Humidity and a few other questions

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1. Size of enclosure
~ 8X8 Exo Terra Nano

2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
~ 1 Pacman frog, Stanley. (Though I'm not sure of his/her sex)

3. Humidity
~ Right at 60%. Really trying to increase it.

4. Temperature
~ Around 80 degrees. Dimmer is on the way to better control things.

5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
~ Treated water (Reptisafe)

6. Materials used for substrate
~ Eco Earth

7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
~ Eco Earth with 1 small artificial plant and a soaking dish. It also has a background.

- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
~ The substrate was soaked with treated water. Everything was cleaned using treated water. I also set up the heat lamp prior to Stanley being put in.

8. Main food source
~ Nightcrawlers. I get them locally, from a bait shop. I'll be switching to SpeedyWorm.net for our next batch.

9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
~Exo terra multi-vitamin once a week and Exo Terra Calcium with D3 3 times a week.

10. Lighting
~ 25 watt blue bulb.

11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
~ Heat lamp

12. When is the last time he/she ate
~Last night around 11pm

13. Have you found poop lately
~ Yes, in the substrate. 2 days ago.

14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
See below.

15. How old is the frog
~ Not entirely sure. He/she is about 1 3/4 inches long.

16. How long have you owned him/her
~ About 2 weeks.

17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
~ I'm assuming captive bred, as he was in a pet store.

18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
~ Previously crickets (in the pet store), now nightcrawlers daily with an occasional cricket (gut loaded). He definitely prefers nightcrawlers. He is eating from tongs.

19. How often the frog is handled
~ When I moved him from his original enclosure to his Nano and when I took pictures of him.

20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
~ Low traffic.

21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)
~ Water dish changes at least daily. I do change it when I see that he's had a soak. Spot cleaning whenever I see that it needs it (daily) and full cleanings will be monthly.


Alrighty, I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to better his/her life! I'm trying to increase the humidity but I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I spritz 3-4 times a day which does raise it but only for a short period. The substrate is nice and moist. Any ideas for me?

Also, potentially a silly question; Do I dust each piece of nightcrawler on vitamin and calcium days? He typically eats 3/4 of a worm, cut into 3-4 pieces. I've been dusting them all.

How big should he be before I move him into a larger enclosure? I've got my eye on the Exo Terra 18X18 and the holidays are coming up.

He's plumping up nicely, he really loves his nightcrawlers. He seemed a bit thin when we brought him home. Isn't he a handsome guy? I just love him to bits already.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Here is a good article about your frog: Frog Forum - Pacman and Horned Frogs - Ceratophrys - Care and Breeding . To raise humidity can try covering whole screen in Saran Wrap. Then using a sharpie marker go around light fixture and cut hole around 1 in. larger that circle to prevent heat from melting plastic wrap. Morning and evening sprayings should do the rest.

Would wait until frog is 3 in. to move to bigger enclosure. BTW, can gain significant space in the nano by removing the factory background. Just use aquarium background or any paper you like to cover 3 sides for privacy and stress reduction.

I dust all the food but only dust CA/D3 on Mon & Fri, then vitamins on Wed. That gives me 4 off days a week for babies been fed daily. Good luck !

[Lija]

Love the guy! He is awesome! And exo Terra nano are my favourites
Whatever you're doing is great so far, and frog is eating nicely based on his round belly
you should fix is temps and humidity.
Cover screen top with foil or something, then cut a hole a bit bigger then your lamp. It shouldn't be difficult to maintain humidity like that. Exo Terra's have ventilation on a front so even if you cover the top completely tank will have enough air flow.
You need to have a good gauges, digital are the most accurate to make sure everything is where should be.

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Thank you both so much! You guys are so helpful! Since the nano's top is so small, maybe the aluminum foil method would work better for us. I'm afraid the saran wrap would melt. I'll be setting it up immediately.

I do have a background for his terrarium. I will get right on that this evening. I wasn't sure if that would be an overkill, so thanks for mentioning it! And thanks for answering my question about food dusting, really helpful for this paranoid newbie.

Thanks, Lija! His belly is already a bit more round than it is in that photo. LOL The boy can eat! Should have the dimmer this evening to regulate the temp. Ahh, thanks for the gauge tip, I'll grab a digital one. Any recommendations?

[Lija]

that is why i'm not using plastic wrap, i'm afraid that lamp will shift, plastic will melt, etc.... i'm using foil that i duck tape to keep in place.

any digital will do, get exo terra or any really with a probe.

