Considering a Pacman

[lilblack94gt]

I love frogs and am considering getting a pacman. How many can you house together? I have a 10 gallon critter tank. It has the mesh lid that slides in. I know about thier basic care when they are small, but have seen alot of information on the web that says they tend to eat mice when they get big. Any truth to this? I really dont want a frog i would have to feed mice too. I am fine with bugs and stuff. Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

[Froggiefressh]

You can only house pacmens alone they are cannibalistic and will eat each other. People do feed their pacman mice, but it is only recommended to feed them mice as a treat every 1-3 months depending on who you talk too. You do not have to feed your pacman mice just feed him a variety of calcium dusted insects. Make sure you research what insects are good for them and what are not, just because they can eat it does NOT mean its healthy for them.

[toxxxickitten]

I think Greg basically answered all your questions!

PacMans are solitary and should not be kept with other PacMans. They will eat each other if housed together. Feeding mice or any other small rodent to an adult PacMan would only be as a treat. You do not have to feed rodents to your adult PacMan. It would probably be better for your frog in the long run to not feed him/her any rodents. Your PacMan will be just fine on an insect only diet. Variety is best, but calcium dusted crickets would be just as fine.

[GrifTheGreat]

Greg and Kitten have pretty much laid it out there for you. Only things left out are always use either de-chlorinated tap water or natural spring water for misting, expanding the substrate, and for the frogs water dish. Also try and use worms or dubia roaches as the frogs star food. You can switch back and forth between them from week to week if you'd like. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, but you found this site and we can assure you from experience that the info received here is solid.

Welcome to Frog Forum

[lilblack94gt]

Thanks! I thought that since they ate mice, that housing them together would not be a good idea. How large do they typically get, and what size viv is best for them? Any no no's I should know about, such as what substrates not to use, ect? Thanks again!

[GrifTheGreat]

Thanks! I thought that since they ate mice, that housing them together would not be a good idea. How large do they typically get, and what size viv is best for them? Any no no's I should know about, such as what substrates not to use, ect? Thanks again!

Coconut Fiber(not husk) is best. You can use moss but it is an impaction(severe constipation) risk unless you feed the frog in a separate enclosure which would involve a lot of handling of your frog which is not recommended. Due to the fact of the oils on your skin being harmful to the frogs skin and that handling causes stress. Handling of the frog should only be as necessary. Always wash your hands before and after handling your frog. Use a very mild cleanser and rinse well. Then rinse again with de-chlorinating_ water before handling your frog?

Rule of thumb for substrate dampness is moist or heavily damp not mud. If its too wet the frog will become ill. Change the substrate and clean the enclosure and furniture no less than once a month and no more than every 2 weeks. Keep the tank in a low traffic area that is rarely quiet. Cover 3 sides of the tank with some sort of background so the frog feels secure and not exposed. Babies should be kept in smaller exposures though. A medium critter keeper is a good choice because it is large enough to give your frog some space and there is room for a small shallow water dish. You can purchase a UTH(Under Tank Heater) made for hermit crab enclosures and place it on the back of the critter keeper.

Note that there are only 2 UTH safe for plastic and one is the Hermit Crab UTH and the other is Zoo Med UTH item# RH-7. These 2 are safe to place on your critter keeper. They will still state that they are only to be put on glass, but if you read the instruction page that comes with it, it will say that it is safe for plastic.

If a UTH does not provide enough heat you can also use a heat lamp as well to assist. Only buy one that has a dimmer switch so that you can accurately adjust the amount of heat and light produced by the bulb. Fluker's 5.5" Clamp Lamp with dimmer is best. When selecting a bulb do not go higher than 50 watts or you risk harming your frog. Never go below 25 watts because anything smaller will not be worth using due to the low wattage bulb not producing enough heat.

Note that if you get an Albino Pacman you cannot use any regular daylight basking bulbs or spotlight bulbs. You can only use Infrared bulbs and Moonlight Blue bulbs so the Albino Frog's eyes and skin are not damaged by the bright hot basking bulbs.

Pacman Frogs are nocturnal so you need to feed your frog at night. They need a 12 hour day/night cycle so like 7:00 am to 7:00 pm or 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. whichever works best. Babies should be Fed food items no larger than the distance between their eyes as a rule of thumb, which reduces a lot of over feeding issues as well as impaction risks. Dust the food items once a week with a reptile multivitamin and every other feeding with a calcium powder that contains Vitamin D3.

Note that you do not want to dust with both in the same feeding. They lose their effectiveness and are not absorbed by the frogs body properly if done so. The benefits are significantly less if used together mixed in the same feeding.

Water dish water level should be no deeper than half the frogs height and be able to allow for easy entry and exit.

I hope that this chunk of info will assist you and if I may have left something out one of the other experienced members or breeders will chime in and cover it.

[GrifTheGreat]

Depending on what species you get their size differs. Gender also affects how large the frog gets. Males are typically between 3" to 4" SVL( About to Vent Length). Females range from 4.25" to up to 6" with rare offshoot s of some reaching 8" SVL.

A male can live comfortably in a 12"x12"x12" or 12"x12"x18" for their entire lives after reaching mid juvenile stage in growth. Females need a larger enclosure. A female can live its entire life in a 10 gallon tank after mid juvenile stage.