Advice on heating an albino.

[monster]

Good day everyone. So I went out to do some shopping today for substrate and food and I fell in love with this albino Pacman frog. I would love to go and get it this weekend, if possible I want to get it tomorrow. But I know when it comes to light that they are a lot more sensitive then your normal frog. What would u recommend for heating up the enclosure. I have 10 gallon tank I plan to use. And when it comes to enclosures would a small exo terra terrarium be better for him/her? Or is it easier to keep the humidity they need in a normal glass terrarium? Oh and im not getting this one from petsmart this time. This frog was healthy looking and even tried to bite buddy when he moved it when I asked if I could see the frog not sitting in the substrate.

[hydromaestro]

Im not an expert but my albino does really well in a ten gallon regular fish tank with a uth on the side and 3/4 of the top covered with saran wrap and it does a great job at keeping the heat and humidity up. The temps are right around 80 when I leave for work and when I get back 8 hours later the humidity usually only drops a percent or two. I havnt tried the ceramic heat emmitters yet but I hear those work wonders also if the uth isnt doing enough and you live in a cold area. I actually dont have any lights for it because it is next to gecko tank and gets filtered light from that
Hope this helps

[monster]

Thanks, and ya I made the decision to stick with the 10 gallon normal tank, just went and picked up a lid tonight. Are you just using a 10-20 uth? I use them on my other pacmans enclosure but that's a 20 tall. And I had to put 2 uth's on the thing, one on each side to hit my right temps. But if your saying you hit 80 with one I may stick to the uth instead of lights. But then I want to put it down stairs and there is only a small window for light so im not sure if the light in the room will be enough to make him think its daytime. I have every thing else down except this part. l.o.l so frustrating cause I want to go get him but I wont till everything is perfect. I got him on hold till sunday.

[hydromaestro]

Lol yea man its hard and can be frustrating to get it right it did take me a little tinkering to get it right. I think youll do fine with the normal tank it seems to work fine with pacmans. If you have to put two uth on I would say do it ive seen other people do it with success. Keep in mind though I live in phoenix arizona where the usual problem is trying to cool things down. In my experience the light really isnt that important if you have the heat and humidity right. Pacman frogs live on the forest floor where they usually only get filtered sunlight at best. As long as you have a bedroom or living room light on most of the day it shouldnt be a big deal imo.

[monster]

On my tank I actually have a 10 to 20 gallon uth on one end and had to put a 30 to 50 uth on the other. The end with the bigger one hits 82.5 perfect and the other end with the smaller one hits 79F. At night I just unplug the small one and both ends drop exactly 2 degrees on each end. IN the summer I can get away with just the 30to50 gallon one. And that was very frustrating to accomplish because I wasted a few bucks on smaller uth's that I had to peel off. But anyway back to this one, I think I will try uth and if it doesn't work I will go and buy ceramic heat emitter. I forgot all about those. And the light in the ceiling would be the light he gets being downstairs, not just the light from the little window. I left that part out the first post.

[hydromaestro]

Awesome it sound like you already figured out the difficult part about which ones to unplug and when. I hate how expensive the uth are for how little amount of heat they give off but it sounds like that 30-50 plus the other one you have are working well. The thing you have to keep an eye on with the ceramic heat emitters is it can dry your tank out a little quicker so just watch out for that you may have to hand mist your tank more often but from what ive seen they sre definitely worth it. People also recomend getting a dome light with a dimmer on it so you can adjust the heat coming out if need be

[monster]

Ya i already was thinking today that i would need a dimmer because if using a light or ceramic heat emitter that seems the best way to go about it. If i went to home depot and bought like a desk lamp that i could place behind or beside the tank and bought one of those dimmers u plug the lamp into and thats were you control it from instead of the right on the lamp that would work would it not? Im thinking it will, its just nice to have someone else tell you your idea is ok that knows or some what knows what they are talking about instead of a 7 and 10 year old. l.o.l I was thinking that way to because a lot of them have that bending neck it would be easier to move around if i have to. And another reason is if i can go that way it will save me few bucks.

[hydromaestro]

Haha yea I definitely know what you mean with the 10 year olds I look up care videos online and half of them are like elementary school kids narrating it I have to shut it off immediately lol as far as the home depot lamp this is as far as my experience goes. I havent personally tried it, but I dont see why it wouldnt work. If your definitely getting a CHE, I would buy the bulb first and take it to home depot and make sure it fits into the lamp your looking at it might save some time in the long run. Someone with more experience might be able to help you more, but your logic makes sense to me also

[monster]

I found an older post in the forum on the same question with some answers from some of the moderators in it. If my dimmer idea works they say that with a 50 watt CHE should be ok. And it says to wrap at least half the top with saran wrap or tinfoil to keep in heat. So I think what im going to do is just buy both and not open the dimmer and stuff right away and just use the pad. If I cant get the proper temps I will use both. That way I can return the dimmer and stuff if not needed. I know how to keep the humidity and stuff right just wasn't sure about light. Didn't want to burn his eyes or something. They have him on hold for me till sunday and will hold him a couple days longer if needed. I want to have it pretty much as perfect as I can before bringing home. And if I have to spend the extra money on a dome with a dimmer I will, just figured if I could save a couple bucks why not?

[hydromaestro]

Sounds good! Let me know how it works out because i might do the same thing for a backup plan if it pans out for you. Im happy for you that your getting a new frog though congrats! I know once you decide on the one your definitely getting its like impossible to wait lol I bet sunday seems like its ten years away! Make sure and post a few pics when you get it id love to see him/her

[monster]

Good morning, I am really hopeing someone can help me out with this very basic question im going to ask. This may seem very silly but were abouts would I place a CHE on my 10 gallon tank? I have never used one of these or lights on a pacman before, but figured from what ive read it seems to be the way to go. Do I place it right in the middle of the enclosure or should it be of to the side to make more temperature gradient. This is the only thing I have to figure out and then I can go get my new frog. I went out this morning and bought a 40 watt CHE, and I have a desk lamp with a goose neck that is rated for 40 watts. Will the 2 work together? im going to buy a dimmer tomorrow that u plug the lamp into from home depot on my way to get the frog. If its better for the CHE to be off to the side I also bought 2 digital thermometers and a hygrometer this morning so I can put one under the heat source and one off to the side to make 2 different temps. Any advice on this would be great, I am so excited to get him/her. I just want her new home perfect before bringing her home.

[monster]

So im done my new enclosure and figured out the heating. The 40 watt will work perfect with the dimmer. Just have to foil the top and put on my background. I cant wait till tomorrow. I will post some pictures tomorrow after I get him/her home and in his/her new home.