[mpmackenna]

Thank you both so much! You guys are so helpful! Since the nano's top is so small, maybe the aluminum foil method would work better for us. I'm afraid the saran wrap would melt. I'll be setting it up immediately.

I do have a background for his terrarium. I will get right on that this evening. I wasn't sure if that would be an overkill, so thanks for mentioning it! And thanks for answering my question about food dusting, really helpful for this paranoid newbie.

Thanks, Lija! His belly is already a bit more round than it is in that photo. LOL The boy can eat! Should have the dimmer this evening to regulate the temp. Ahh, thanks for the gauge tip, I'll grab a digital one. Any recommendations?

I hear this one is good. I wish mine had a probe like this instead of the whole gauge being in the terrarium. Digital Terrarium Thermometer | thatpetplace.com

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I am now armed with digital gauges, foil and a dimmer. Plus the background. Thanks, again, everyone! Stanley thanks you, too.

Thanks a bunch, Mike. I picked up one very similar to that one. The exo Terra digital thermometer and hygrometer. I love that I won't have to keep the entire gauge in the enclosure.

I have one more question for you all. Should I take him in for a wellness check? My exotics go to Cornell U. and it can be difficult to get in sometimes (even in an emergency) if the pet isn't an established patient. Of course my biggest concern is stressing Stanley unnecessarily. I don't want to upset him if I don't really need to. I'm concerned about future emergencies with my little guy. What are your thoughts? And thank you all, again, for helping me out!

[Mentat]

...I have one more question for you all. Should I take him in for a wellness check? ...

Would not take a healthy frog to veterinary; but would take a fecal sample for analysis and complete any required pathogen treatment .

[Bink]

Thank you, Carlos. That sounds like a good alternative to a vet visit. Sorry for being such a worry wart.

[Mentat]

Thank you, Carlos. That sounds like a good alternative to a vet visit. Sorry for being such a worry wart.

You are not ! We rather have you ask questions and do corrections while frog is healthy; than wait until an emergency happens. We really love frogs in FF and all their caretakers too !

[aGreenCup]

Yea I use foil for the front side on screen and have a black background (got the materials at a craft store), helps a lot. Also do you have a heat pad? One thing to also consider is where you have your tank at. is it near an a/c vent or blowing towards your frog's housing? if so move it, that could be very dangerous.

[Bink]

Thanks, again, Carlos! I feel so welcome here. It's wonderful to find a place that appreciates what fabulous creatures frogs are. I've always loved frogs and I'm thrilled to be Stanley's caretaker.

I have a heating pad but it really doesn't work well. It's the ZooMed mini heat pad. That's how I ended up with a heat lamp. His enclosure isn't near a heating/cooling vent. But that's something I hadn't thought of before. Thanks for mentioning it, aGreenCup!

[Hypnotic]

Yeah, a little experience will teach you one thing about heat pads, heavely tape them to the side, so the heat can't escape. The little guy looks awsome!

[Lija]

You are not ! We rather have you ask questions and do corrections while frog is healthy; than wait until an emergency happens. We really love frogs in FF and all their caretakers too !

that is absolutely right! well said Carlos!

[Lija]

Yeah, a little experience will teach you one thing about heat pads, heavely tape them to the side, so the heat can't escape. The little guy looks awsome!

you can dance around, sing, do gymnastics, whatever.... heat mats/tapes, ets don't work for me. period! lol unless it is attached to the bottom for snakes.
oh and careful with a tape, i had one ducktape melted, the one i used to tape heat mat to the tank, I'm glad i saw it in time. i use electrician tape if needed for heat cables/mats.

[Hypnotic]

Also, don't assume captive bred just because you bought him from a store, you'd be amazed how many stores sell wild caught ones. I'd give them a call and ask them if he's captive bred or wild caught. Not that it matters right now, since he seems to be doing great! But if something goes wrong or his behaviour changes, it's always good to know if the frog is wild caught or captive bred.

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The dimmer is working really well. I love it! And it might just be wishful thinking but I believe Stanley is more comfortable already. And he ate an entire nightcrawler last night (first time). He seems to eat a little more each night. His appetite is certainly not an issue!

Yikes, I didn't realize that they would pluck these little guys from the wild and sell them in stores. I will definitely call today and ask. Thank you so much for that info.