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Thread: Questions On Pacman Frogs

  1. #1
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    Default Questions On Pacman Frogs

    Hi everyone! Newbie here!

    I've already done a ton of research on Pacman frogs, I'm planning on getting one for Christmas, but I still have some questions I wanted to ask just to make sure I have everything figured out.

    1) Is this a good substrate?: http://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-eco-ear...onut/dp/123767
    2) Is this a good heater?: http://www.chewy.com/zilla-heat-mats...rium/dp/129072 He/she will be in a 20 gallon tank.
    3) I know I have to condition the water in a shallow water dish. I own fish and have dechlorinator for them, will the Tetra Water Conditioner be okay?
    4) Lastly, I plan on feeding crickets (maybe nightcrawlers occationally), but will the ones sold at pet work or do they need to be a specific species?

    Sorry if these are super obvious questions, just want to make sure everything is perfect!

    Thank you guys for your help!

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    Junior Member Frogdoad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    1. I personally don't like that substrate as much as the noncompressed "jungle earth(iirc). The reason is because it contains a lot of sand, and scratchy fine fibres. When I've used it before, luckily it caused no problems for the frog that I knew of. However it reminded me of working with fiberglass to a much lesser degree.

    2. I prefer the exo-terra heat matts. The design doesn't cause the connector to try to pull the heat pad off, and the adhesive is the stickiest I've tried. You should look for one that fits the largest area, for better heat dissipation. Somewhere from 16-25W(depending on the temperature of the area you put the terrarium. Controlling the heat a thermostat. I use an inkbird thermostat, I haven't got any complaints about it. They aren't very expensive.

    3. Your water conditioner will likely be fine, as long as it dechlorinates water. Though reverse osmosis is ideal.

    4. The crickets from your local stores will be fine. Try to "guttload" them first, and use a calcium+D3 supplement, and a multivitamin, alternating between them when you feed. A varied diet is good. I find nightcrawlers keep longest(weeks in the fridge) crickets seem to die regardless of care. However they are a great option for a growing pacman. Try to feed less chitinous creatures, as it can potentially impact their bowels. IE mealworms. Mice when the frog is large enough are a good occasional treat, high in vitamins and protein, but also high in mammalian fats, which if fed too often, can damage the frog's liver and cause blindness not unsimilar to cataracts. This is because the mammalian fats are hard to break down.

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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    Quote Originally Posted by Frogdoad View Post
    1. I personally don't like that substrate as much as the noncompressed "jungle earth(iirc). The reason is because it contains a lot of sand, and scratchy fine fibres. When I've used it before, luckily it caused no problems for the frog that I knew of. However it reminded me of working with fiberglass to a much lesser degree.

    2. I prefer the exo-terra heat matts. The design doesn't cause the connector to try to pull the heat pad off, and the adhesive is the stickiest I've tried. You should look for one that fits the largest area, for better heat dissipation. Somewhere from 16-25W(depending on the temperature of the area you put the terrarium. Controlling the heat a thermostat. I use an inkbird thermostat, I haven't got any complaints about it. They aren't very expensive.

    3. Your water conditioner will likely be fine, as long as it dechlorinates water. Though reverse osmosis is ideal.

    4. The crickets from your local stores will be fine. Try to "guttload" them first, and use a calcium+D3 supplement, and a multivitamin, alternating between them when you feed. A varied diet is good. I find nightcrawlers keep longest(weeks in the fridge) crickets seem to die regardless of care. However they are a great option for a growing pacman. Try to feed less chitinous creatures, as it can potentially impact their bowels. IE mealworms. Mice when the frog is large enough are a good occasional treat, high in vitamins and protein, but also high in mammalian fats, which if fed too often, can damage the frog's liver and cause blindness not unsimilar to cataracts. This is because the mammalian fats are hard to break down.

    Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
    Thank you for the help!

