New to Pacmans!

[AdamMan]

Hey all, I just got my first ornate yesterday and he jumped right in the water dish when I set him up in his new viv for about 40 mins. After that he sat right down under a fake leaf and hasn't moved since. He ate an earthworm yesterday and 3 crickets today. He's roughly 2 inches long and I have my humidity at 80% and the temp is a steady 80 degrees. I've yet to see him defecate in the dish I'm just kind of hoping he's going in the little hovel he's made. Is this normal behavior for a new guy?

[jasonm96]

Hey

You don't need the humidity so high, you can just aim to keep them moist. It's only the tropical forest types such as the cornuta that need special attention paid to humidity. Temperature is ideal. They will go in the ground and water dish, so try to have a look each day and spot clean any waste. They don't poo everyday, though

[AdamMan]

Quick update, he's still yet to defecate but he's still feeding, I've only fed him two more times since he's not going to the bathroom. I just cleaned his viv today to be sure he didn't hide it or anything. He's pretty active at night but still super scared of me. You can tell he's full of food but I don't feel anything hard in him so I'm trying to optimistically rule out impaction. How long can these guys safely go without defecating?

[monster]

Hi,

If hes a baby he can go sometimes once a week or sometimes about 2 depending on how much hes ate. When they get older sometimes they will hold as long as they can. If its possible try to get your temps up around the 82f to 83f mark this could help. Maybe he needs just a little bit more warmth to help him digest.

[AdamMan]

I'll have to pick up something to heat the tank tomorrow, the guy I picked him up from said they thrive fairly well between 75 and 80 which is my normal house temperature so I didn't grab anything. I've been reading that a UTH is no good for these guys so I'm would a ceramic with a rheostat be a safe bet? Oh and I forgot to mention, he's about 2 inches long.

[monster]

80 isn't bad at all but 75 is more of a night time temp for these guys. For the UTH you are right they aren't the greatest for heating frogs because they are usually recommended to be put on the side. I use them on the sides of mine and it took awjile and a lot of tinkering to get my temps right, its not worth it. When they are no more good im switching to lights for heating. I do not believe in putting them on the bottom with these guys because they are a burrowing frog, they bury to hide from daytime predators and to cool off etc. Heat doesn't come from the ground it comes from the sun in the sky, if you put your hand in the soil outside in the summer it gets cooler the further you go down not hotter. Your best bet is overhead heating for the day and if your ambient room temps are between 75f and 80f you should be ok to use nothing at night. And if your normal air temp is that much you could probably get away with just a 40 watt bulb on a rheostat. And even though 80f isn't all that bad those 2 extra degrees will make a big difference when it comes to digestion.