Just like any other creature, if a Pacman Frog wants to survive, it needs nutrients. These nutrients come from food. Therefore, if your Pacman Frog is not eating, you might need to consider force-feeding.
How do I force-feed my Pacman frog? Once you have tried all other options, force-feedings is possible. First, you need to find a way to open your frog's mouth; Once it is open, you place the food inside its mouth. Pacman Frogs can't spit out when the food is in its in.
There are many underlying reasons why your Pacman frogs stop eating. Some of these reasons get mentioned below. Force-feeding your Pacman Frog should be your last resort. It is not pleasant for your frog and will give him stress. It might also not be a pleasant experience for yourself.
What to Consider When Force Feeding Your Pacman Frog
Before I dive deeper into force-feeding your Pacman Frog, I quickly mention a few reasons why your Pacman Frog might not be eating. Force-feeding is not a pleasant experience for your frog; therefore, it gets recommended to look at these options first.
Your frog might not be eating due to
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Food preference
Some frogs are picky eaters. They will only eat what they are used to. Did you recently change your food? Then this might be the reason.
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Method of feeding
Some Frogs prefer catching food rather than being tong fed. Tong feeding your Pacman frog requires some training and getting used to for the both of you.
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Temperature and terrarium
Your Pacman Frog thrives in a climate around 75-85 degrees F during the day and 65-75 at night. (I will go deeper into this later in the article).
Force-feeding Your Pacman Frog
Sometimes even though we try to do everything right, your Pacman Frog might still not be eating. As a result, you can see your frog getting skinnier and lacking energy. If this is the case, force-feeding will be the only way to keep your Pacman Frog alive. Below we will give you a detailed description of how to force-feed your Pacman Frog.
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Clean hands
First off- make sure your hands are clean. Pacman frogs are= very sensitive creatures. It is through their skin where they absorb the environment. -
Move her to a sterile area
Take her out of her cage, place her in decontaminated area. -
Force feed your frog
- Grab something flat that you can push into your frog's mouth (the back of a spoon, for example).
- In your other hand, put some food between tweezers
- Open your frog's mouth with the spoon. At the same time, place the food with your other hand inside its mouth.
- Frogs can't spit out food. Once it is in, it is in, and your frog will swallow the food. -
Place your frog in its own habitat
Place your Pacman Frog back into its own living space where it feels most comfortable directly after he has eaten. -
Observe their behavior
Keep a watch out if your frog starts eating and if it is going to the toilet. If nothing changes, and your frog doesn’t start eating. Or, if your frog keeps getting skinnier, you might need to start considering going to see a vet. -
Don’t freak out
Unfortunately, skipping meals is something that is not rare for Pacman Frogs. Some frogs last weeks, even months, without food. You can tell when your frog is getting underweight. When your frog only has skin around its back, looking at its spine. There is no filling of fat tissue. Then you know your frog is getting too skinny.
What Climate Does my Pacman Frog Need
Above, we mentioned that one of the reasons your Pacman Frog is not eating could be the temperature inside their terrarium. The temperature plays a significant factor in the wellbeing of your frog. Therefore we want to take some time to describe this a bit more in detail.
It has been researched and proven that Pacman frogs need to be in a temperature around 75-85 degrees F during the day and 65-75 at night for them to stay healthy. Therefore, it is essential to measure the temperature inside the tank. When you measure the temperature, there are a few things you need to consider. These are:
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Is the thermometer in the correct spot?
The thermometer/hydrometer should be level with the Pacman Frogs' living space. It should not get placed too close to the top or the bottom of the tank. -
Is the thermometer working?
It might be obvious, but it will become challenging to measure the temperature if your thermometer/hydrometer is not working correctly. If you are expecting this to be the case, then consider buying a new one.
You should check the temperature inside the tank consistently to keep your Pacman Frog happy. If your Pacman Frog is feeling well, there shouldn’t be a reason why your frog is not eating.
What Terrarium Setup Can I Consider To Prevent my Baby Pacman Frog From Needing to be Force-Fed?
One setup you can consider when you want to keep your baby frog healthy is to get the basic tools / setup of a terrarium. This includes:
- a ten-gallon tank
- Place one heating pad under the tank of 4x5 inches
- Place a 13 watt UVB light on the same side as the heating pad.
- Keep the top of the tank covered about 75 percent to retain moisture
- Keep a spray bottle to mist terrarium when needed so keep humidity levels
- Block of coco fiber moistened with dechlorinated water
- Always remember to check humidity / temperature levels via thermometer / hydrometer
This method has helped my Pacman frog stay healthy. In addition, while using these tools, I never had to force-feed my Pacman Frog.
When to See a Veterinarian?
There are many different reasons why your Pacman Frog might not be healthy and should see a veterinarian. As with any living creature getting an illness is possible. Therefore, it is crucial to keep a close eye on your Pacman Frog if you see anything out of the ordinary this might be a sign of an illness or disease. Examples are: Jumping erratically, loss of appetite, abscesses, dry skin, redness on the skin, or getting too fat (obesity). If your frog is developing any of these symptoms, then you might need to see a veterinarian.
Is my Pacman Frog Sick? What Are The Signs?
In the paragraph above, there are already a few reasons mentioned that could be signs that your Pacman frog is sick. Apart from the ones we have already mentioned, we will name another two symptoms in this paragraph. These are two specific illnesses why your Pacman Frog might not be eating and why you might be looking into force-feeding.
- Impaction
When your Pacman Frog is experiencing impaction, he is trying to digest something that they can’t digest. As mentioned above, a Pacman Frog can’t spit out what is in its mouth. So if something is inside that he can’t digest, then this could be why he has stopped eating.
- Parasite
Pacman Frogs naturally love living in the earth. However, inside the earth, they get exposed to all sorts of bacteria. These bacteria can cause illnesses like mentioned above (in the paragraph when to see a veterinarian). Their immune system should be able to handle this, though. If the frog isn’t in the correct area or doesn’t feel at home, it will stop eating.
The only way to find out if these are the reasons why your Pacman frog has stopped eating is to go to a veterinarian.
Can Pacman Frogs Adapt to New Foods Over Time?
In general, feeding your Pacman Frog shouldn’t be a problem. Most frogs are not picky when it comes to food. When they are smaller in size, they like insects. Once they grow in size, they might also get interested in eating mice, fish, or tiny rats. As you can read, their form of appetite might change over time. Therefore your Pacman frog can adapt to new foods. That being said, some Pacman frogs are pickier than others. Some do not like a change in food. If you recently changed the food you are feeding him, and he has stopped eating after that, you probably have a picky eater on your hands. In this case, we do not recommend force-feeding your Pacman frog with the new food. Instead, go back to the food it was happy eating before. In the end, this is what he wants to eat and what he has been growing on so far.
Some Last Thoughts
Before we end the article, we want to mention that this article was not written by a medical expert. This is an independent research study and If there is anything wrong with your Pacman frog, the above information can be used as a guideline. So please, always consider going to an expert if you think something is wrong with your Pacman Frog. We hope you enjoyed this article and that you now know how you can force-feed your Pacman frog when he is not eating, why you might need to see a veterinarian, and what signs of illnesses and diseases for Pacman frogs are.