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    100+ Post Member daybr4ke's Avatar
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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    Hi! Personally I'd recommend a lamp and heat bulb over an undertank heater. Side mounted I find they don't transmit heat very well, and heating on the bottom for a frog is different from natural conditions, since Pacman frogs burrow to escape heat.
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    100+ Post Member monster's Avatar
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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    The eco earth ( coco fibre ) is safe and is fine to use, it wont hurt your frog. I have kept all my Pacman Frogs on this for years and have had no issues, and tons of other people use it also with no ill effect.
    For the heat matt you are better off getting a bulb for overhead heating. The heat matt doesn't do much on the side and putting on the bottom is making them do the total opposite of what they want to do. They burrow during the day to get out of the heat and direct sunlight ( to keep cool ) and to keep hidden from daytime predators. They don't burrow to warm up. Heat comes from the sun not the ground. And you shouldn't cover more then half the bottom when placing it on the bottom because they need to be able to thermoregulate there body temps if need be, so you need a hot a cold side. And at night they need a temp drop.
    The R/O water shouldn't be used to expand the substrate or for the water bowl, there is nothing in it mineral wise and the frog needs these minerals and stuff to stay healthy. The R/O water will leach these minerals out of the frog and could eventually make him ill. Even my exotic vet here were I live has told me not use R/O or distilled for these reasons. R/O is good for misting because it so pure it doesn't leave spots all over the glass. You want to use tap water with a declorinator or some spring water. The water conditioner you have should be ok, lots of people use these fish brands with there frogs with o problems.
    The crickets as mentioned above will do just make sure you gut load them and dust them with vitamins and you will need to give him other things as treats to vary his diet, hornworms, silkworms, butterworms waxworms, phoenix worms are examples of good treats. The night crawlers are better for a staple and more healthy for him then the crickets, you can really notice the growth rate change once you introduce them into the diet. Also another thing you can feed as a staple because you live in the U.S and can get them are roaches, again these are better then crickets. And don't feed to many mice for the reasons stated above.

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    100+ Post Member monster's Avatar
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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    And one more thing, if you get a baby I wouldn't put it in the 20 gallon long right away because it will be overwhelming for him and stress him out. 20 gallon longs are usually recommended for big adult females or if you end up with a big male. Most people start there babies off in a critter keeper and move up from that. What you could do though is put a divider in the 20 gallon long, make so its about the size of a 5 gallon and move the divider as he grows to give him more room. This is the method I use so I don't need to buy a ton of different size tanks.

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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    Quote Originally Posted by daybr4ke View Post
    Hi! Personally I'd recommend a lamp and heat bulb over an undertank heater. Side mounted I find they don't transmit heat very well, and heating on the bottom for a frog is different from natural conditions, since Pacman frogs burrow to escape heat.
    But I heard it could burn them because of the short area between them and the heat, but I will definitely look into lamps!

    Quote Originally Posted by monster View Post
    The eco earth ( coco fibre ) is safe and is fine to use, it wont hurt your frog. I have kept all my Pacman Frogs on this for years and have had no issues, and tons of other people use it also with no ill effect.
    For the heat matt you are better off getting a bulb for overhead heating. The heat matt doesn't do much on the side and putting on the bottom is making them do the total opposite of what they want to do. They burrow during the day to get out of the heat and direct sunlight ( to keep cool ) and to keep hidden from daytime predators. They don't burrow to warm up. Heat comes from the sun not the ground. And you shouldn't cover more then half the bottom when placing it on the bottom because they need to be able to thermoregulate there body temps if need be, so you need a hot a cold side. And at night they need a temp drop.
    The R/O water shouldn't be used to expand the substrate or for the water bowl, there is nothing in it mineral wise and the frog needs these minerals and stuff to stay healthy. The R/O water will leach these minerals out of the frog and could eventually make him ill. Even my exotic vet here were I live has told me not use R/O or distilled for these reasons. R/O is good for misting because it so pure it doesn't leave spots all over the glass. You want to use tap water with a declorinator or some spring water. The water conditioner you have should be ok, lots of people use these fish brands with there frogs with o problems.
    The crickets as mentioned above will do just make sure you gut load them and dust them with vitamins and you will need to give him other things as treats to vary his diet, hornworms, silkworms, butterworms waxworms, phoenix worms are examples of good treats. The night crawlers are better for a staple and more healthy for him then the crickets, you can really notice the growth rate change once you introduce them into the diet. Also another thing you can feed as a staple because you live in the U.S and can get them are roaches, again these are better then crickets. And don't feed to many mice for the reasons stated above.
    What do you mean by R/O water? I plan on just dechlorinating all the water I use to mist and put it the dish..

    Quote Originally Posted by monster View Post
    And one more thing, if you get a baby I wouldn't put it in the 20 gallon long right away because it will be overwhelming for him and stress him out. 20 gallon longs are usually recommended for big adult females or if you end up with a big male. Most people start there babies off in a critter keeper and move up from that. What you could do though is put a divider in the 20 gallon long, make so its about the size of a 5 gallon and move the divider as he grows to give him more room. This is the method I use so I don't need to buy a ton of different size tanks.
    Definitely going block off a lot of the tank when I first get him/her thanks!

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    100+ Post Member monster's Avatar
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    Default Re: Questions On Pacman Frogs

    R/O water is water you would buy from a water depot or Grocery store etc. If you just plan to use your tap water don't worry, you will be safe. The bulb will not burn them, a majority of people that keep these frogs use bulbs. A 60 watt bulb would be the most you would want to use and you would want something like a red bulb or even a ceramic heat emitter. Some people and sites would even say 50 watt is the highest you should use. The ones that could really burn them would be basking bulbs or something similar that you would use for bearded dragons.

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