Winter's around the corner...

[2oh1]

and my large critter cage isn't warming up as much as i thought it would. I'm using a heating pad and the opposite side where the water pool is it stays at about 75 degrees max. My frog has been in the water bowl since last night and its pretty cold, and he feels just as cold which makes me feel bad =/. now the question that i wanna ask is should i just go straight to the 10 gallan tank. He's a baby still but i no if i get the 10 gallon tank i can get a bigger heater so the temperature won't be so cold. its not even full blown winter, but at the same time the land lord hasn't put the radiator on either. I'm concerned and i no Grif, BG, and all the other helpful members always answer my questions so once again I'm asking for ur opinions guys another question is should i feed my frog at a certain time every night? like 830 or something? and should i move him out the water bowl?

[John]

The time you feed him doesn't matter, but he might get used to being fed at a certain time and be all ready and waiting.

As for heating, you could move him (no harm) or you could try a low wattage incandescent bulb to boost temperatures during the day.

[2oh1]

thanks john greatly appreciate it

[GrifTheGreat]

I agree completely with John. As long as you feed your Pac at night it doesn't matter what time and as for heating I always use UTH on the sides of my tanks and use heat lamps for day and night. Day time bulbs like basking lights to help heat the enclosures. Infrared heat bulbs at night. The UTH should be the constant heat source. You can buy lamps with a dimmer switch so you can adjust the heat and amount of light coming from the lamp. I use that type. Its good for keeping the enclosures exactly calibrated the way you want. I use 50 watt bulbs.

[2oh1]

I agree completely with John. As long as you feed your Pac at night it doesn't matter what time and as for heating I always use UTH on the sides of my tanks and use heat lamps for day and night. Day time bulbs like basking lights to help heat the enclosures. Infrared heat bulbs at night. The UTH should be the constant heat source. You can buy lamps with a dimmer switch so you can adjust the heat and amount of light coming from the lamp. I use that type. Its good for keeping the enclosures exactly calibrated the way you want. I use 50 watt bulbs.

u think it'll be safe for the critter cage he's in? thats the reason why I'm thinking about getting the glass tank now even tho its probably going to be huge for the little guy.

[Sublime]

If it's a plastic lid, not exactly. If you decide to use some sort of heat lamp on top, buy a lamp stand (Zoo-Med makes one) to suspend the light fixture over the desirable area. If your new glass tank has some sort of aluminum mesh lid then your fine. Just nothing like nylon mesh, or any other type of plastic. For a 10 gallon, a 50 watt incandescent bulb is fine. If the lamp fixture doesn't come with a dimmer switch, you can pick one up at a hardware store to adjust the heat where you want it, like Grif mentioned. I believe only some bulbs are adjustable and incandescent is one of them. Not a fluorescent, etc.

[GrifTheGreat]

Mark is right. Dimmer switches are ideal for incandescents not fluorescents. I raised Grif in a 10 gallon tank. He was the size of a 50 cent piece when I got him. I always ran the crickets to him, but all frogs have different personalities and temprement. He didn't mind me running them close to him with my finger. The reason I'm telling you this is because babies need to be able to have food availible and easily caught. Aquiring food is key to a healthy strong Pacman. Early stages of developement need lots of food/vitamines/calcium and not to mention near perfect climate within their enclosure. Mark is giving solid advice as well. No lamps setting directly on the plastic plus its easy to over heat a critter tote. That's why I rcommend the dimmer switch lamp.

[2oh1]

If it's a plastic lid, not exactly. If you decide to use some sort of heat lamp on top, buy a lamp stand (Zoo-Med makes one) to suspend the light fixture over the desirable area. If your new glass tank has some sort of aluminum mesh lid then your fine. Just nothing like nylon mesh, or any other type of plastic. For a 10 gallon, a 50 watt incandescent bulb is fine. If the lamp fixture doesn't come with a dimmer switch, you can pick one up at a hardware store to adjust the heat where you want it, like Grif mentioned. I believe only some bulbs are adjustable and incandescent is one of them. Not a fluorescent, etc.

one more question, i noticed a 10 gallon aquarium tank is like 75% cheaper then one thats specifically made for a reptile. Is there anyway i can find or make a top with aluminum mesh that will fit it? id weather spend 18 bucks for a 10 gallon tank over 50 for a reptile one

[Sublime]

one more question, i noticed a 10 gallon aquarium tank is like 75% cheaper then one thats specifically made for a reptile. Is there anyway i can find or make a top with aluminum mesh that will fit it? id weather spend 18 bucks for a 10 gallon tank over 50 for a reptile one

It depends on how the top of the aquarium tank is designed, you could try finding that model online or similar tank and try to see if they sell lids for it separately. Although the lids being sold for it are most likely going to be all covered since it's for fish. You'll probably just have to build one with a frame made out of wood or plastic lined with aluminum mesh found at hardware stores to make it either fit on top snug or slide in. However you want to do it, and the easiest way it's going to work. It might look kind of like a unfinished project, but if you want to save money then that's how I would do it. Or go on craigslist and look for a deal.

[2oh1]

It depends on how the top of the aquarium tank is designed, you could try finding that model online or similar tank and try to see if they sell lids for it separately. Although the lids being sold for it are most likely going to be all covered since it's for fish. You'll probably just have to build one with a frame made out of wood or plastic lined with aluminum mesh found at hardware stores to make it either fit on top snug or slide in. However you want to do it, and the easiest way it's going to work. It might look kind of like a unfinished project, but if you want to save money then that's how I would do it. Or go on craigslist and look for a deal.

lol tried crags list nothing around and all the petsmarts and petcos don't sell any 10 gallon reptile tanks I'm going to check a local pet store friday...my last and final question before i shut up lol, i use tap water for the crickets to drink from off a sponge, can this make my frog sick since i no I'm not suppose to have any tap water inside his cage what so ever ?

