts of shed skin, fecal matter, dirt, and parts of dead feeder insects. change the water every day. also, the water must be dechlorinated. Amquel is the best option. click on the link to read why frogs need dechlorinated water AND why amquel is the best option for doing so.
    good luck, keep us updated, and get back to us with some answers to the questions i asked. :eek:
     

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