A heating pad for my pacman?

[Camden]

I'm extremely new to the amphibian world. I've never owned a frog or newt or anything in my life, but I did some intense research for about a month or two before I got my pacman.
I just got my pacman TODAY. But I bought a heatpad, and I stuck it to the outside bottom of the tank. Is it recommended to turn it on at night so my frog doesn't get cold?

PS. My pacman is doing great for it's first day home. He was a bit nervous at first, but he eventually burrowed down and gave me a few chirps!

[R3N3G4D3]

You should never keep a tank heater at the bottom of a pacman frog's habitat. They burrow in the substrate to cool their bodies down and escape heat, putting the heater at the bottom doesn't allow them to do this because the heat is coming from the bottom!

The best place for a tank heater is on the side of the terrarium opposite the water dish. The part of your enclosure where the water dish sits is where your frog will bury itself to stay cool, so putting the heating pad on the other side allows your frog to have an area to warm up if need be. Giving him/her a cool side and a warm side is an ideal set up. Also, its best to always keep the heating pad on at all times if your terrarium is staying between 75 and 85 degrees - this will allow your frog the regulate his/her temperature by moving to the side it needs to.

[Camden]

Thank you so much! Antoine (The pacman) and I thank you!!

[GrifTheGreat]

Also you need to keep the humidity at 70 to 80%. Keep the tank away from any kind of AC and use Eco Earth coconut fiber as a substrate. Buy a multivitamin and dust the food with it once a week. Buy calcium dust with D3 so you Pac can grow strong bones and dust the food with thiseveryother to every couple feedings. If its a baby or juvinile you can feed your Pac daily. If the heating pad doesn't provide enough heat you can purchase a lamp with a dimmer switch and an incandescent no more than 50 watt but no less than 25 watt bulb. A basking light bulb is what this is. The lamp with the dimmer switch allows you to adjust the heat and amount of light coming from the bulb so you can achieve the correct environment in the enclosure. Use a infrared bulb at night to maintain correct temps. It doesn't disturb their nocturnal cycle.

[Camden]

Would it be okay if I used my heating pad (it's only 4 wats) On one side of the bottom of the tank? So that way it'd still have a warm and cool side.

[ConVexity]

If you do use a heating pad put it on the side.

[Camden]

But with such low wattage, its a very tiny heating pad in size alone, not to mention its only 4 wats, so wouldnt it be better if i put it on the outside, but under the tank?

[GrifTheGreat]

But with such low wattage, its a very tiny heating pad in size alone, not to mention its only 4 wats, so wouldnt it be better if i put it on the outside, but under the tank?

If you HAVE to put the heater on the bottom of the tank, you MUST USE a terrarium liner. This looks like a big piece of green felt. You cut it tosize and lay it on the bottom of the tank then put the substrate on top. Cover the whole bottom of the tank, not just the area over the heating pad. Most liners are supposed to be reuseable, but you have to at least rinse them with hot water whenever you change the substrate. They are supposed to be mold resistant but they can still hold germs easily so it has to be clean! You don't want to make your pacman sick.

That being said, I highly recommend that you put the heater on the side of the tank. Pacmans have very sensitive skin that burns easily. No matter how low the wattage, the heating pad will still heat up the glass. These frogs spend most of their time burrowed. My baby pacman likes to burrow so deep I can hear its feet squeaking on the bottom glass. It is much safer to have the heater on the side and it gives you a better temperature gradient. Like I said if you insist on putting it on the bottom make sure you use a tank liner. Just trying to help