[Sublime]

lol tried crags list nothing around and all the petsmarts and petcos don't sell any 10 gallon reptile tanks I'm going to check a local pet store friday...my last and final question before i shut up lol, i use tap water for the crickets to drink from off a sponge, can this make my frog sick since i no I'm not suppose to have any tap water inside his cage what so ever ?

Since I get paranoid too from this topic; I dechlorinate all my tap water, whether it's for my frog or for the feeder insects. Chlorine in your tap water will evaporate after leaving a sponge out soaked with tap water. So it will get rid of that, but there's also ammonia and other chloramines found in tap water. So just to play it safe, dechlorinate haha. By the time the water passed through the crickets and the small traces digested by your frog, it wouldn't be of really any threat to your frog. Enough build up though of these nasties I would assume it could cause some illness... Try out water gel crystals, much better than a sponge.

[GrifTheGreat]

one more question, i noticed a 10 gallon aquarium tank is like 75% cheaper then one thats specifically made for a reptile. Is there anyway i can find or make a top with aluminum mesh that will fit it? id weather spend 18 bucks for a 10 gallon tank over 50 for a reptile one

I didn't build a lid for mine. The 10 gallon I. Purchased was a jungle setup. So it came with a few things a starter would need and already with a screen top. There are several starter kits that are jungle setups. ExoTerra has a really nice one, but it does come with a lot of extra stuff that you'll more than likely never use. Ultimately the choice is up to you. Zoo Med makes some good tanks that are very similar to ExoTerra's and they are easily heated and the humidity usually holds up for quite a while.

[GrifTheGreat]

Since I get paranoid too from this topic; I dechlorinate all my tap water, whether it's for my frog or for the feeder insects. Chlorine in your tap water will evaporate after leaving a sponge out soaked with tap water. So it will get rid of that, but there's also ammonia and other chloramines found in tap water. So just to play it safe, dechlorinate haha. By the time the water passed through the crickets and the small traces digested by your frog, it wouldn't be of really any threat to your frog. Enough build up though of these nasties I would assume it could cause some illness... Try out water gel crystals, much better than a sponge.

I second this. I don't want any of these chemicals in anything that may come in contact with my frogs. I use the cricket quencher gel. No chemicals plus you can get it with calcium so you gut load the crickets with calcium while they drink.

[2oh1]

I didn't build a lid for mine. The 10 gallon I. Purchased was a jungle setup. So it came with a few things a starter would need and already with a screen top. There are several starter kits that are jungle setups. ExoTerra has a really nice one, but it does come with a lot of extra stuff that you'll more than likely never use. Ultimately the choice is up to you. Zoo Med makes some good tanks that are very similar to ExoTerra's and they are easily heated and the humidity usually holds up for quite a while.

whats the exact name of the tank that you purchased or do u have any links of a good tank I'm just trying to make sure he'll survive the winter, this winters gonna be harsh

[GrifTheGreat]

whats the exact name of the tank that you purchased or do u have any links of a good tank I'm just trying to make sure he'll survive the winter, this winters gonna be harsh

I purchased mine from Petsmart. My 10 gallon long is a Zilla Basic Tropical Kit. Comes with tank liner/Heat mat/heat lamp with a 50 watt Daylight Blue bulb/humidity and Temp gauge combo. Its very basic. I purchased a lot of extras that I needed. If you look on Zoo Med's web site their tanks will be on there. ExoTerra's as well. I don't have the link but they will have their tanks and kits on their sites.

[2oh1]

found urs if my local pet shop doesn't have the tank I'm definitely getting that one...i wish i could use a black light for the night time would make the cage look so much better with the "ghost" crickets. but thanks again grif u always help me out a ton u too mark its really appreciated

[GrifTheGreat]

found urs if my local pet shop doesn't have the tank I'm definitely getting that one...i wish i could use a black light for the night time would make the cage look so much better with the "ghost" crickets. but thanks again grif u always help me out a ton u too mark its really appreciated

They make a dark night time light that looks like a black light. They also make moon light blue bulbs which might show off the ghost crickets. Dusted crickets show up pretty well under the moon light bulb. I wouldn't use that bulb all the time though.

[Poly]

They make a dark night time light that looks like a black light. They also make moon light blue bulbs which might show off the ghost crickets. Dusted crickets show up pretty well under the moon light bulb. I wouldn't use that bulb all the time though.

Wow Gif, that's so neat!

As for temps, that's what I like about toads, there really tough, can take temps all the way down to 50F! Haha, but I'd never do that to them, the lowest they go down to is 70!

[2oh1]

They make a dark night time light that looks like a black light. They also make moon light blue bulbs which might show off the ghost crickets. Dusted crickets show up pretty well under the moon light bulb. I wouldn't use that bulb all the time though.

def gonna get those jeesus who'd think a 16 dollar frog would cost so much lol

[GrifTheGreat]

def gonna get those jeesus who'd think a 16 dollar frog would cost so much lol

I paid $15.99 for Grif. After I purchased everything I needed to give him a good start as a baby I spent over $260.00. I've purchased a lot more since then and now that I have 2. I didn't spend as much for the babies setup. Maybe half of what I paid for all Grif's essentials. Getting started is expensive. Maintaining is not as much. I'm not sure if you're supposed to use Black lights for Pacmans even if they make them as a heat